Platamon Castle tour

We had passed by the Castle so many times on our Thessaloniki-Athens trips and had never visited it. So it seemed like an ideal destination when we had a couple of days to spare and were looking for a nearby escape from the city. Summer was over, already the first rains had changed the temperature to more winter-like, but it was still time for walks.

We arrived in the morning, almost an hour after our departure from the center of Thessaloniki. The first thing that impressed us was the view of Thermaikos that accompanied us on the journey but now we saw it from a strategic point that, with certainty, was chosen by the builders to oversee the sea and land passages so many centuries ago. We chatted about the historicity of the structure, how many armies had guarded it and how many others had tried to conquer it over time and there it was, a proud, living monument and reference point for the entire region.

We knew that this is one of the most well-preserved medieval castles in the country, but when you pass the imposing entrance you are not prepared for the feeling that immediately transports you to the medieval atmosphere that the buildings seem to carry to this day. Walking the paths, knowing that they have been walked by countless people from other eras, you let yourself imagine armor, bows, wooden barrels and everything you know from period movies and books you've read about the Middle Ages. We passed through the central courtyard and saw the sea again from the walls, before admiring it again from an adjacent cafe where we rested and exchanged views on each other's impressions of the tour of Platamonas Castle, as we were all visiting for the first time.

In the afternoon the sun gave an illusion of summer and the crystal clear sea called us for a swim, at the nearby beach which in the summer months attracts many visitors from Greece and abroad. We didn't dare, as the breeze reminded us that autumn had arrived for good, but also because no one had any equipment for swimming in the sea with them. Seeing, however, the magnificent image of the beach next to the Castle and the cleanliness of the coast, we renewed the appointment with her for next summer. It was getting dark and the local sweets we took with us in the car were the ideal ending before our return to Katerini, where we would spend the evening.

The next morning found us lounging in the streets of the city and drinking our coffees in the Municipal Park, under the sounds of the waters that surprised us, like a natural landscape of a mountain spring in the center of Katerini. We went up at noon to Paleo Panteleimon, a traditional settlement nearby, for which we had been given good recommendations for food.

What we didn't know was that Old Panteleimonas looks like something out of a painting, with cobbled streets, stone-built houses with tiled roofs and so well-preserved that it looks like it has been left at the beginning of the 20th century and maybe even earlier. The choice compensated us, we tried local pies, goat meat and local red wine, while we were very impressed by the particularly welcoming, relaxed and friendly way of service, which did not remind us of a tavern in a tourist area but of a family business. As we expected, that is.

If we had the inspiration to visit the area in a warmer season we would not pass up the opportunity for a hike in the Enipea Gorge, which we only knew from the impressive photos of previous visitors. We preferred to go down again to the settlement of Platamonas and walk to the port, while the sun said goodbye to us behind the mountain of the Gods. We said goodbye to Platamonas with a dinner in front of the sea and made our way back, feeling that we have traveled for centuries and to a distant location of a fairy tale, although in an hour we were already entering Thessaloniki with souvenirs of the images and tastes that would remain as our memories of that beautiful two days on the shores of Pieria.