Florina

Florina lies in a green, wooded valley in the far north of Greek Macedonia, only a short drive from the border with North Macedonia. It is a modest town, home to a university and fewer than twenty thousand people, but its position makes it a useful base for one of the least-visited corners of Greece. The Sakoulevas River runs through the centre, lined with neoclassical and traditional houses that give the older streets a faded elegance.

Most travellers come to Florina for what lies beyond it. To the west rise the Prespa Lakes, Great Prespa and Little Prespa, a high basin of water shared between Greece, North Macedonia and Albania. Sitting at around 850 metres, the lakes are a protected national park and one of Europe's most important bird habitats, home to breeding colonies of Dalmatian and great white pelicans, herons and cormorants. The lakeside villages of Psarades and Agios Germanos, with their stone houses and Byzantine chapels, feel like the quiet end of the country.

Florina itself rewards a slow wander. The town has a strong artistic streak, with a Museum of Modern Art and a Byzantine collection, and the surrounding hills carry good walking trails. In winter the nearby Vigla-Pisoderi ski centre draws crowds from across northern Greece, and the whole region regularly sees heavy snow.

The town is also known for its food and its cold-climate produce, above all the sweet red Florina peppers that appear on menus across the country, usually roasted and dressed with oil. Cafes and tavernas cluster along the river, and the pace is unhurried even in high season.

Florina is reached by road or bus from Thessaloniki, roughly two and a half to three hours to the southeast, and it also sits on a rail line from the same city. From here the Prespa Lakes are about an hour's drive west on winding mountain roads. Allow two nights to combine the town with a full day among the lakes and their birdlife.