This quote could not be more true for Arachova! A small tiny little town in the mountains of Greece, 2 hours north from Athens. In 2014, my best friend (Rajshri) and I had gone on a girls Europe trip and we had decided to visited Arachova on whim. We had opened up the map of Greece, closed our eyes and pointed to a town and decided it’s Arachova that we will venture out to. We had found (on homestays) a lovely Greek family to live with in their house atop a mountain. Their house is called “Nefeles” aptly meaning “amongst the clouds”. We had the greatest time with the family over our 4 day stay. We connected so well with Magda and Andreas and their parents who treated us like family! They took us skiing at Parnasos (a huge ski centre near Arachova) and we quickly became good friends. Fast forward so many years later, we’ve still kept in touch through Facebook. I’ve had such fond memories of this place that I really wanted to take Shankar to Arachova and stay at Nefeles again. I spoke to Magda over Facebook and she was delighted to have us back! Road trip from Athens to Arachova Driving from Athens to Arachova, we passed some beautiful countryside towns and sceneries. As usual, in true 100 autumns style we detoured off course several times to unearth the unseen parts of Greece passing tiny towns like Ellopia, Prodmoros & Kyriaki. Where to eat on the way: On the way, for lunch we really recommend trying Arvanitsa Cafe . Nestled amongst a rainforest, this restaurant is practically in the middle of nowhere! 360 deg view of gorgeous mountains and gardens surround this place. Extremely kid friendly with dogs and cats roaming around the estate. Food was great too with decent service. Huge portion sizes though! So perhaps you can share a lot of their plates. Arachova - where to stay In one word: Nefeles. You can now book their home through booking.com and various other sites. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a sponsored article ;))You won’t regret it at all! It’s a gorgeous home and we are sure you’ll fall in love Lina & Patmoss (the parents) hospitality. Each morning she makes fresh breakfast which you can enjoy with a stunning view. The house is a bit difficult to get to and the first time Rajshri and I were in Arachova, we were absolutely lost finding it. Mind you, we didn’t have GPS or a working phone so if you’ve got that, you should be ok. The roads leading to the house are extremely narrow through a winding mountain - so be careful when you drive if you’re arriving at night. However, since it’s tucked away from the main city centre you’ll have the best time star gazing your way through the night. Arachova - sights & attractions Arachova is a tiny little town, so there’s not much to do. Wandering around little alleyways and soaking the culture - is all the ‘sightseeing’ you can do and we prefer this over a busy packed day of ticking things off a list. But, if you do want to do something - there’s a clock tower, main bridge and the 246 church steps - as the main “attractions”. Delphi is also about 30 mins away and you can explore the ruins of Delphi as a day trip from Arachova. The main thing however is Skiing! Yes skiing in Greece. It’s absolutely absurd when you think about skiing in Greece and a lot of our friends in London were so skeptical when we said we were going skiing in Greece. Parnasos Ski centre is a well equipped ski centre about 30-40 mins away. (We recommend hiring your ski gear in Arachova for a cheaper rate). It has some great range of ski runs (Baby green - to Expert Blacks) and a day pass is about €15 euros per person. They also have ski and snowboarding lessons for beginners. Both Shankar and I aren’t expert skiers / snowboarders, but we had a great time on the slopes! Arachova / Delphi - where to eat In Arachova, we recommend eating at the top of the 246 steps, behind the church at a tiny restaurant called Panagiṓta. (Also accessible by car if you don’t want to walk up, but be careful of EXTREMELY narrow roads). The restaurant has some great views of the town. Another restaurant you can try is Phterólakka. Food portion sizes are enormous here and they have a funky menu system on large wine bottles. There's also Kaplanis Taverna which is great for large groups for dinner. In Delphi, stop by for coffee at the Delphi cafe, just as you are about to enter the town on your left. Again, absolutely stunning views of the mountain ranges! Overall, Arachova will always hold a special place in my heart - and its all because of Nefeles! You won’t find the postcard view that you know of Greece but you know you’ll experience the truest purest Greek culture in this tiny town. I know we’ll be back here again because when you leave Arachova, you leave a little part of you behind.... Do you like visiting bustling cities or small towns? Have you been to Arachova? What other small towns do you recommend? Leave a comment below or DM us on our Instagram channel @100autumns_
Lots of love V & S
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