Volos & its Guitar Festival: a guitarist's travel guide
Volos International Guitar Festival · Volos, Greece
On the Aegean coast at the foot of Mount Pelion, the port city of Volos hosts one of Greece's oldest and most established guitar festivals, founded by the guitarist Costas Cotsiolis. It brings international artists and a competition to a relaxed seaside setting, wrapped in the easy pleasures of a Greek summer by the water.
Getting there
Volos is reached by train from Athens or Thessaloniki with a change at the Larissa junction, roughly four to five hours from Athens. The small Nea Anchialos airport (VOL) is nearest, with Athens (ATH) and Thessaloniki (SKG) offering wider connections.
Compare trains, buses & flights to Volos on Omio →
Where to stay
Stay along the waterfront and you can stroll between the concerts, the harbour and the tsipouro bars that give the city its character. Volos is unpretentious and warm, a comfortable base for exploring Pelion.
An interactive map of hotels, apartments and B&Bs across Booking, Expedia, Airbnb and more, centred on Volos.
See stays in Volos →What you'll hear
The festival gathers international guitarists for recitals and masterclasses alongside its competition, with composers often in attendance and new music in the air. Leo Brouwer, closely tied to the event, is among the figures who have appeared over the years. Do check the official site for the current programme, as details vary from edition to edition.
If you play as well as listen, explore Leo Brouwer, closely tied to the festival on Sheet Music Plus →
Where to eat
Volos is famous for its tsipouradika, where a glass of tsipouro spirit comes with small plates of seafood meze. Look out for spetzofai too, the local stew of spicy sausage and peppers from the Pelion villages above.
While you're there
The stone villages of Mount Pelion, Makrinitsa and Portaria among them, cling to the slopes just above the city with sweeping views over the gulf. Further afield, the clifftop monasteries of Meteora make a spectacular longer trip. A rental car makes the day trips simple, and GetYourGuide lists guided tours and tickets across the region.
Enter the pieces you play, and GuitarComp shows how your programme maps to this competition's rounds and which other events you qualify for.
See full competition details →Competition dates, deadlines and the current compulsory work change each edition, so always confirm at the official site: volosinternationalguitarfestival.com.