A UNESCO World Heritage Site, half an hour from the hotel.
About 33 kilometres from Driades Hotel, roughly 30–35 minutes by car, lies Vergina — one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. It is perhaps the most popular day trip for those of our guests who love history.
Here, in ancient Aigai, capital of the Macedonian kingdom, the unlooted tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, was discovered in 1977. The Polycentric Museum of Aigai houses the royal tombs exactly where they were found, together with gold grave goods, weapons and the famous gold larnax bearing the sixteen-rayed Vergina Sun. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The same ticket is also valid for the Archaeological and Byzantine Museums of Veria, so many visitors combine the two towns on the same day, using our hotel as a convenient base.
The site is not only about the royal tombs. The single ticket also covers the Palace of Aigai — the largest building of classical Greece, reopened to the public after years of restoration — and the ancient theatre right next to it, where Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC, shortly before the campaign into Asia. Along the same route lies the necropolis with the royal cluster of the Temenids.
In practical terms, a complete visit takes at least two to three hours if you want to see all four sites at a relaxed pace. The Museum of the Royal Tombs is underground, with low lighting and a constant temperature — bring something warm even in summer. Mornings, especially on weekdays, are noticeably quieter; leaving the hotel around 9, you have plenty of time to see the site and be back for lunch.
The drive itself deserves a mention. The road from Naoussa to Vergina crosses the plain of Imathia, one of the largest peach and cherry growing areas in Europe. If you are here in late March or April, you will drive through thousands of acres of trees in blossom — a sight that alone justifies the trip, with snow-capped Mount Vermio closing the horizon behind you. In autumn the same route changes colour completely, and combined with the vineyards of Naoussa it becomes one of the loveliest short drives in Macedonia.
Here rests Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.
