Palaios (Old) Panteleimonas is a restored stone village on the eastern slopes of Mount Olympus. It’s only about fifteen minutes, and almost 500 metres above sea level, from the Platamonas coast. Its shady square features a huge old plane tree, the church of Agios Panteleimon, and a few tavernas and shops selling local honey and tsipouro. It makes an easy half-day trip for families staying by the sea. From Cronwell Platamon Resort, you can spend the morning at the Splash Park and then head to the mountains for a long village lunch. Book direct at platamon.cronwell.gr.
Not surprisingly, Palaios Panteleimonas is one of the most photographed villages on Mount Olympus. Pretty stone houses with small wooden balconies climb a steep, forested slope on the eastern side of the mountain, high enough to look out over the Aegean. The first houses were built around the 14th century by craftsmen from Epirus using stone quarried on the mountain. By the 1950s, hard winters had emptied the village as most families moved down to the newer village, closer to the beach. From around 1980, it was carefully restored and is now protected as a traditional settlement for its architecture. The village was the location for Theo Angelopoulos’s 1980 film Alexander the Great, and film crews have kept coming back ever since.
From Platamonas beach, it is a short climb inland, only about fifteen minutes and 10 kilometres by car up a winding mountain road. Take it slowly; the bends are tight and the views are wonderfully distracting.
There is a designated parking area right at the entrance to the settlement, cars cannot enter the old lanes. You walk the last stretch up into the square. The village pairs naturally with a stop at the Castle of Platamon, which sits on the same hillside between the village and the sea.
A centuries-old plane tree throws shade over the village’s square. The church of Agios Panteleimon, which gave the village its name, stands on one side, and the old schoolhouse has become a guesthouse.
Around the square are tavernas and a traditional café with tables spilling out under the leaves. The cobbled lanes are lined with small shops selling jars of local honey, bottles of tsipouro, and sweets to take home. Palaios Panteleimonas is perfect for a leisurely day wandering around, poking around the lanes, and enjoying a long lunch with a view over the gulf. If you like walking, forest trails lead off into the lower slopes of Olympus. The village is also a well-known spot for paragliding down toward the coast.
The tavernas and café around the square serve mountain cooking, with savoury pies, grilled and slow-cooked traditional dishes, syrupy sweets, and tsipouro to finish. Tables under the plane tree, a long lunch, and the sea far below: that is the whole experience.
The village works best as a half-day trip. On the same hillside above the coast sits the Castle of Platamon, so you can pair the two on the way up or down, perhaps for sunrise or sunset. Below, the beach at Neos Panteleimonas is an easy stop. The archaeological park at Dion and the town of Litochoro are both a short drive away.
In summer the village also holds its festival around 26 to 27 July celebrating the feast of Agios Panteleimon. The traditional panigyri affords visitors food, music and dancing that spill through the square into the night. It is a wonderful thing to catch, and a busy one, so plan well in advance if that is your reason for going.
The village is worth visiting in any season. Spring and autumn are cool, green, and the most comfortable for walking the lanes. Summer days can be hot, so many families come in the late afternoon when the square catches a breeze and the light turns gold on the stone. In winter it is quiet and beautiful, though some tavernas and shops have shorter hours or close completely. Check before making the drive.
The cobbles and slopes are steep and uneven in places, making the village harder for pushchairs but easier for small legs that can walk. Wear flat shoes and plan to use the square as your base.
The easiest way to enjoy Palaios Panteleimonas is to base yourself on the coast below and visit the village in the morning or afternoon.
Cronwell Platamon Resort sits right on the beach at the foot of the hill, so a single day can include both halves of this coast, the Splash Park and the sea in the morning, and the mountains with a village lunch afterward. Because the resort is all-inclusive, lunch in the village is a treat you choose. The children can be back in the water by mid-afternoon.
On the eastern slopes of Mount Olympus in Pieria, high above the Platamonas coast and the newer village of Neos Panteleimonas.
About a fifteen-minute drive up a winding mountain road from the Platamonas beach. Park at the edge of the village and walk up into the square.
Yes. The shady square, the plane tree and the tavernas make it an easy, low-key outing. The steep, cobbled lanes are not great for pushchairs.
Wander the square and lanes, eat a long lunch, shop for local honey and tsipouro, take in the views over the sea and the castle, and walk a little way into the forest.
Absolutely. The feast of Agios Panteleimon around 26 and 27 July brings a lively traditional panigyri. Confirm the current dates before planning around it.
The village is there year-round, but some tavernas and shops run shorter winter hours (most tend to be open at the weekend) or close completely, so it is worth checking before you go.
Easily, the Castle of Platamon is on the same hillside, and Neos Panteleimonas beach, ancient Dion and Litochoro are all close by.
