Tour the neighbourhoods

During the Ottoman times, Kastoria attracted a multitude of people from across the Balkans and beyond, resulting in a diverse, multi-ethnic community. As a result, the city plan was radically transformed. The different ethnic communities, Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek and Jewish, became centred around separate neighbourhoods or ‘quarters’. Two old Greek lakeside quarters, the “Doltso” and “Apozari” neighbourhoods, are among the best-preserved and last remaining traditional quarters of the city.

At a very short distance from the lake, right at the south shore, you’ll encounter the old neighbourhood Doltso, a picturesque corner of the town where buildings date back to the 17th and 18th century, when the city’s economy blossomed due to the fur manufacturing and the trade. Lots of Mansions have been converted into museums, such as Neratzi Aivazi mansion that houses the Folk Art Museum, Emmanouil mansion lodges the Costume Museum, Picheon Mansion houses the museum for the Macedonian struggle etc. Numerous byzantine chapels are next to the big mansions, while walking on the narrow cobblestone streets, you will feel like walking on the paths of the history of the 1th century.