The city of Karditsa is in Southwestern Thessaly. It is the capital of Karditsa prefecture, built next to a branch of Pinios river.

The city was settled in the early 17th century whereas its name comes either from the word ‘kariditsa’ (small walnut) or from the Slavic word ‘gradtitsa’ (town). Others associate Karditsa with an old town in Kopaida, by the same name. Due to its location Karditsa was a place for travelers to rest, and a commercial center.

The city of Karditsa was the first to have been liberated from the Germans during the 2nd World War. (September 2, 1943)

Today it is a financial, administrative and cultural center of the prefecture. It has a very good street-plan, a lot of pedestrian zones and the first network of bicycle tracks. The network comprises 4km and 10km of city and belt bicycle tracks respectively.

Information:

• The city is built on the west side of the Thessalian plain, and today’s population is more than 35,000 people.
• The climate here is continental whereas the average yearly temperature is 15-16 oC, winters being quite cold and summers being hot.
• Karditsa is connected to South Greece through Highway E65, and there are also highways to Larissa and Trikala.
• The city center has been pedestrianized, while the whole city can be explored on foot.
• There is a bicycle track network in and out of the city center.
  

Infrastructures:

• Hotels of all grades are available.
• A General Hospital.
• Various sports facilities.
• Parks and squares.
• Railway and bus service to other Greek cities.

Karditsa offers:

• Entertainment in a variety of  clubs, pubs and cafés.
• Night clubs with live music that can lift your spirits.
• A wide range of lunch or dinner choices, drinking the local wine or ‘tsipouro’.
• Relaxation enjoying its peaceful rhythms of life.

Suggestions:

• Leave your car in one of the municipal parking garages, borrow a bike from the Municipal Authorities and go for a ride through the city’s bicycle tracks.
• Tour around the Municipal Market Building of Karditsa, a European Architectural Heritage monument.
• Walk through the central pedestrian zones and look for Valvi Street, a street that retains the old city aroma.
• Have a relaxing time in ‘Pafsilipo’, the ‘trade-mark’ of Karditsa, which is a green park in the city center, with peacocks strolling casually through it.
• Visit the Lambros and Nafsika Sakellariou Folklore Museum, where you can see personal items that belonged to Nikolaos Plastiras, ‘Karagouna’ national costumes, jewelry and traditional costume accessories.
  Visit the Church of Zoodohos Pigi (the Life-giving Source) that was built in the 19th century and see its woodcut chancel screen.
• Drink the local ‘tsipouro’ and taste authentic Greek recipes in one of the many ouzo-selling bars of the city.