Car Keys & Michelin Keys: Unlocking a different side of Greece.
A self-drive journey through the "wild" north
Most people think Greece begins and ends with islands and beach clubs. Lovely, yes. Complete? Not even close. Head north, collect a set of car keys, and Greece quietly reveals its most compelling side. One shaped by mountains, monasteries, stone villages, and food designed to warm you from the inside out.
This self-drive journey begins in Thessaloniki, Greece’s underrated second city and a brilliant place to ease into the north. It has edge, energy, and a serious food reputation. Cafés spill onto the waterfront, markets buzz with local life, and history layers itself casually into everyday streets. I based myself at ON Residence, right on the promenade. Belle Époque bones, Michelin Key credentials, and views that make lingering over breakfast dangerously easy. Thessaloniki deserves more than a pit stop and this trip makes that immediately clear.
Leaving the city behind, the road turns rural and history hits hard at Vergina, home to the tomb of King Philip II. It is one of those places that sneaks up on you. Subterranean, powerful, and genuinely moving, it sets the tone for what this journey does best. Greece without crowds, but with substance.
From here, the drive climbs into the Pindus Mountains and the wilderness of Valia Kalda National Park. Dense forests, rivers, and stone bridges that once linked remote villages feel a world away from the Aegean. Detours to bridges like Portitsa and Aziz Aga are less about ticking boxes and more about slowing down. Lunch in a village taverna, a fire crackling nearby, mountains pressing in from all sides. This is Greece at its most elemental.
By evening, you reach Ioannina, a city with a darker, moodier beauty. Ottoman echoes, a lakeside glow at dusk, and a sense of mystery that sets it apart from anywhere else in the country. I stayed at Stoes Boutique Hotel, tucked inside the old town. Michelin Key awarded, deeply atmospheric, and warm in a way that feels instinctive rather than polished. Ioannina is the kind of place you plan to “check out” and then immediately plan to return to.
The next days are spent in Zagori, a UNESCO-listed region of 46 stone villages stitched together by ancient footpaths and arched bridges. This is slow travel territory. Viewpoints over Vikos Gorge, coffee in villages like Tsepelovo and Kapesovo, walks across centuries-old bridges, and long lunches fuelled by mushrooms, pies, and local wine. Nights are spent at the mult-Michelin key Aristi Mountain Resort, where villas scatter across the hillside and the views stretch deep into the gorge. It is quiet, expansive, and designed for exhaling.
Then comes Meteora, rising dramatically from the plains like something imagined rather than built. Monasteries perch impossibly atop sheer rock pillars, suspended between earth and sky. Even if you have seen photos, nothing prepares you for standing beneath them. Visiting one or two monasteries here is not about religion alone. It is about perspective, resilience, and the astonishing lengths humans will go to protect what matters.
From Meteora, the road swings south toward Delphi, once believed to be the centre of the world. The sanctuary of Apollo, the theatre, and the stadium unfold across Mount Parnassus with quiet authority. Time slows here. You wander, imagine, and listen to the silence between stones. Nearby Arachova offers a gentler contrast, all alpine charm and artisan shops, should you prefer villages over ruins.
The final drive leads toward Athens, with the option to add a dose of playful adventure via rail biking near Megara before returning the car. It is a fitting transition from mountains back to city life, and a reminder of how varied this journey really is. The final stay was at King George Athens, the “brother” hotel to the Hotel Grande Bretagne next door on Syntagma square.
This self-drive route through northern and central Greece is not about rushing. It is about discovery. About seeing a Greece that most travellers never touch. Rugged, soulful, quietly luxurious, and deeply human…but make sure you rent an automatic car and have Satnav, or access to an unlimited data eSIM.
If this has sparked a “hang on, I didn’t know Greece did that” moment, good. That is exactly the point. And it is exactly the kind of journey The Don’t Forget Travel Group loves to design. Thoughtfully paced, beautifully stayed, and just far enough off the beaten path to feel like you discovered it yourself.