The large bustling city of Volos lies cradled within a bay at the northern end of the Pagasitikos Gulf, a superb natural harbour that’s sheltered by the long arm of the Pelion Peninsula, curving to the east. Both a lively university town and a major Greek port, Volos is not in itself a tourist destination, but many travellers do pass through en route to the Pelion or the Sporades. Volos is believed to have originated as ancient Iolkos, the mythic starting point of Jason and his Argonauts; the precise site of the Mycenaean settlement has been unearthed in Dimini nearby.