Metsovo

Metsovo sits at about 1,150 metres on the pass between Epirus and Thessaly, and it is the cultural centre of the Aromanian or Vlach community, whose language, a Latin-derived tongue, is still heard among older residents. The town grew wealthy through merchants and benefactors abroad, and their endowments built schools, a hospital and, later, the Tositsa Foundation museum: an eighteenth-century mansion restored and furnished exactly as a wealthy Metsovite household would have been, with carved ceilings, textiles and hearth rooms. The Averoff Gallery holds nineteenth and twentieth-century Greek painting. The town produces smoked metsovone cheese, katogi wine from vineyards planted in the 1950s, and heavy woollen goods; the surrounding fir mountains have a small ski centre, and the food is famously rich.

What you actually see

• The Tositsa mansion - an eighteenth-century house restored as a museum.
• The Averoff Gallery - a strong collection of modern Greek painting.
• The stone streets - slate roofs, workshops and the central square.
• The local produce - metsovone cheese, wine and woollens sold in town.

When to go

Winter for snow and the fireside season, when Metsovo is busiest; late spring and autumn for walking with clear mountain views. Summer is cool compared with the lowlands.

Honest expectations

The town is well aware of its appeal and the central streets are lined with souvenir shops selling similar goods. Weekend and holiday prices are high. The traditional dress seen in photographs is now worn mostly for festivals.

Nearby

Ioannina lies west; Valia Calda and the high Pindus are north, with Meteora an hour east.