Welcome to this everything-you-need-to-know-guide about visiting the beautiful Meteora Monasteries in Greece.
In our opinion, Meteora is one of the most unique places you can visit in all of Europe, and it surely deserves a spot on any keen traveler’s bucket list.
That being said, we knew absolutely nothing about Meteora until our visit… In fact, we only learned of this incredible UNESCO place a couple of days before our arrival. This means we had no idea about all the important things you need to know before visiting the Meteora monasteries. And let’s be honest… You have to take a couple of things into consideration when visiting a place like Meteora.
So in this guide, we’re going to share EVERYTHING that you should know before visiting the Meteora Monasteries in Greece – such as how to get there, how much does it cost, opening hours, what to wear, hiking trails, sunset spots, information about the monasteries and much more.
We were completely blown away by the beauty of Meteora, and we hope you will be too.
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How to visit the Meteora Monasteries in Greece
This part of the blog post is going to guide you through all the important things to know before you arrive in Meteora.
About the Meteora Monasteries
First things first, let’s dive into a bit of the history behind the Meteora Monasteries in Greece.
The reason why the Meteora Monasteries gained so much popularity compared to many other religious sites in Greece is without a doubt because of the location. All the monasteries, which you can visit today, are located on top of steep rock pillars.
In fact, the whole area is full of amazing rock formations, which creates some extraordinary landscapes.
The story behind the Meteora Monasteries begins in the 11th century. A lot of monks had flocked to Meteora, and they were now beginning to find ways to ascend these massive rock pillars. Many succeeded and started founding monasteries on the top of the cliffs.
The location of the monasteries was ideal for the monks because it meant that they could live their life in solitude without the influence of political issues around the country. Back then, the only way to get into the monasteries was to climb up a ladder, which the monks could draw up whenever they felt threatened.
Two dozen monasteries were eventually built, but only 6 remains today – all of which are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Luckily for us, the monasteries are now open to the public, and we have the opportunity to visit all 6 of them. However, several monks and nuns are still living inside of the monasteries, which means you have to respect the religious conduct during your visit.
How to get to Kalambaka
Kalambaka City is the gateway to Meteora. So unless you’re joining a day tour from Athens or Thessaloniki, you will have to take the train or bus to Kalambaka Station.
If you’re short on time, then a day tour will probably be your ideal way to visit the Meteora Monasteries.
However, if you have the time for it, then I would really suggest you to stay a couple of nights in Kalambaka and take your time exploring the area. You can either catch the train or a bus to Kalambaka from Athens or Thessaloniki. We mostly traveled with train around Greece.
- Related blog posts: Things to do in Thessaloniki & Athens itinerary
How to get to Meteora Monasteries
There are several ways to explore the Meteora Monasteries in Greece. It’s all up to you how you want to see the area. Here are some suggestions (and my own experience) on how to visit the Monasteries of Meteora.
1. Join a tour
If you’re short on time or if you prefer to have a guide to teach you about the monasteries and the area, then you can easily join a tour in Meteora.
There are several different types of tours that you can join in Meteora, here are the best ones I can find:
- Electric bicycle tour: A fun and affordable way to experience the Meteora Monasteries while getting a workout. Prices begin at €45
- Panorama tour by bus: An affordable way to visit 3 out of Meteora’s 6 monasteries. The prices start at €35
- Sunset tour: I saw one of the best sunsets of my life at Meteora Monasteries. Take a sunset tour to the incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site. Prices begin at €35.
- Full day tour of Meteora from Athens: Coming all the way from Athens? Check out this popular full day tour from Athens to Meteora. Prices begin at €123
- Full day tour of Meteora from Thessaloniki: Coming all the way from Thessaloniki? Check out this popular full day tour from Thessaloniki to Meteora. Prices begin at €60
2. Hike to the monasteries
We met a lot of people who hiked all the way up to the monasteries by themselves. It’s a very beautiful area to walk in (more about that at the end of this blog post), so if you’re a keen hiker, then I’d suggest you go by foot.
Just know that you have to gain a lot of elevation to get to the top of the monasteries, so keep that in mind if you’re not used to hiking. You can also book a guided Meteora hiking tour if you don’t want to navigate the trails by yourself.
3. Rent a car or a scooter
We went around the Monasteries of Meteora by scooter. The absolute most fun way to experience a place! (in our opinion).
We paid €20 a day for scooter rental in Kalambaka. The price was a bit steep for Greece, but the rental place was trustworthy. So if you’re looking into renting a scooter that can take you around the monasteries, then check out Hobbyshop Meteora (located just opposite the Holy Rock Hostel)
You can also rent a car in Kalambaka, but we unfortunately don’t have any recommendations for you since we went on a scooter.
