Location, features and tips for a foreign visitor


The University Campus is located about 6 kilometers southwest from downtown Ioannina. The University Campus (and specifically the Rectory Building) is marked in the latest edition of Google Earth as 39°37'14.28" B 20°50'43.45" E.

Public buses regularly run during the day and connect the Campus with several spots of the city.

The city of Ioannina can be plausibly called as the "Greek Switzerland" because of the lake Pamvotis and the surrounding high mountains (many of them more than 2000 meters high), usually covered with snow for more than 6 months per year (click here).

Ioannina, located in northwest Greece, 60 km west from the coastline opposite Corfu, is not actually far from the other big cities of Greece, Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras. Nevertheless, access to the city via driving is somewhat difficult because the network of motorways connecting Ioannina with these three big cities as well the coastal city of Igumenitsa, that is opposite Corfu island, is still under construction. Despitethe long time of driving, the trip itself is magnificent because the road transverses through still wild, virgin and little known landscapes of Greece. Ioannina is connected with Athens International Airport El. Venizelos with 3 flights per day. Public buses ("KTEL") also provide regular connection with all the Greek cities everyday. There is no railway connection.

The city front in the banks of lake and the historical centre are ideal places for walking, socializing, clubbing, shopping, entertainment, dinning, and leisure for all ages. 10.000 out of the 100.000 habitants are university students, rendering Ioannina a joyful and youth city. Gastronomy (e.g. pies, frog legs, Zitsa wines), handicrafts (e.g. silver ones) and a tour to the fortress and the island of Ali-Pasha are special tips for the visitor. Just 10 minutes by car from the University, the ancient sacred spot of Dodone with the stone made theatre (erected in the 3rd century b.C., 18.000 spectators) is a must for all foreigners and Greek visitors. Around Ioannina, the traditional villages of Zagoria with the preserved stone-made houses, hostels and restaurants as well as the unique and amazing stone arc-bridges, the breathtaking Vickos canyon, the amazing virgin mountains of Tzoumerka, and the cosmopolitan alpine city of Metsovo also challenge the visitor. For the more active visitors, installations and clubs for rafting, rock-climbing and other extreme sports are also available in a fly distance from city centre.

For your convenience, please, keep in mind the following National and Local (in Ioannina) as well as University Holidays:

  • 28 October: National Holiday (Resistance against 2nd World War, 1940)
  • 17 November: School Holiday (University students' upraising against military dictatorship, 1973)
  • 24 December - 7 January: Religion-Civil Holiday (Christmas, New Year, Epiphany)
  • 17 January: Local Religious Holiday (Saint George of Ioannina) - Note: This is not a day-off in the University Campus
  • 30 January: School Religious Holiday (Three Holy Hierarchs, Saint-Protectors of Studying)
  • 21 February: Local-Civil Holiday (Liberation of the city of Ioannina, 1912)
  • 25 March: National Holiday (Independence Day, 1821), coinciding with Annunciation of Virgin Mary
  • Monday of Lent: Religious-Holiday (1st day of lent, 7 weeks before Sunday Easter, date varies every year)
  • Easter: Religious Holyday (Good Friday and Easter Monday, courses stop for 2 weeks, 1 week before and 1 after Sunday Easter, dates vary every year)
  • 1 May: Labours Day
  • Whit Monday: Religious Holiday (Holy Spirit, first day after Pentecost, 7 weeks after Sunday Easter, date varies every year in relation to Easter)
  • August: Holidays of the University
  • 15 August: Religious Holiday (Dormition of Virgin Mary)