Experience the best of Kastoria

Kastoria lies on a peninsula that juts into Lake Orestiada, among mountains in Western Macedonia. The town has been a fur-working centre for centuries, and dozens of Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches, many with painted walls, fill its streets. In the old quarters, such as Doltso, stand the mansions of fur merchants with overhanging upper floors.

A lakeside path loops around the peninsula, with herons, cormorants and swans on the water, and a reconstruction of a Neolithic lake settlement at Dispilio stands on the shore. Mountains rise behind the town, the Prespa lakes lie to the north-west, and winding roads cross the hills towards the Albanian border.

Lake fish, local sausage, savoury pies and bean dishes are typical of the north-western Greek table, and mountain honey is sold in the shops. Winters are cold and snowy, with mist on the lake. Summer evenings by the water and autumn colours in the hills are the best moments.