The town of Ioannina has been built at an altitude of 500 m above sea level and 436 km distance from Athens. It is the largest town in Ipiros and the capital of the area. The town is located along the shores of a lake, known in ancient times as Pamvotis and renowned for the beauty of its natural surroundings. It has a modern archaeological museum, which exhibits finds from all over Ipiros. These come from the classical era, Byzantine and post-Byzantine times. It also houses a notable art gallery. In addition, there is the Municipal Museum housed in the former Aslan Tzami mosque, which contains exhibits of historical and folkloric character

The Folkloric Museum itself, the Archives of the School of Philosophy of the Ioannina University, exhibiting local national costumes, tools and implements etc., as well as the folkloric collection of the Society of Ipiros Studies.
Other sites worth seeing are the old parts of the town with the city walls and the picturesque narrow lanes, the Litharitsia, an old structure dating back to the days of Ali Pasha now fully restored and functioning as a cafeteria and restaurant. The Tourist pavilion is built in the local traditional style and stands on a hill offering a splendid view of the town with its lake

History of Ioannina
In very early times the lake vicinity-at that date probably a large marsh, rich in wildlife-was inhabited by Illyrian tribes. In the 6th century Justinian fortified the castle site. Nothing remains of this fort. The lake in its modern form is believed to have developed in the early Byzantine period. Ioannina is first documented in 1020 and may have taken its name and site from a monastery of St John the Baptist. Taken by Bohemond, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, in the 11th century it was visited in 1160 by Benjamin of Tudela. Ioannina dates its importance, however, from the influx of refugees in 1205 from Constantinople and the Morea and its consequent fortification by Michael I Angelus Ducas. An archbishopric was established here between 1284 and 1307. In 1345 Ioannina was captured by Stefan Dusan, proclaimed Emperor of Serbia and Greece in the following year. In 1431 it surrendered to the army of Sultan Murad II. In 1611, after an abortive rising led by Dionysos 'Skylosophos', the fanatical Bishop of Trikala, the Christians were expelled from the citadel and their churches destroyed. Nevertheless in 1666 Jacob Spon found the town rich and populous. It reached a zenith under Ali Pasha (see p. 517). Ioannina was long famous for its Schools, founded by Michael Philanthropinos (1682-1758), Leondati Giouma (1675-1725), and Meletios (1690), later Bishop of Athens and a noted historian and geographer. They were all destroyed in the fire. The Congress of Berlin (1878) assigned Epirus to Greece, but it remained in ur i sands for over mor ears until 1913.

The cave of Perama is located about 4Km from the town of Ioannina, on the road to Metsovo. It is one of the most spectacular horizontal caves in Europe and it was formed about 1.5 million years ago. It was discovered in 1940 by a local resident looking for shelter from aerial bombardments during the Greek-Italian war. The cave is the largest in Greece with an area of 15,000 square meters. The visitor's route is 1.5Km long and takes about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the cave lighting was not designed well and the intense yellow lights used don't allow the visitor to distinguish the natural colors of the stalactite and stalagmite formations, everything looks yellow. Nevertheless, visitors are rewarded with spectacular views. The temperature inside the cave remains at 18°C/64°F throughout the year. Tickets cost 7 Euro for adults and 3 Euro for kids.

Built in 1618 on the Byzantine castle of Ioannina, the Aslan Pasha Mosque is the most widely recognized architectural landmark of the city. It served as a place of worship for the Muslim population of Ioannina for over three centuries (until 1924) and in 1933 was converted to the Municipal Museum of the city.
It includes the restored main hall of the mosque and its exhibits reflect the diverse ethnic character of the city's past. It is divided in three sections, each dedicated to one of the ethnic groups that coexisted in the city: Greek, Turkish, and Jewish.