The circuit of Meteora
All the monasteries are located in a circuit behind Kalambaka city. This means you can begin your visit from Kalambaka, then visit the monasteries one by one, and end your day back at Kalambaka. However, we’d recommend you not to try and see them all in one single day since that would put you in a rush.
Ask your accommodation, rental company or tour operator to give you a map over the area. That way you can follow the route and decide which monasteries you want to see.
The road in Meteora is well paved, so whether you’re hiking, biking, or taking a scooter or a car, you’ll be fine.
Dress code in Meteora
It’s important that you follow a specific dress code when you’re visiting the Meteora Monasteries.
Like most religious sites, you have to cover your knees and shoulders. However, there are a few extra rules to follow in Meteora.
What should men wear in Meteora Monasteries? At least a t-shirt and long pants. In some monasteries, you can enter while only wearing shorts. But if you want to make sure to get in, then you should wear long pants.
What should women wear in Meteora Monasteries? The official dress code for women is actually a skirt that goes below your knees. You can also wear a t-shirt and long pants, however, you will be asked to cover up your butt… So wear a long skirt/dress or have a scarf ready to tie around your pants.
The 6 Monasteries of Meteora – A Complete Visitor Guide
In this part of the blog post, we’re going to talk about all the monasteries in Meteora. So here are some historical facts, information about opening hours and price, and pictures of the 6 monasteries in Meteora.
1. Saint Nicholas Anapafsas Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of Anapafsas (also known as Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas) is the first monastery, which you have the opportunity to visit on your trip to Meteora. It’s located in the beginning of the Meteora loop, right after you leave Kastraki Town.
Like all the other monasteries, it’s beautifully situated on top of a cliff. So it’s hard not to spot it when you’re working your way up the mountain of Meteora.
Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas was founded in the late 14th century, and it’s still unknown exactly how many monks used to live here. Today, Agios Nikolas Anapafsas is only home to one monk.
It’s also unknown what the name “Anapafsas” refers to. But the theories suggest that the monastery was either named after its founder or a benefactor, or maybe because it was a resting place for the pilgrims, who wanted to make it up the hill to some of the higher monasteries. “Anapafsas” supposedly means “to rest” in Greek.
| Opening Hours 2023 | Ticket Price 2023 |
|---|---|
| April 1st – October 31st: 9 AM – 5 PM November 1st – March 31st: 9 AM – 4 PM (No specific closing day) | €3 entrance fee |
2. Roussanou Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Roussanou is the second monastery you’ll find on your trip around the circuit of Meteora. Roussanou is located on a tall rock pillar and is accessible by stairs and a small footbridge crossing.
The monastery originates from the 14th century and is dedicated to Saint Barbara. Why it’s named Roussanou is still a mystery, but a good guess is that it’s named after the first monk who established the convent and church.
Today, the Holy Monastery of Roussanou is actually a nunnery, and supposedly more than a dozen nuns live here.
Roussanou is smaller than some of the other monasteries, but it’s also less crowded, which of course has its benefits in a popular place like Meteora.
| Opening Hours 2023 | Ticket Price 2023 |
|---|---|
| April 1st – October 31st: 10 AM – 4 PM November 1st – March 31st: 10 AM – 2 PM (Closed on Wednesdays) | €3 entrance fee |
3. Varlaam Monastery
Together with the Great Meteoron Monastery, Varlaam is probably the most popular monastery that people visit. Why? Because it’s sooo beautiful!
Apart from the church, museum, and monastery itself, Varlaam Monastery also has a big terrace overlooking the incredible area of Meteora. We really liked Varlaam a lot, however, it was also very crowded with other visitors.
Varlaam Monastery was named after the first monk who ascended the massive rock pillar in 1350 and who afterwards established the chapel.
It still amazes me how these monks managed to climb the big rock pillars so many years ago without any help or safety equipment. I guess that you just need to have faith! ..and not be afraid of heights.
| Opening Hours 2023 | Ticket Price 2023 |
|---|---|
| April 1st – October 31st: 9 AM – 4 PM November 1st – March 31st: 9 AM – 3 PM (Always closed on Fridays + Thursdays in winter) | €3 entrance fee |
4. Great Meteoron Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron is rightfully named the “greatest” because it happens to be the biggest, the highest, and the oldest one of all the monasteries in Meteora.
Situated on a cliff above the Varlaam monastery, the Great Meteoron is overlooking most of the rock formations in the valley.
The monastery was established in the 14th century by Saint Athanasios, and it’s named “Meteoro”, which means “suspended in the air.”
So now you know why the whole area is named the Meteora Monasteries – basically because they’re all located high in the sky on top of big rock pillars.
