Ioannina is located in north-west Greece, not far from the border with Albania. We drove here today from Igoumenitsa. We chose the slightly smaller road, instead of the motorway, and were pretty much completely alone! It was mountains, mountains, mountains ... and then us.
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Ioannina in Greece
Ioannina is the capital of the Greek province of Epirus. The city has a history dating back to the 9th century, and in 1204 it gained importance as the main city of the province. Captured by the Serbs in 1345 and by the Turks in 1431, the city became a renowned centre of learning in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1913, the city was conquered by the Greeks.
Ioannina is located on Lake Limni Ioanninon Pamvotida. We travelled here by motorhome, on our way from Igoumenitsa on the coast, on our way to Albania.
Beautiful roads
The scenery along the winding road from Igoumenitsa was beautiful and the only thing to look at, apart from the high mountains, were the little religious 'boxes' that were everywhere. We thought that maybe they are memories of people who died in car accidents. Does anyone know? If so, there are many, many people who have died here ...
Churches, mosques and synagogues
In Ioannina there are several orthodox churches, some mosques and a synagogue. The rain was hanging in the air when we arrived and we had to take care of some practical matters. If you spend more time here, you can certainly discover many interesting buildings.
By Lake Limni Ioanninon Pamvotida
All of Ioannina seemed empty and deserted when we arrived, but eventually we discovered where everyone was - down by the beautiful lake! A storm was moving in, but we managed to take some photos from the lake with the green water by the high mountains. There are nice walking paths, boat trips, outdoor restaurants and an old fortress.
Public holidays and closed
One of our goals in Ioannina was to shop for food as our fridge was completely empty after the ferry shutdown. We saw several supermarkets, but they were all closed! We wondered why. Because it was Saturday? Because it was afternoon? Because it was a special holiday? Had it not been for the storm and our empty fridge, we might have stayed. Now we continued towards Albania!
See more in the neighbourhood
If you drive from Ioannina out to the Greek coast, there are great beaches by the sea. For example, you can visit Igoumenitsa, where you will also find the ferry across to Brindisi in Italy. You can also head up to Albania, where you can visit Ksamil and Saranda, for example.
Facts about Ioannina
- Country: Greece
- Provins: Epirus
- Location: At Lake Limni Ioanninon Pamvotida in north-west Greece.
- Name: Ioánnina. In Greek Ιωάννινα (Giánnena or Yiánnena) and in Albanian Janina or Janinë.
- Residents: Around 112 000 (2011)
- Attractions: The beautiful lake, churches, mosques and synagogue.
History of Ioannina
- 9th century: The city's history can be traced back to the 10th century.
- 1204: It became the most important city in the province of Epirus.
- 1345: Ioannina was taken by the Serbs.
- 1431: The city was taken by the Turks.
- 18th and 19th century: Ioannina served as an important centre of learning.
- 1788: Ali Pasha of Tepelenë became the ruler of the city.
- 1822: The ruler Ali Pasha of Tepelenë was killed in a monastery.
- 1913: Ioannina was conquered by the Greeks.
Travelling to Ioannina
- Ferry: You can get to Igoumenitsa by ferry from Italy, and then continue to Ioannina by car.
- Car: From the coast (Igoumenitsa) you can take road 2, then road E951. The distance is just under 8 kilometres. Expect to drive about an hour. Another option is to take the E92, which goes through the mountains and takes a little longer to drive.
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BP says:
These religious boxes can be found everywhere, regardless of the religion in the country. You can read the background here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayside_shrine
Now I sincerely hope that you find something edible in Albania, and I don't necessarily mean just a restaurant. If you are "forced" to eat out, it will be incredibly cheap there (read Ruth's link). Saturdays and Sundays are rest days in many countries. Yep, we are spoilt in Sweden...?
15 August 2015 - 20:45
admin says:
BP, oh thank you very much for the link!!! I have read and we are now much wiser! 🙂 Rest day... but I thought the Greeks worked all the time!? We have been hungry today... but we got food in Albania luckily! 😉
15 August 2015 - 21:29
Anette says:
It has been one of Greece's biggest holidays today! But I'm a bit surprised by your choice of route to Albania, where did you cross? Anyway, have a good trip!
15 August 2015 - 22:46
admin says:
Anette, well now we have realised that there was a big Greek holiday yesterday... we had no idea! Haha, now we understand why it was so hopeless to get some food... Why are you surprised by the choice of route? We had been told that Ioannina was nice to visit (we wanted to see one more place in Greece before leaving the country). From there we took the slightly bigger road into Albania, I think it was called Kokovia (or something similar) at the border.
16 August 2015 - 7:49
Inga M says:
Dizzying view from that road, but you are well used to it now! It will be exciting to follow your journey into Albania. It feels more exotic than the countries you have visited so far, maybe not exactly a tourist country? But it may be my prejudices. We will see.
16 August 2015 - 9:14
admin says:
Inga M, yes we are getting used to tricky roads! Albania is probably starting to increase as a tourist destination, but we will of course report!
16 August 2015 - 9:59
Ditte says:
A quick stay in Greece, mostly a transport route, but at least you got to see more of beautiful nature. Albania sounds exciting and yet the big tourist flows have not yet reached there because they do as soon as there are nice beaches, culture and something to see.
A country not yet on my list... Yes, I have many left.
Have a good time and hope you find shops with food to buy.
16 August 2015 - 10:09
Steve says:
It was a quick visit to Greece. It will be really exciting to get acquainted with Albania. Enjoy!
16 August 2015 - 10:19
Ama de casa says:
Here it was a national holiday yesterday. They celebrated the Virgin Mary for some reason (I think). Many of the holidays here are new to me, and I never knew them... There are so many saints to honour. There are also national, regional and local holidays. So if you just go somewhere else, there may very well be a completely unexpected holiday there... 🙂.
It will be fun to experience Albania through you - thanks in advance! 🙂
16 August 2015 - 10:20
Åsa says:
There is also a Virgin today - Nossa Senhora de Assuncião, probably in the whole Catholic world (?), but in Portugal it is not a public holiday. Here they have abolished almost all public holidays due to the economic crisis ....
16 August 2015 - 11:48
admin says:
Ditte, the visit was a bit (too) short. Going south feels like the wrong direction. But that was also why we made a visit to Ioaninna - to at least see one more place! Exciting (and skilful of us) to manage to visit a place where you have not been! 😉
Steve, yes, it was a bit short... As I said, going south is a bit of a mistake and countries like Albania are more appealing 😉.
Ama de casa, yes we finally realised it was a holiday...! We are not that closed in Sweden even on Christmas....
Åsa, it's probably the same holiday, we realised it afterwards! Hmm, the Greeks have at least as much crisis in that case?
16 August 2015 - 14:21
Framnäsmannen says:
The old road from Igoumenitsa eastwards over the mountains is stunningly beautiful, but long! Imagine the traffic over the mountains before the motorway was opened. Cars, trucks, buses, lorries, dogs and tractors. And all the small communities were alive! Mainland Greece is wonderfully exciting to travel in. It's great that you chose this route instead of travelling up through Italy.
16 August 2015 - 23:20
admin says:
Framnäsmannen, yes we realised that the road was much more lively once upon a time! We are very happy with the decision to take this route, it feels much more interesting!
17 August 2015 - 7:20