Greece - Korina Miller [185]
Other recommendations:
Pension Ro ( 22670 29180; www.arahova-ro.gr; s/d/tr/q incl breakfast from €30/40/50/70; ) Clean and woodsy, on Plateia Xenias.
Pension Petrino ( 22670 31384; fax 22670 32663; s/d from €30/45; ) Persian carpets, near Plateia Xenias.
Pension Alexandros ( 22670 32884; www.alexandrosgr.com; r €60-90; ) Upscale mansion, antiques and murals, behind Plateia Lakka.
Eating
Taverna Karathanasi ( 22670 31456; mains €4-8.50) Look for the sign in Greek opposite the church steps, to find this outstanding and friendly eatery with well-prepared grills, soups, salads and mayirefta (ready-cooked) standards such as ‘lamb in the pan’ (€8) or baked chicken (€7).
Taverna Panagiota ( 22670 32735; mains €5-12) Unless you drive here, it’s a mere 263 steps up to this cosy taverna, behind Agios Georgios church. Tasty traditional Greek oven dishes fill the tables, and in winter there’s always a fire going.
Taverna Agnandio ( 22670 32114; mains €6-10) This handsome and traditional Greek eatery, just east of Plateia Lakka, serves a daily selection of oven-ready dishes, tasty lamb and chicken grills, along with the family’s own red house wine, poured from the jug.
Other recommendations:
To Yefira Taverna (The Bridge; 22670 31917; mains €4-7) By the clock tower, with good pites and spaghetti.
Taverna To Kalderimi ( 22670 31418; mains €6-11; closed mid-Jul–mid-Aug) Popular meaty stews, sauces and mezedhes.
Getting There & Away
The six daily buses that run between Athens and Delphi (€13.60, 2½ hours) stop at Arahova’s Plateia Xenias. There are hourly local buses to Delphi (€1.40, 20 minutes).
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LIVADIA TO DELPHI
Moni Osios Loukas Μο Oσου Λουκ
Moni Osios Loukas (Monastery of St Luke; 22670 22797; admission €3; 8am-6pm) is 23km southeast of Arahova, between the villages of Distomo and Kyriaki. Its principal church contains some of Greece’s finest Byzantine frescoes. Modest dress is required (no shorts).
The monastery is dedicated to a local hermit who was canonised for his healing and prophetic powers. The monastic complex includes two churches. The interior of the larger Agios Loukas is a glorious symphony of marble and mosaics. There are also icons by Michael Damaskinos, the 16th-century Cretan painter.
In the main body of the church, the light is partially blocked by the ornate marble window decorations, creating striking contrasts of light and shade. Walk around the corner to find several fine frescoes which brighten up the crypt where St Luke is buried.
Nearby, the smaller Agia Panagia (Church of the Virgin Mary), built in the 10th century, has a colourful but less impressive interior as none of its original frescoes have survived.
This World Heritage–listed monastery is in an idyllic setting, with breathtaking vistas from its terrace, where Café-Bar Yannis sells local sweets and coffee – in case you’re one of those people who can’t go anywhere outside hissing distance of an espresso machine.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
From Livadia, three buses reach Moni Osios Loukas each day (€3.20, 30 minutes). From Delphi, you can take the Livadia/Athens bus only as far as the Distomo crossing (€2.50, 35 minutes, hourly), then walk or hitch the 2km to Distomo.
Taxis will get you to the monastery from Distomo (€25 return), Livadia (€30 return) or Delphi (€40 return); in all cases, the taxi will wait an hour at the monastery.
Distomo Δστομο
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Distomo is remembered throughout Greece for the massacre of 10 June 1944, when Nazi troops killed 218 villagers in a door-to-door reprisal for a guerrilla ambush in nearby Steiri. In 1966, the German government erected a dramatic white-marble war memorial, with inscriptions in both Greek and German.
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GALAXIDI ΓΑΛΛΑΞIΔΙ
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Easily the prettiest of the low-key resorts on the Gulf of Corinth, Galaxidi is graced with narrow cobblestone streets and two small harbours, and makes