The Great Meteoron Monastery really is a must visit on your trip to Meteora! However, make sure to arrive as early as possible since it’s very popular and overcrowded with fellow tourists most of the day.
| Opening Hours 2023 | Ticket Price 2023 |
|---|---|
| April 1st – October 31st: 9 AM – 3 PM November 1st – March 31st: 9:30 AM – 2 PM (Always closed on Tuesdays + Wednesdays & Thursdays in winter) | €3 entrance fee |
5. Holy Trinity Monastery
The Holy Trinity Monastery (also known as Agia Trias) is one of the best monasteries to visit in Meteora. In fact, it was my favorite one!
It’s located a bit further into the circuit of Meteora. And it’s more difficult to get to because you have to climb 140 steps to the entrance, which means that you’ll naturally find fewer tourist in the Holy Trinity Monastery.
The monastery has some amazing viewpoints over the valley. From the top of Agia Trias, you can actually see the whole of Kalambaka city. It’s such a beautiful view!
Just like the other monasteries, Agia Trias was also founded sometime in the 14th century by a couple of monks who managed to conquer the steep cliff.
Apart from its beautiful interior and great viewpoints, the monastery is also known for being featured in the James Bond movie, “For Your Eyes Only”.
| Opening Hours 2023 | Ticket Price 2023 |
|---|---|
| April 1st – October 31st: 10 AM – 4 PM November 1st – March 31st: 10 AM – 4 PM (Closed on Thursdays) | €3 entrance fee |
6. Agios Stefanos Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Agios Stefanos is the last functioning monastery, which you can visit on your trip to Meteora. It’s located at the end of the loop, just after the Holy Trinity Monastery.
Unlike the other monasteries, you don’t need to climb any steps to get here, instead you just need to cross a bridge. So, if you want to avoid walking up stairs, then this monastery might be the best one for you to visit.
We unfortunately never made it into this monastery, but from what we can find online, it’s supposedly built in the 15th century unlike the other monasteries that are built in an earlier century.
Just like Roussanou, Agios Stefanos is also a nunnery, which means that several nuns are living in a sisterhood here today.
It should be very beautiful inside and it has some great views over Kalambaka, so make sure to visit it on your trip to Meteora. I’ll have to save this one for my next visit!
| Opening Hours 2023 | Ticket Price 2023 |
|---|---|
| April 1st – October 31st: 9 AM – 1:30 PM & 3:30 – 5:30 PM November 1st – March 31st: 9:30 AM – 1 PM & 3 PM – 5 PM (Closed on Mondays) | €3 entrance fee |
Things to do in Meteora (apart from visiting monasteries)
All right! Now that we’ve covered things to know before your trip to Meteora and a small visitor guide to all the monasteries, it’s time to look at what else there is to do in this incredible area of Greece.
So here is a small guide on where to find the best sunset spots and hiking trails in Meteora.
Best sunset in Meteora
Meteora is located several hundred meters above sea level, which means you can find some incredible sunset spots in the area.
The 2 most popular places to watch the sunset are from two viewpoints located on the road between Varlaam Monastery and the Holy Trinity Monastery. You’ll find two massive rocks, which you can walk onto. From here you can find a spot to watch the sunset.
We watched the sunset on the big rock closest to The Holy Trinity Monastery, and it was just incredibly beautiful! (Though it’ll be a bit eerie if you’re afraid of heights like me…)
You can either do a sunset tour from Kalambaka or go by yourself. We went by ourselves on our rental scooter and arrived at the sunset rock about 50 minutes before the actual sunset. Please come early if you want to find a good spot to sit and watch the sunset.
The sunset in Meteora is among some of the best we’ve ever seen! So don’t miss out on this experience.
- Related blog post: How to watch the sunset in Meteora
Hiking trails in Meteora
There are several hiking trails in Meteora. So, if you’re a keen hiker, then you should really look into spending a day on the trails. You can either do a guided hiking tour from Kalambaka or try to navigate the trails by yourself.
We went by ourselves and did a mix of riding our scooter to trailheads and following the trails from a downloaded map on Maps.me. We eventually hiked two different trails in Meteora, both of which we can really recommend.
- Have a look at our hiking blog posts before your trip: Day hike packing list & Hiking for beginners
Meteora Hike 1: Great Meteoren Monastery to Ypapantí Monastery
On the first hike, we followed a trail starting from the parking lot of the Great Meteoron Monastery to the Ypapantí Monastery.
This hiking trail took us past a viewpoint of some great rock formations, then through a forest, and ended at the incredible Ypapantí Monastery. This monastery is a bit different than the 6 other ones in Meteora because it’s built directly into the cliff.
