Luckily Greece is full of quaint and scenic villages ideal for weekend getaways.
We suggest the best autumn weekend getaways close to Athens for unique excursions that will put you in a winter mood!
A day trip to one of the most famous mountain destinations in the Peloponnese is enough to put you in a winter travel mood! Meet Vytina!
One of the most picturesque, traditional, and tourist villages of Mainalo, built at an altitude of 1,033m. At its foot, Vytina has its fanatical audience for winter excursions as there is easy access to the ski center of Ostrakina! However, its proximity to Athens automatically makes it an ideal destination for weekend excursions - even for day trips! Arriving, stroll through the cobbled alleys, to discover every corner.
Old stone mansions testify to the unique architecture of the place, with the famous marbles of the area dominating, while in the heart of the village the lively central square cafés and tourist shops with local products.
A mini autumn excursion to Trikala Korinthias has all the ingredients you need for the perfect anti-stress antidote! So close to Athens (only 147 km), but the scenery is so different especially when you reach the mountainous area of Ziria. Kato, Mesaia, and Ano Trikala (Lower, Middle, and Higher Trikala) are the three picturesque settlements in the order you meet them, which look like, so panoramically built at 1,100 meters altitude. Like a mountain balcony that "enjoys" an excellent view up to the Corinthian Gulf.
It is worth visiting Lake Doxa (32 km, about 58 '), to admire a beautiful Swiss landscape in Greece!
The wider area and the dirt roads are suitable for 4 × 4΄ routes.
Just 15 minutes from Middle Trikala you will meet Karya, a small village surrounded by a beautiful fir forest!
Before you leave, get local products from the shops on the main street!
Kastanitsa, the picturesque village of mountainous Arcadia reflects its low-profile side and becomes the ideal occasion for a quiet weekend.
For those who visit it for the first time, it is almost certain that you will come here again, as long as you are lovers of tranquility and serenity. What will impress you is the picturesque form of the preserved houses, special natural and architectural beauty, that of a typical Arcadian village. Typical are the stone-built houses with the tiled roofs, the flat wooden balconies, the stone arched doors, but also the private tower houses of more than three hundred years old.
Built on the ridge of a steep mountain of Parnon and drowned in the chestnut trees (this is where the famous Chestnut Festival takes place in October), it invites you to explore the magnificent village.
Hidden "Secret" of mountainous Achaia, Zarouchla is one of the most beautiful villages of the Peloponnese, in a stunning natural landscape!
Many of you may not know where it falls on the map. And yet, Zarouchla is only two hours away from Athens and is a small paradise in the middle of nowhere! As you ascend the road seems endless, with continuous turns, but the aromas of the orange groves and the view of the green landscape will be the best reward. And suddenly, after about an hour of driving, you will see the entrance of the village.
Drowned in the plane trees, the firs, the pines, and the streams and the center of its beauty the picturesque house and its 100 hospitable inhabitants, it will welcome you first with the oxygen that it will offer you generously and then with its secrets. Wear sneakers, tie your shoelaces tightly, and, after wandering around the house, get lost in the paths of the village and indulge in the cellar of the river Krathi, which springs from Helos and crosses Zarouchla.
Necessary for a visit to Lake Tsivlou (just 15 km from the village), buried in a dense fir forest at an altitude of 800 meters and crystal-clear blue waters! It is even better to organize a picnic weather-permitting around the lake.
📷 Feature Image by Jean-François Renaud on Flickr
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