A Metsovo food tour leads you through a stone mountain town in the Pindus to taste its smoked cheese, its wine and its hearty cooking. Find more food trips across the mainland on Greece Tours.
Below are the walks on offer, each stop, the cheese and the winery, the dishes, the roads up, a plan for the day, the best season and the questions guests raise.
What is a Metsovo food tour?
A Metsovo food tour takes you on foot through the mountain town of Metsovo, in Epirus, with tastings of its smoked cheeses, a cellar visit and wine at the Katogi Averoff winery, and a lunch of local dishes. The bookable walk lasts about 4 hours.
Metsovo stands high in the Pindus mountains of northern Greece, on the route from Ioannina across to Meteora, at an altitude of roughly 1,160 metres. It is the largest centre of Aromanian, or Vlach, life in Greece, and a hub for the small villages around it.
Food is central to the town’s fame. Wikipedia notes that Metsovo is famous for its local cheeses and for its winemaking, including the Katogi vineyard of the Averoff family. A Metsovo food tour brings these two products together in one walk, with stops at a museum and a gallery on the way.
The walk keeps to the old centre. Metsovo is a town of steep streets, stone houses, tiled roofs, carved wood and fountains, with views over the Pindus. A Metsovo food tour climbs these lanes between tastings. Our Metsovo tours page covers the town’s history, its square and its day trips.
Which Metsovo food tour can you book?
A 4-hour private food, wine and culture walk in Metsovo is listed on GetYourGuide. Gastronomy Tours sells the same walk as semi-private or private for up to 6 people, and both versions include a tasting at the Katogi Averoff winery.
The GetYourGuide listing is called “Metsovo: Private Food, Wine & Culture Walking tour”. It promises a town that excites the senses with its tastes, smells, traditions and natural beauty. The walk lasts 4 hours and runs as a private group. It offers free cancellation and must be booked at least 8 hours ahead.
The meeting point is the bear statue in Metsovo. Hotel transfers are not part of the Metsovo food tour, so guests make their own way to the town. Metsovo App, an independent guide to the town, describes the walk as a good choice for travellers who want a guide to plan the food stops for them.
Gastronomy Tours gives the details of the walk. It covers 1.8 km at an easy level with a maximum of 6 people. Children from 5 years old can join with at least two adults. The tour ends at a different point from where it starts, and the guide gives clear directions back.
Its list of inclusions is short and clear:
- access behind the scenes at selected venues
- tastings of local food and drinks
- a guided tour and wine tasting at the Katogi Averoff winery
- umbrellas for rainy weather
Epirus Adventures runs the walk sold on Gastronomy Tours. Since its start in 2018, the operator has grown from mountain day trips in Zagori, Tzoumerka and Metsovo. It now offers a range of food walks across Epirus, and the Metsovo food tour is its mountain version.
Which stops does a Metsovo food tour make?
The walk starts with cheese tastings in the village square, visits the Tositsa Museum and the Averoff Gallery, tours the cellars of the Katogi Averoff winery and ends with a lunch of traditional Metsovo dishes.
The first stop is the central square. Here the group tastes the traditional cheeses of Metsovo, handmade by local producers, with the mountains in view. The square is the heart of the town, with cafes, tavernas and shops under huge plane trees and the Church of Agia Paraskevi close by.
Culture comes next on the Metsovo food tour. The guide leads the group to the Tositsa Museum, the folk art museum housed in the old mansion of the Tositsa family. Its collection includes old costumes, jewellery and coins. The Averoff Gallery follows, with its paintings by Greek artists.
The winery is the highlight of the walk. At Katogi Averoff, the group explores the cellar, hears from the experts how the wine is made and tastes some of the finest wines produced in Metsovo. The tasting gives the walk its “wine” in the title.
The Metsovo food tour ends at the table. The final stop is a hearty tasting of traditional Metsovo dishes, made from local ingredients. Gastronomy Tours lists this lunch among the highlights of the day, so guests arrive hungry.
Why is Metsovone the star of a Metsovo food tour?
Metsovone is a smoked, semi-hard cheese made in Metsovo and protected in the EU since 1996. Its smoky flavour makes it the best-known taste of the town.
The cheese belongs to the pasta filata family, the group of cheeses whose curd is stretched before shaping. After shaping, Metsovone is smoked. Makers use cow’s milk, or a mix of cow’s milk with sheep’s or goat’s milk. The EU has listed it as a Protected Designation of Origin since 1996.
Metsovone has a partner. Metsovela is the second cheese of the town, and the two together rank among Metsovo’s most popular food attractions. Both come from the cheese factory of the Tositsa Foundation in Metsovo, an institution tied to the town’s great benefactors.
