A different kind of day, spent by taking a trip on the little train of Pelion, designed in the late 1800s by the father of the famous painter Giorgio De Chirico, who was born in Volos during the construction of this short railroad.
And these images of his childhood influenced him remarkably, making the trains one of the recurring symbols in his paintings.
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The little train of Pelion, initially built to connect Volos to Milies now only runs on the approximately 16km long stretch from Ano Lechonia to Milies and only from May to October. The journey takes about an hour and a half, including the fifteen minutes stop of at the intermediate station of Ano Gatzea. The departure from Ano Lechonia is at 10 am, and return from Milies is at 3 pm, every day in the summer and only on weekends during less touristic months. The cost is 10 € for one way and 18 € A/R (respectively € 10 and € 6 for children under 12 years).
In summer time it can be difficult to find a seat, best to arrive at least half hour before departure and hope that the train has not been booked by some group …
You can leave the motorhome in the parking lot of the station of Ano Lechonia [39.32545,23.05352]. During the stop in Ano Gatzea you will have time to visit the museum of the olive (free entry) and once in Milies follow the path that leads to the village and you’ll have the time for a pleasant tour and also to sit down to eat something before you go.
Once you get to Milies do not leave before witnessing the ingenious maneuver to reverse the locomotive!
A nice alternative is to take the train in the morning and to walk back following the railway line up to the middle station of Ano Gatzea, where you can wait for the train for returning to the base. The route is 9 kilometers and it is virtually all flat and easily walkable in less than two hours, including the stops to take pictures and enjoy the scenery 😉
For those who do not want to walk for two hours, it is still worthwhile to follow the rails until the iron bridge, called of De Chirico. It doesn’t take more than ten minutes and the view is awesome.
We chose to take the train from Ano Gatzea to Milies and to walk back, but I would not recommend it. Parking in Ano Gatzea is problematic and you have to walk half a kilometer uphill to get to the station. Arriving at which we realized, however, a particular feature of this railway: in many of its sections it also functions as a road for vehicles, since there is not another way to reach certain spots, even important ones, as the train station itself!
Following some pictures from our walk back…
… and here we are back at Ano Gatzea 🙂
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