Greece - Korina Miller [275]
Preveza City Hotel ( 26820 89500; Leofors Irinis 69; s/d €50/80; ) This business hotel up on noisy Leoforos Irinis has standard business rooms with all the expected amenities. Service is brisk though friendly.
Eating
O Kaihis ( 26820 24866; Parthenagogiou 7; fish €5-9) This friendly fish taverna on a side street near the water, prepares excellent fresh fish dishes and more standard taverna fare. The friendly owner, who also rents rooms (see above), can provide good local travel tips.
Amvrosios ( 26820 27192; Grigoriou tou Pemptou 9; fish €7-11) Another good fish taverna spilling out onto a flowering side lane by the waterfront, this is a popular lunch spot with a good selection of fish dishes.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Five flights weekly serve Athens (€95, one hour). Olympic Air ( 26820 28343; www.olympicairlines.com; Leoforos Irinis 37) has an office. Preveza airport, 7km south of the town, is sometimes called Lefkada or Aktion. Olympic Air operates an airport bus (€1.55). An airport taxi is €10. For more domestic flight services, Island Hopping.
BUS
From the bus station ( 26820 22213) buses serve Ioannina (€8.70, two hours, eight daily), Parga (€6.10, two hours, five daily), Igoumenitsa (€8.50, 2½ hours, two daily), Thessaloniki (€39, eight hours, one daily) and Athens (€32, six hours, five daily).
Return to beginning of chapter
AROUND PREVEZA
Nikopolis Νικóπολη
In 31 BC Octavian (later, Emperor Augustus) defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the famous naval Battle of Actium (present-day Aktion). To celebrate, he built Nikopolis (City of Victory; 26820 41336; adult €2; 8.30am-3pm). Octavian forcibly resettled people here from surrounding towns and villages. In the 5th and 6th centuries AD, Nikopolis was plundered by Vandals and Goths, but was rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was sacked again by the Bulgarians in the 11th century, and that was it.
The original Roman walls barely survive, though the Byzantine walls and a theatre are better preserved. Remnants of a Temple of Ares, a Temple of Poseidon, an aqueduct, Roman baths and a restored Roman odeum also exist. The enormous site sprawls across the Preveza–Arta road; Preveza–Arta buses stop here.
The site’s Archaeological Museum ( 26820 41336; adult €4; 8.30am-3pm) has ancient exhibits, while other finds are displayed in Ioannina’s (currently closed) Archaeological Museum.
Return to beginning of chapter
PARGA ΠΑΡΓΑ
pop 2432
The microresort of Parga is essentially a pretty old village of white-plastered houses stacked on winding, flowery streets, in the fold of a bay crowned by a Venetian castle. On both sides of the town, long sandy beaches stretch, and in high season its waterfront bars get busy with Greeks and Italian and other foreigners. Out of high season, primarily Northern European package tourists visit. Nevertheless, in any season it’s still possible to find moments of seclusion and authenticity amid Parga’s narrow back streets and little chapels.
A former Venetian possession, Parga resembles the similarly Italian-influenced Ionian Islands opposite, and indeed makes a good base for excursions to two of them, Paxi and Antipaxi, along with the mysterious Nekromanteio of Afyra. With its good outlying beaches and even a nice one right in town, Parga is also good for families with small kids.
Orientation & Information
The main north–south road from Preveza to Igoumenitsa passes by Parga at its top; from where the bus stops on the east side of town, Spyrou Livada descends into the centre. A second road further west also leads into the centre; it connects to the 2km-long Valtos Beach just southwest.
Several ATM-equipped banks are available in Parga, which also has a small medical centre.
Dr Spiros Radiotis ( 26840 32450; 6944162261; Alexandrou Baga 1) On call 24 hours a day for medical emergencies; his office is