Welcome to Thessaloniki! After checking into our hotel in the historic heart of the city, we’ll make our way to a delightful welcome drinks and a dinner hosted by Carolina, our trip leader for the week. Carolina will walk us through all of our exciting plans for the trip, after which we’ll tuck into a sumptuous northern Greek feast paired with bold Northern Greek wines and served to us in beautiful surroundings. It will be a great indication of good eats to come!

On our first full day in Thessaloniki, we’ll start by enjoying a traditional breakfast at our hotel before traveling across the city to visit the city’s markets, including a historic century-old marketplace which has been recently renovated. Here we’ll be introduced to the agricultural bounty of the region and meet some of the market’s veteran vendors. While in the market we’ll enjoy an introduction to some of Greece’s most famous flavors, from honey to olives and wild herbs, through the handiwork of its finest artisans. Afterwards Carolina will lead us through the heart of Thessaloniki on a tour exploring the history and culture of the city, along with its excellent local specialties, such as the sinfully custardy phyllo pie bougatsa. We'll collect edible delights along the way and finish up with a grand dinner cooked by Carolina, using the ingredients collected during our walk.

Today we’ll wake up early and bid farewell to Thessaloniki, making our way slowly to the Pelion Peninsula and our homebase for the next few days, Pinakates, a stunning village up in the region’s mountains. On the way we’ll visit one of Greece’s most impressive – and lesser known – archaeological sites, the Royal Tombs of Aigai, which date back to the 3rd century BCE. From there we’ll head for lunch in the picturesque seaside city of Volos, where we’ll sit down at two different tsipouradiko, traditional tavernas – unique to this part of Greece – that specialize in serving seafood accompanied by rounds of tsipouro, an aromatic brandy made from grape pomace. Afterwards, our hearts and bellies full, we’ll make our way to Pinakates and settle down for the evening in our boutique hotel, housed inside a beautiful converted 18th-century village mansion. We’ll have a casual dinner at our hotel, featuring local specialties collected by Carolina. Here we’ll also get a chance to meet Stathis Kataropoulos, a local organic farmer who will serve as our insider to the Pelion region.

Today we’ll head to Vizitsa, a beautiful village filled with historic stone homes and narrow walking paths. Here we’ll meet with the leaders of a local women’s co-op and enjoy a hands-on cooking demonstration with them, learning how to make “spoon sweets” – jam-like confections made from local fruits like crab apple and quince. Before heading back to our hotel for the night we’ll stop in a village taverna for some classic and hearty Pelion dishes, including the region’s famous spentzofai, sausage cooked in a spicy tomato and peppers sauce, and rustic savory pies filled with wild greens.

We’ll start our day with a stop in yet another one of the Pelion’s stunning small villages, Ano Lechonia, to take a look at the unique historic olive oil presses here, which are powered by watermills. Here we'll meet a producer and taste some of the region's finest olive oil. For lunch, we’ll make our way back towards Pinakates and to Stathis’s splendid farm, where we’ll get a chance to pick some of his crops and then prepare them together under Carolina’s guidance for a family-style meal. For this truly farm-to-table meal, think fennel fritters with tzatziki, vine leaf dolmades, baked giant beans with chard, and a traditional walnut cake. In the evening we’ll return to our hotel, where we’ll have a light dinner.

Today it’s time to head down to the region’s enticing sea, where we’ll pamper ourselves with a day out on the water. After having a quick swim in the pristine waters off a private beach, we’ll hop on a sailboat and cruise over to the nearby island of Paleo Trikeri Island. Once on the small island, we’ll head towards its most famous landmark, an impressive monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary and built in 1825 at the site of where an ancient icon of the virgin was said to be miraculously found at the base of an olive tree. We’ll have a guided tour of the monastery and its museum, learning about the site’s incredible history, including its role as a place of exile for thousands of left-wing Greek women during the 1940’s. One the way back, Carolina will prepare a fisherman's soup for us right on the boat. To end our day, we’ll visit one of its local seafront tavernas in Volos for a beautiful dinner by the sea featuring fish and seafood as fresh as can be.

After breakfast together at the hotel, we’ll make our way to the beautiful village of Milies, set like an amphitheater on the slopes of a forested mountain. Filled with historic mansions and olive and fruit trees, the village has stunning views looking out towards the blue Aegean. Milies used to play an important role in the transportation of agricultural goods from remote area villages to the port in Volos and we’ll follow some old train tracks out of the village and into the forest to forage for local delicacies, including walnuts and chestnuts. After our village visit, we’ll head back towards the sea for a swim followed by a light meze lunch, with the scenic blue waters serving as our backdrop. Coffee and dessert will be in the nearby village of Tsagarada, where we’ll sit down at a historic cafe in the local square, shaded by the branches of a spectacular thousand-year-old plane tree. Once back at the hotel after lunch, we’ll have time for a rest and then regroup for a cooking lesson with Carolina. Drawing on everything we’ve tasted and encountered over the last few days, she will lead us in an easy-going session – think backyard BBQ – that covers some of the Pelion’s greatest hits, including grilled lamb chops, tyrokayteri (spicy feta dip), charred dandelion greens, and Baked rice pudding with mastiha. Grab a glass of wine and enjoy this delicious and fitting send off to the Pelion region!

We depart for Athens early in the morning, arriving by midday and with free time to visit the Acropolis and Goulandris Museum, shop or relax before our final dinner. We’ll take an evening stroll and then head to a modern taverna steeped in history. Expect to eat many small courses of exquisitely sourced and prepared dishes, accompanied by the restaurant’s refined selections of Greek wines.

We’ll say our final goodbyes in the hotel before making our ways to the airport after a beautiful and very filling week! If you’re sticking around in Athens (or Greece) longer, talk to our team and we’ll give you some recommendations for things to see, eat, and drink.