39.71° N · 21.63° E
Towers of sandstone and conglomerate beside Kalambaka with six Orthodox monasteries on their summits, founded from the 14th century onwards. Almost each one closes on a different day: plan around that. A World Heritage Site since 1988.
Part of Film locations
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The largest and oldest monastery in Meteora, from 1356: about 300 steps, a museum and an old kitchen. €5 in cash; closed on Tuesdays.
A 16th-century monastery opposite the Great Meteoron, with the net tower and frescoes of 1548: about 140 steps, €5 in cash.
The only Meteora monastery without stairs, by a bridge from the road. A convent since 1961; €5 in cash; closed on Mondays and at midday.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
In April, May, September and October, with 20–30 °C. In July and August it goes above 33 °C at midday. From November to March the monasteries open fewer days and it is cold.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
With a car you see the six monasteries in two mornings, move around according to each one's closing day and reach the viewpoint just in time for sunset. From Athens it is about 340 km by toll motorway.
The train has not reached Kalambaka since 2023, but the Hellenic Train combined ticket (train to Palaiofarsalos and bus) and KTEL buses via Trikala drop you in the village. There, the monasteries are reached on foot by the paths or by the local bus.
The monks' paths, the viewpoints and the village of Kastraki cost nothing. All you pay for are the entry tickets, in cash, and the bed.
The two Kastraki campsites accept motorhomes and are 1 km from Kalambaka. The monasteries road is narrow and the car parks small: go up early or leave the motorhome and walk up.
Kastraki has two campsites with a pool and shade, at the foot of the paths climbing to Roussanou and Varlaam. Outside them, sleep at the campsites: the rocks are protected monastic space, and from May to October lighting fires is prohibited throughout Greece.
Meteora lies between the two big airports of Greece. There are direct flights to Athens all year from Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga; to Thessaloniki, closer, Aegean flies from Barcelona. From Thessaloniki it is about 2 h 15 by car to Kalambaka and from Athens about 3 h 35. Without a car, you travel by train to Palaiofarsalos and on the Hellenic Train bus to Kalambaka.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
With children, Meteora works in short mornings: one monastery with stairs, one easy one and the afternoon free for the campsite pool and sunset. Saint Stephen's is the only one without steps; the rest have stairs, slopes and viewpoints without much protection.
For a teenager, the charm of Meteora is not in the icons but in reaching the monasteries by the monks' paths, scrambling with a harness or watching sunset from a rock.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Operating since 1965, 1 km from Kalambaka, with shade on all pitches, a restaurant, minimarket, and cookers and barbecues free to use. The KTEL bus stops at the entrance, so it works without a car too.
Why we like it: Beside the national road west of Kalambaka, at the foot of Kastraki, with a pool and pitches of 40 to 100 m². Closed from mid-October to March.
Why we like it: Hostel with bunk beds in the centre of Kalambaka: you arrive by bus, drop your rucksack and set off on foot for the paths.
Why we like it: Hostel with shared dormitories in the upper part of Kalambaka, on the side of Kastraki and the rocks.
Why we like it: Guesthouse on Kanari Street, in the old quarter of Kalambaka, ten minutes' walk from the centre and with its own parking. It has apartments for families.
Why we like it: On Kastraki's main street, with rooms facing the rocks and triples for travelling with a child. The paths to the monasteries start a few minutes away.
Why we like it: Spa hotel at the foot of the rocks, in Kastraki, 3 km from the centre of Kalambaka. It has a restaurant of traditional cooking and suites. Pets are not allowed.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: The trahanas, the monk's salad and the black pork chops
What to order: Moussaka, soutzoukakia or grilled lamb chops
What to order: Several small plates to share with a tsipouro
What to order: Vlach cooking with wild herbs and mushrooms, river trout or lamb.
Takeaway and markets
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
They are ten minutes from each other and are the first to fill the car park. At nine there is room.
Six monasteries come to €30 per person, in notes and coins.
Long trousers and a T-shirt that covers your shoulders, even when it's hot. Women, a long skirt in the rucksack.
The path from Kastraki to Roussanou is 1.7 km. You arrive the way the monks did.
Sleep two nights. The first afternoon you see the sunset and the second morning you do the monasteries that were closed on the first day.
It is about 680 km there and back and you arrive at midday, in the heat and with all the group coaches. Sleep at least one night in Kalambaka or Kastraki: you will see the sunset and the monasteries first thing.
