City life - Festivals

Ioannina is the biggest city of the Province of Epirus (111.000 inhabitants) and one of the biggest student-cities in Greece with 18 departments and more than 15.000 students. So you can imagine that it is a city based (economy and life) on the students, who give life to the city. It is a quite small city, if you think that all the distances are maximum 30min from the city center and you can walk them. Ioannina is an old city -with quite a history- with a castle and old scenic neighborhoods with small paved streets; clean and cheap enough, for the student life. You can find many cafeterias and bars, especially near the lake and the castle. About nightlife, there are some clubs in different city spots and many, MANY “tsipouradika”. What is a “tsipouradiko”? It is a small (or sometimes big) taverns, cheap, that serve the traditional alcoholic beverage, the so called tsipouro. But also some other traditional drinks, like ouzo, rakomelo, retsina, etc. All that, accompanied by “mezedes”; small dishes with a portion of food to eat, while drinking, most of the time for free!. There are also many choices to go for food, from nice restaurants and taverns to fast food restaurants, where you can taste the Greek gyros, but also crepes, burgers etc. As an alternative you can go to the cinema or for bowling and billiard at the Paralimnio Entertainment Park, a few kilometers outside the city center. And if you like culture or music, you can find live concerts quite often and many cultural events, or theater. If you have a big umbrella and good mood you are ready to enjoy Ioannina!