Shops on the square sell the cheeses to visitors, alongside pasta, wine and herbs. Ioannina App, a local travel guide, suggests buying Metsovone before you leave and asking for it to be packed for the journey. It adds that the softer Metsovella makes a good second cheese to compare.
A Metsovo food tour gives the context behind the counter. The tasting in the square comes from local producers, so guests taste the cheese where it is made.
What happens at the Katogi Averoff winery on a Metsovo food tour?
The group tours the cellars of Katogi Averoff, learns how the wine is made and tastes the winery’s mountain wines. The estate traces back to Evangelos Averoff, who planted vineyards on the abandoned land of Metsovo.
Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza was a Greek politician from an Aromanian family of Metsovo. He led the New Democracy party from 1981 to 1984 and served as minister of national defence. In Metsovo, he headed the Tositsas foundation for four decades, and the town honoured him with a statue in the central square.
Averoff also turned to wine. He invested in local vineyards, planting the abandoned fields of Metsovo, and created a modern winery. Greek Edition, a travel site, says the winery has been closely linked with the revival of vine growing around Metsovo since the second half of the 20th century.
The cellar visit has a calm feel. Ioannina App describes cool, softly lit cellars and the rows of barrels, and calls the visit a look at the story of modern Greek mountain wine. On a Metsovo food tour, the guide adds the wine-making process and the tasting.
A few practical points help. Katogi Averoff offers cellar tours and organised tastings, and its daytime cellar visits end in the afternoon. Drivers can join the cellar tour without the full tasting. Guests who want to buy a bottle find the winery the best place to choose one.
Which dishes does a Metsovo food tour serve?
Mountain cooking rules the table in Metsovo: pies, cheese, grilled meats, sausages and slow-cooked dishes. The Metsovo food tour closes with a tasting of these traditional recipes, made from local ingredients.
Greek Edition describes the town’s food as a mirror of its mountain setting. Pies, cheese, grilled meats, sausages and slow-cooked dishes appear on menus all year, and above all in the colder months. The cooking suits a town where snow covers the slopes in winter.
Grilled meat has a famous home in Metsovo. Ioannina App points to a taverna called 5F for kontosouvli, large pieces of meat roasted on a spit until the crust turns deep brown. The meat arrives on ladokolla, an oiled paper, rather than on plates, with fries, feta and house wine.
The same taverna appears in other guides. Travel Food People calls Ta Pente Phi the most famous taverna in Metsovo, known for its range of meat and for serving it on paper without dishes. A Metsovo food tour lunch keeps to this style of local cooking.
Shops round out the picture. Along the lanes, they display cheeses, pasta, wine, herbs and other products of the region. Guests on a Metsovo food tour can stock up once the walk is over.
Why does Metsovo food taste of the mountains?
Metsovo grew as a town of Aromanian herders and merchants high in the Pindus. Its dairy, meat and pies come from that herding life, from a climate with heavy rain all year and from winters cold enough for a ski resort nearby.
Herding shaped the town. Wikipedia describes a class of travelling shepherds, the algi, who kept large flocks and also worked as woodcarvers. Today, cheese and carved wood remain two of the crafts most closely linked with the town.
Trade made the town rich. Metsovites took part in the commerce of the Ottoman Empire and of Europe, and merchants from the town set up trading houses in distant cities. Much of their income flowed back home as charity and investment, and benefactors from these families later funded the town’s foundation, gallery and museum.
The climate adds its own stamp. Rain falls heavily all year, with a drier spell in summer. Snow comes in winter, and Metsovo is a popular winter resort and ski town. Hearty, slow-cooked food suits these conditions, and a Metsovo food tour tastes the results.
The town’s two names hint at its mixed past. In Aromanian it is called Aminciu, and an old Aromanian song runs “From Metsovo to Milea”. Ask your guide on the Metsovo food tour to explain the Vlach words for the dishes you taste.
How do you get to Metsovo for a food tour?
Metsovo lies about 50 km east of Ioannina, around 45 minutes by car on the Egnatia Odos motorway. Buses run from Ioannina, but with few departures, so a car or a tour with pick-up gives more freedom.
The motorway makes the trip easy. The A2, the Egnatia Odos, has two exits at Metsovo. National Road 6, from Ioannina to Trikala, also serves the town. In the 1980s, a tunnel near Metsovo was built that was then the longest in Greece, taking traffic off the town’s twisting roads.
Winter needs care. Metsovo sits much higher than Ioannina, so snow, ice or fog can affect the roads even when the weather in the city seems mild. Greek Edition advises checking the forecast and road conditions before you leave Ioannina.
The bus is possible but limited. Connections run between Ioannina and Metsovo, but the timetables do not always give the freedom a full day needs. Since the Metsovo food tour does not include hotel transfers, guests without a car plan the bus times carefully or book a tour with pick-up.
