Church of Christ Saviour and The wider area of Mount Olympus
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
330 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 10
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Ágios Pávlos it runs 330 km to Ágios Pávlos; allow about 5 h 10 of riding. The stops in between: Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu, The wider area of Mount Olympus and back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of Christ Saviour
The Church of Christ the Saviour, Soter in Greek, is one of the smaller Byzantine churches in Thessaloniki, built in the early fourteenth century in the same flowering of art that gave the city its Holy Apostles and Saint Nicholas Orphanos. It stands in the upper part of the old town, a compact building with a central dome and a perimeter walkway on three sides, covered with brick patterns that catch the light. Inside there are fragments of mosaics and frescoes, with delicate faces and soft colours that show the refinement of the Palaiologan court. Many of the paintings were lost when the building was used as a mosque and then as a storeroom.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Christ Saviour is where the day begins. Next is Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu.
2. Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu
Vergina is a small village at the foot of the Pierian mountains in northern Greece, and for most of history nobody outside the region knew its name. That changed in 1977, when the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos opened a great burial mound here and found royal tombs with astonishing grave goods. The site is ancient Aigai, the first capital of the Macedonian kingdom, and one of the tombs is widely attributed to Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The prehistoric settlement and the large cemetery of burial mounds nearby show that people had been living and burying their dead here for a very long time before the Macedonian kings.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu comes up about 71 km into the recorded legs. Next is The wider area of Mount Olympus.
3. The wider area of Mount Olympus
The gods chose well. Mount Olympus rises almost straight out of the Aegean, from sea level near Litochoro to 2,918 metres at Mytikas, its highest summit, in barely twenty kilometres, so that from the coast road it looks less like a mountain than a wall of grey rock and dark forest with clouds snagged on top. The ancient Greeks put their twelve Olympians up there, and on a stormy afternoon with thunder rolling around the peaks you can see why.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Church of Christ Saviour. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of Christ Saviour to Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu
Church of Christ Saviour → Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu is 71 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu to The wider area of Mount Olympus
Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu → The wider area of Mount Olympus is 93 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The wider area of Mount Olympus to back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu
The wider area of Mount Olympus → back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu to Church of Christ Saviour
back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu → Church of Christ Saviour is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.