Kastoria

Kastoria occupies a broad peninsula pushing into Lake Orestiada, ringed by mountains, and its old quarters of Doltso and Apozari keep the mansions of the fur merchants who made the town rich from the fifteenth century onward: stone ground floors, projecting timber upper storeys, painted rooms and stained glass. The town's greater distinction is its churches, more than fifty Byzantine and post-Byzantine buildings, many tiny, tucked between houses and frequently locked, with frescoes spanning the tenth to eighteenth centuries; the Panagia Koumbelidiki with its unusually tall drum and the Taxiarches of the Metropolis are the best known. A lakeside road circles the peninsula for about nine kilometres, popular for walking, passing the Mavriotissa monastery under plane trees. The fur industry continues, now working imported skins.

What you actually see

• The Byzantine churches - dozens of small painted churches through the old town.
• Doltso and Apozari - quarters of timber-fronted merchant mansions.
• The lakeside circuit - a nine-kilometre walk around the peninsula.
• Mavriotissa monastery - a lakeside monastery with frescoes and plane trees.

When to go

Spring and autumn for the lake and the walking; winter brings mist and occasional snow, which suits the town. Church access is easiest in the morning, when a guardian may be present.

Honest expectations

Most churches are locked and seeing interiors requires effort, patience or a local guide. The fur trade dominates the commercial streets, which some visitors find uncomfortable. The lake has water-quality issues in warm months.

Nearby

The Dragon Cave sits on the lakeshore; Nymfaio and the Prespa lakes lie north and east.