The GetYourGuide “Full-day excursion to the unique Metsovo” offers that pick-up. It lasts 8 hours as a private group. Its listing describes Metsovo as the most elegant main village of the Pindus, built like an amphitheatre at an altitude of 1,150 metres.
How do you plan a day around a Metsovo food tour?
Walk the village before the big meal, make lunch the centre of the day and keep the afternoon light. Metsovo App suggests starting late morning with Katogi or the village walk, depending on when you arrive.
Metsovo App, an independent guide to the town, gives a clear plan for one day. Arrive and start with either the winery or the square. Walk the lanes, the small shops and the first viewpoints before lunch, while your energy is high. Then let one real meal anchor the middle of the day.
The afternoon works best when it stays light. Choose the Averoff Gallery, one cheese stop or a long coffee. Ioannina App suggests a walk through the stone alleys around the church of Agia Paraskevi after lunch, watching for the carved wooden details as the road climbs.
The Metsovo food tour fits this rhythm well. It covers the square, the museum, the gallery, the winery and lunch in about 4 hours. That leaves the late afternoon free for shopping or a quiet walk before the drive back to Ioannina.
Summer evenings bring events. Ioannina App advises checking whether a village festival or performance is on before you set your return time. A summer event can turn a Metsovo food tour into an overnight stay.
Who suits a Metsovo food tour?
A Metsovo food tour suits food and wine lovers, culture fans and families with children aged 5 and over. The walk is easy, covers 1.8 km and keeps groups to 6 people or fewer.
The walking is light. Gastronomy Tours grades the 1.8 km route as easy, with long stops for tasting, the museum and the gallery. Metsovo’s streets are steep, but the walk keeps to the old centre and pauses at each tasting.
Families can come. Children from 5 years old can join when at least two adults come with them. The cheese tasting and the lunch suit younger guests, while the wine tasting at Katogi Averoff is for the adults.
Small groups make the walk personal. The semi-private format caps the group at 6 people, and the private format keeps the Metsovo food tour for your own party. The GetYourGuide listing runs as a private group.
Drivers have an option at the winery. Greek Edition notes that a designated driver can still tour the cellars without taking part in the full tasting. That lets a family drive up from Ioannina and still enjoy the whole Metsovo food tour.
When is the best time for a Metsovo food tour?
A Metsovo food tour runs all year, from January to December. Winter adds snow and the ski slopes of Anilio nearby, while summer brings village events and easier roads.
Gastronomy Tours lists the walk as active in every month. The operator supplies umbrellas on rainy days, which matters in a town with heavy rain all year. Greek Edition notes that pies and slow-cooked dishes appear most on menus in the colder months.
Winter has its own pull. Metsovo is a popular winter destination, and the Anilio ski area lies about 5 km away. Ioannina App advises giving Anilio its own place in the day rather than squeezing it in after a heavy lunch.
Summer is the easier season for roads. It also brings festivals and performances in the village. Check the events calendar before you set your return time, since an evening event can make it worth staying the night after your Metsovo food tour.
Whatever the season, check opening times close to the date. Metsovo App advises confirming road conditions, weather, snow access, winery and museum hours and restaurant openings before you commit to the day.
Which other food trips pair with a Metsovo food tour?
GetYourGuide lists an off-road trip with a cooking lesson in the Valia Calda forest and a culinary city tour of Ioannina. The same operator runs food walks in Ioannina and a truffle hunt in East Zagori.
The Valia Calda trip goes deep into the Pindus. It leaves Ioannina with pick-up and spends 8 hours on forest tracks in a private 4×4. The day includes a short hike, a traditional meal cooked by the guests and a swim in the natural pools of the Arkoudorema river.
Ioannina has its own food walk. The GetYourGuide Culinary City Tour Ioannina lasts 4 hours as a private group and promises a varied taste of the best of the city. Epirus Adventures also runs a city food walk in Ioannina, and a version of it adds a cooking class.
Truffles are the last option. The operator’s East Zagori truffle hunt ends with a cooking session. Paired with a Metsovo food tour, these trips make a full food holiday in Epirus. Our Preveza food tour page covers the seafood walk on the coast.
What do travellers ask about a Metsovo food tour?
How long is a Metsovo food tour?
The GetYourGuide walk lasts 4 hours. It covers about 1.8 km, from the square to the final lunch stop.
Where does the Metsovo food tour start?
The walk meets at the bear statue in Metsovo. It ends at a different point, and the guide gives directions back.
What cheese do you taste on a Metsovo food tour?
The tasting centres on Metsovone, the smoked semi-hard cheese of the town, with Metsovela and other local cheeses beside it.
Is wine included on a Metsovo food tour?
Yes. A guided tour and wine tasting at the Katogi Averoff winery is part of the walk.