Milies owes its fame to a train. In 1903, the narrow-gauge railway from Volos to Milies opened, built by the Italian engineer Evaristo de Chirico, the father of the painter Giorgio de Chirico, who spent part of his childhood in Volos. The track is only sixty centimetres wide, and the little steam train, nicknamed Moutzouris, crawls up the mountain through tunnels, over stone bridges and around the slopes of Pelion, with views of the gulf. The most famous structure on the line is the high stone viaduct at Kalamaki, with its curved arches. The train still runs on some days in summer for tourists, and on those days the village fills with visitors.
Long before the railway, the village was known for something else. In the early nineteenth century, Milies was a centre of Greek learning, home to a school and a library that helped keep the language and culture alive under Ottoman rule, and some of its scholars were figures in the Greek Enlightenment. The library, founded in the early 1800s, still survives, and the village church of the Taxiarchs has fine frescoes and carved woodwork. A fountain and a plane tree stand in the main square, and the stone houses with their wooden balconies lean over narrow lanes.
For motorcyclists, the road up from Volos winds through olive groves and orchards before entering the forest, and it is a pleasant, mostly well-surfaced climb, with plenty of bends and shade. The roads between Milies, Vizitsa and Agios Georgios Nilias are narrower, with patches of rough tarmac, but the traffic is light and the scenery is excellent, with sea views appearing through the trees. It is damp country, and after rain the surface can be slick, with leaves and mud on the bends. In winter, the upper roads may be icy, so spring and autumn are the best seasons.
Pelion is also a land of apples, chestnuts and herbs. The slopes are covered in orchards, and the local honey, sweets and tsipouro are sold in village shops. The area is known for its herbal remedies, a tradition that goes back to the centaur Chiron, the mythical healer who lived on the mountain.
The village has a few tavernas and cafés, serving local pies and stews, and some small shops. For fuel, the nearest sure source is Agria, about twelve kilometres away, or Volos, so fill up before the climb. Weekdays are quieter than weekends.