A good starting point in Thessaly is the unmissable Pelion peninsula. On your way there, though, do try to spend a night in Volos. It was from here that Jason and the Argonauts started their quest for the Golden Fleece. Modern Volos has plenty to offer as well, not least its status as the spiritual home of the ouzeri. These tapas-style bars specialise in tsipouro, a distilled spirit that is quite like ouzo, but a good bit stronger. The routine in an ouzeri is to order a round of tsipouro followed by a round of mezedes (tasty snack food) and keep repeating the process. Before you become too attached to the ouzeri, head on south and east into the lush Pelion peninsula. You’ll find this area quite different to the rest of Greece. Its fertile soil has produced an incredible profusion of olive and fruit trees which battle chaotically for the sunlight in forests of walnut, beech and oak. Visit a few of the characteristic Pelion villages that are to be found throughout this woodland area. Generally centred around a small Byzantine church, these traditional clusters are full of charming whitewashed half-timbered houses and luxurious mansions.

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