There are some places that feel bigger than the journey itself, and Mount Olympus is definitely one of them

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Known in Greek mythology as the home of the ancient gods, Olympus is a place where landscape, mythology, history, and everyday life seem to meet. Visiting it from Thessaloniki gave us the chance not only to experience the mountain but also to discover Litochoro and Katerini, two places that are closely connected to the region.

Our journey started by travelling toward Katerini, the main city of Pieria in northern Greece. Katerini is often passed through by travellers on their way to Mount Olympus or the beaches of the Pierian coast, but spending some time there gives a different picture of the region. Compared with Thessaloniki, the city feels smaller, calmer, and much more local. Its pedestrian streets, cafés, small shops, churches, and squares make it an easy place to explore without having a strict plan.

Katerini also functions as an important connection point between the coast, the surrounding villages, and Mount Olympus. In this sense, it is not simply a tourist stop. It is a living regional centre where everyday urban life continues alongside the constant movement of visitors heading toward Olympus. Sitting in the centre, watching people meet for coffee, shop, or simply walk through the streets, we could see a side of northern Greece that is quite different from the more internationally known image of Thessaloniki or the Greek islands.

From Katerini, we continued toward Litochoro, the town located at the foot of Mount Olympus. Almost immediately, the atmosphere changed. Litochoro feels like a meeting point between a mountain village and a small tourist town. Stone buildings, narrow streets, tavernas and cafés sit beneath the enormous presence of Olympus. Even before beginning any hike, simply looking upward from the town makes it clear why this mountain has inspired stories for thousands of years.

Mount Olympus is much more than Greece's highest mountain. In ancient Greek mythology, it was believed to be the residence of the twelve Olympian gods, including Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo and Aphrodite. Because of this, walking around Olympus creates a strange connection between the physical landscape and the stories many of us have known since childhood. The clouds surrounding the higher peaks, the dense forests, deep valleys and rocky cliffs make the mythology suddenly feel less abstract. You begin to understand why ancient communities could imagine gods living somewhere above them.

From Litochoro, there are several ways to experience Olympus depending on time, experience and physical ability. Visitors can explore the lower trails and the Enipeas Gorge, travel higher toward Prionia, or continue toward the mountain refuges and, with proper preparation, the higher peaks. Even without attempting the summit, the journey into the mountain is worth it. The landscape changes constantly, moving between forests, streams, rocky paths and dramatic views.

What I particularly liked was that Olympus did not feel like a place that had been completely transformed into a tourist attraction. Of course, there are hikers, cafés, accommodation and organised activities, but the mountain still dominates everything. Human presence feels temporary compared with the scale of the landscape.

There is also something very social about places such as Olympus. People arrive for very different reasons. Some come for serious hiking and mountaineering, others because of mythology, photography, nature, or simply curiosity. On the trails, these different groups briefly share the same space. You see families, experienced hikers, young travellers and local visitors all moving through the same landscape but experiencing it differently.

After spending time around Olympus and Litochoro, returning toward Katerini created an interesting contrast. In only a short distance, we moved from mythology and mountainous wilderness back into streets, cafés, buses and everyday urban rhythms. That contrast was perhaps one of the nicest parts of the trip.

Visiting Katerini, Litochoro and Mount Olympus together makes much more sense than treating Olympus as an isolated destination. Katerini represents the contemporary urban life of Pieria, Litochoro acts as the threshold between city and mountain, and Olympus brings together ecology, mythology, cultural memory and landscape.

For anyone staying in Thessaloniki and looking for a day trip, this route is a great reminder that Greece is not only about beaches and islands. Northern Greece has mountains, forests, mythology, small cities and landscapes that carry thousands of years of cultural meaning.

For us, the trip was not simply about reaching Mount Olympus. It was about moving through different layers of Greece in a single day: from the streets of Katerini, to the mountain atmosphere of Litochoro, and finally toward a landscape that has occupied both geographical maps and human imagination for centuries.

And perhaps that is what makes Olympus so memorable. You go there knowing that it is a mountain, but you leave understanding why people once imagined it as the home of the gods.