None is open every day, and almost each closes on a different one. Only on Saturday and Sunday are all six open at once. These are the timetables published by the local tourist office for 2026; the monks can change them without notice, especially during Orthodox Holy Week.
| Monastery | Summer (April – October) | Winter (November – March) | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Meteoron | 9:30 – 15:00 | 9:30 – 15:00 | Tuesday; in winter, Tuesday to Thursday |
| Varlaam | 9:00 – 16:00 | 9:00 – 16:00 | Friday; in winter, Thursday and Friday |
| Roussanou | 9:00 – 16:30 | 9:00 – 14:00 | Wednesday |
| Holy Trinity | 10:00 – 16:00 | 10:00 – 16:00 | Thursday |
| St Stephen | 9:00 – 13:30 and 15:30 – 17:30 | 9:00 – 13:00 and 15:30 – 17:00 | Monday |
| St Nicholas Anapafsas | 9:00 – 17:00 | 9:00 – 16:00 | Friday |
Roussanou and St Stephen do not start the long summer timetable until 15 May. Between November and March, the Great Meteoron and Varlaam are only open on the same days from Saturday to Monday: if you go midweek, choose carefully.
Admission costs €5 per monastery and is paid in cash at the door; don't count on cards. Under-12s don't pay.
There is a dress code and it is enforced. Women, skirt below the knee and shoulders covered; skirts to wrap around you are usually lent at the entrance, but not always. Men, long trousers. Nobody gets in wearing a vest top. Photos are usually not allowed in the churches and museums inside.
By plane from Spain. To Athens there are direct flights all year from Madrid (Aegean, Iberia, Sky Express), Barcelona (Aegean, Sky Express, Vueling) and Málaga (Aegean), and in season from Bilbao, Valencia, Seville, Alicante, Palma and Ibiza. To Thessaloniki, closer to Meteora, Aegean flies from Barcelona.
By car. From Athens it is about 340 km and 3 h 35 by motorway; from Thessaloniki, about 225 km and 2 h 15; from Ioannina, about 100 km and an hour and a half. Greek motorways are tolled: carry a card or cash for the booths.
By train. The train no longer reaches Kalambaka: the line from Palaiofarsalos has been closed since the 2023 storm and there is no reopening date. Hellenic Train sells a combined ticket: InterCity from Athens or Thessaloniki to Palaiofarsalos and its own bus on to Kalambaka, twice a day and about 2 h of bus. From Athens it is about 5 h 30 and about €28–31; from Thessaloniki, about €23–24, with a long wait at Palaiofarsalos. There is no ticket office at Palaiofarsalos or Kalambaka: buy beforehand on the website or app.
By bus. KTEL Trikala links Athens (Liosion station) and Thessaloniki with Trikala several times a day, and from Trikala a bus leaves every hour for Kalambaka, 45 minutes away. From Athens allow about 5 h in total.
Kalambaka is the big village: bus station, more hotels and restaurants, better if you arrive without a car or are only sleeping one night. Kastraki is at the foot of the rocks, twenty minutes' walk from St Nicholas Anapafsas; it is quieter, the paths start from its streets and it has few beds, which fill up at weekends in season.
In Trikala, 20 km away, average maximums are around 20 °C in April, 27 °C in May, 33 °C in June and July, 34.5 °C in August and 31 °C in September. Between June and August visit the monasteries from 9:00 to 12:00 and leave the afternoon for sunset. In winter maximums drop to 11–15 °C, it rains more, the monasteries close on more days (the Great Meteoron opens only four a week) and the Meteora Garden campsite closes; Camping Vrachos stays open.
Questions
Saturday and Sunday, in summer and in winter, according to the timetables published for 2026. Midweek there is always one closed.
€5 per person and monastery, in cash. Under-12s don't pay.
No. The line has been closed since 2023 and Hellenic Train covers it with a bus from Palaiofarsalos, twice a day.
St Stephen: you enter over a bridge from the road. It is the one that works with a pushchair or with older people.
At weekends they are all open, but they close between 15:00 and 17:00 and there are queues. A reasonable pace is three per morning, over two days.
Yes. Kalambaka has buses to Trikala every hour and a local bus to the monasteries, and the paths start from Kastraki and Kalambaka.
A skirt below the knee for women, long trousers for men and shoulders covered for everyone.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/thessaly/meteora