It was a great short hike that took a small hour to complete.
Meteora Hike 2: Agias Nikolaos Anapafsas Monastery to Monks’ Prison Cave
The second hike we did followed a small trail which began just before the parking lot of Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas Monastery and ended at the mystic cave named Monks’ Prison.
The Monks’ Prison was an old prison cave where the naughty monks got sent to if they did something bad or if they needed to be reminded of what was proper religious conduct.
We don’t know if you can go deep into the cave. We honestly didn’t try because it felt a bit… creepy. But surely any dark tourist enthusiast must visit this place.
This small hike took less than an hour to complete.
We really hope you found this guide to visiting the Meteora Monasteries useful. Meteora is honestly one of our favorite places in Greece, and we really want to go back someday and explore the last monasteries and more hiking trails.
If you have any questions about visiting Meteora, then please ask us in the comments below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and happy travels!
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Hi. May I ask if visiting these monasteries would entail a lot of walking? Your pictures are beautiful and your blog is quite specific and helpful to us future travelers.
Thank you
Hi Yvette Marie, thank you for your nice comment. Glad to hear my blog is of help!
Visiting the monasteries do entail some walking. It’s not a lot, but it’s surely some. You’ll do most of the walking when climbing the steps to the monasteries. So if you’re having trouble with walking, then maybe just choose the easy accessible Agios Stefanos Monastery, so you don’t strain yourself 🙂 Enjoy beautiful Meteora!
I am not really fit, and me and my husband would love to do this. How many steps are involved to see most of the monasteries? I know one has 140 steps, which I don’t think I could do. Is that significantly more than the others or do you have to walk up a lot of stairs to see all of them?
Dear Kaitlyn, thanks for your question. Whether you can visit the monasteries or not, the road is still breathtakingly beautiful, so I’ll urge you to go anyways! Also make sure to visit during sunset when the landscapes are extra beautiful.
You can definitely see Agios Stefanos, which has no stairs (it’s even wheelchair-friendly). The rest of the monasteries unfortunately requires you to walk the 140 steps or more.
What you could do, is maybe just choose the Great Meteoron Monastery. Yes, there are a lot of steps involved, but once you get there, you have a lot of things to see (it’s the biggest monastery). So if you think you could manage walking up to one of the monasteries, then I would recommend this one. Of course, I don’t know your history and if it’s even possible for you. But I do know that nobody would mind you to stop and take breaks during the ascend. In fact, I saw many people having a hard time with the steps.
Best of luck and enjoy Meteora!
Hello. How much time is needed to visit/see each of the monastery starting from walking/climbing up the stairs, seeing the interior, etc.? I’d like to calculate roughly how much time/day(s) I’d need to spend in Meteora. Thank you.
Hi Pauline, that’s a great question. However, I think that how long time you will need differs from monastery to monastery. For example Roussanou Monastery only takes 20-30 minutes whereas the Great Meteoron could take 1-2 hours.
I would say that 2 days are enough to see them all without rushing through it. You could actually visit them all in 1 day but it might be a bit stressful. It’s such a beautiful place, so take your time if you can. Thank you for your question and enjoy Meteora! 🙂 Best, Cecilie.
Is there any chance of attending Mass, service, at any of the monasteries?
Thank you,
Olive
Hi Olive, great question.
However, I don’t think I can be of help here. I haven’t seen or heard anything about being able to attend mass in the monasteries. All I can find online is something about attending the Easter ceremonies.
My guess will be that you cannot attend mass at the monasteries, but maybe ask some of the locals in Meteora.
Best of luck, Cecilie 🙂
The Great Meteoron Monastery… are the stairs very steep and are there handrails?
If you cannot make the climb is there a place to sit by the parking lot so you could wait for friends who can make the climb? Thank you.
Hi Karen, the stairs can be a bit steep at times, but you can use the wall as a handrail. There is no particular handrail built into the walls surrounding the stairs. If you’re not up for it, then there is a great little spot to sit at by the parking lot where you can overlook the beautiful monastery. Plus, you can find a truck selling snacks and drinks here as well 🙂 Enjoy your trip! X Cecilie.
Hi Cecilie, thank you for writing this post!
May I know if the trail from the Great Meteoren Monastery to Ypapantí Monastery is easy to follow? Are there route markers along the way?
Hi Joy, you’re much welcome! I hope you found it helpful 🙂 There are no markers, no. But we found it pretty easy to follow.
You can always download an offline map over the trail. We found and followed the trail on the app Maps.me.
Best of luck, Cecilie.
Hi, I’m planning to visit the place. How about the restroom? Is there accessible around the place during walking tour?
Ramon
How much is the budget to Greece tour? And also the price of group tour.
Ramon.