Katerini is a city in Greece, located in Macedonia and it is the capital of the prefecture of Pieria. The homonymous municipal district has, according to the 2011 census, 85,851 inhabitants. It is located on the Pierian hill, between the Pieria Mountains and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude of 14-45 m. It is located 68 km far from Thessaloniki, which has proved beneficial for the development of Katerini in recent years. It is a transport hub and is crossed by a modern motorway (National Road 1).
Sightseeing
The city of Katerini
Olympic Beach, the award-winning beach with the blue flag
In Olympic Coast, you will find hotels and rooms to let, with excellent service, the best restaurants and tavernas as well as a rich nightlife for all tastes. Sandy coast, for several kilometers, with fine, clean sand and shallow sea. It is awarded annually with the Blue Flag of Europe and every summer it is flooded by a lot of tourists.
The Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, known worldwide for its mythological significance, as the residence of the Twelve “Olympian” Gods (Mytikas-2.918 m) according to the religion of the ancient Greeks. It is the second highest mountain in the Balkans, but also in the entire European region from the Alps to the Caucasus. Its compact massif dominates imposingly on the borders of Macedonia and Thessaly, with a series of high hilltops carving deep gorges, around which extends an area of particular biodiversity. For the protection of this unique heritage, it was declared Greece’s first National Park as early as 1938.
The Castle of Platamonas
The Castle of Platamonas is a castle of the Frankish occupation[1][2], which was built on the site of a fortified town in the Middle Byzantine period[3]. It is located southeast of Mount Olympus, in a short distance from the current town of Platamonas, at a strategic position that controls the Macedonia – Thessaly – Southern Greece road. It is the best preserved castle of north-central Greece[1], with its impressive main tower dominating the National Road.
The city of Zeus
Dion (former name Malathria) is a large settlement in the municipality of Dion – Olympus and belongs to the prefecture of Pieria. Dion was an ancient city of strategic importance and one of the most famous Macedonian states. The geographical location of ancient Dion is placed at the eastern foothills of Mount Olympus, where the homonymous town of Dion is located today. As Strabo and Livy testify, Dion ‘is not a city on the seashore of the Thermaic Gulf in the foothills of Mount Olympus, but seven stadia away’. The first written reference to Dion is in Thucydides, who mentions it as the first city through which the Sparta general Brasidas passed in 424 BC.