Nowadays, Larisa, which is located in the heart of the plain of Thessaly, is a modern city. Although its economy is based on agriculture and husbandry, it possesses a well organized university, modern stores, shopping centers and the most intense nightlife in all Thessaly.
The visitor has a wide range of choices in all levels: modern hotels, stores and big shopping centers, restaurants, taverns and of course the famous night clubs that are “on fire” all night long.
During the different festivals everybody sings and dances. Typical for Larisa is the Carnival, when all bars and cafes in the whole city set up spits and roast lambs, sausages, steaks and kokoretsi ( traditional Greek food that is made of the intestines of the animal and then roasted) that are then given for free to the customers that drink and have fun all night long.
However, Larisa is not only known for its entertainment and nightlife. It has a lot of quite places, where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It can take you many years back when, while strolling through the neighborhoods, you see the women taking their chairs out on the street in the afternoon and with the company of a piece of embroidery, some fruits and a cup of coffee they stay there till late at night.
You can relax with a stroll in the breathtaking Alcazar Park, where there was a zoo and horse shows were organized. The famous hill of the Fortress, which is located next to the church of Agios Achillios (Saint Achillios), offers a great chance to explore the city from high above.
At the same time, the visitor has the chance to see an area steeped in history and culture that is important not only for the ancient but also for the modern history of Greece.
The archaeologists have found that Larisa dates back to prehistoric times. In particular, Neolithic settlements (6000 B.C) were found and it is a fact that the area is inhibited ever since. Moreover, it is regarded as one of the first inhibited areas in the whole world with continuous occupancy for more than 8000 years!
Larisa played also an important role in the Roman times with the establishment of Eleftheria, a great festival in Thessaly in the honor of Eleftherios Dias (Zeus) that was even visited by people from Italy and Asia Minor.
In the Byzantine times, one the most significant facts are the raids of different tribes (Arabs, Slavs, Bulgarians), while during the 4^th Crusade the province of Thessaly as well as a large area of the Byzantine Empire was occupied by the Latin. During the early years of the Turkish occupation, Larisa was renamed to “Geni Sehir” (=New City) as it was turned into a pure Turkish city before the fall of Istanbul. Later, during the Greek Revolution, it was used as a military centre and was finally annexed to Greece in the August of 1881 serving as its borders.
In the last 30 years there has been a series of attempts to designate and improve the city. Larisa is Greece’s “crossroad” towards the North and South, West and East – with lots of eastern characteristics – and that is the reason why it is nowadays an important financial, agricultural, husbandry, cultural and production centre.
The city is graced with beautiful squares built by important sculptors and architects while the Ancient Theatre, which dates back to the 3^rd century B.C and has a capacity of 10000, is particularly impressive.