Litochoro (Greek, Modern: Λιτόχωρο, Ancient/Katharevousa Λιτόχωρον, older form: Litochoron) is a town and municipality located in the southern part of the prefecture of Pieria and the second largest community in Pieria. The town is situated on the eastern foot of Mount Olympus to the west of the Thermian gulf. The first recorded mention of Litochoro is when Agios Dionysos visited Mount Olympus. A popular town for those wishing to climb Mount Olympus, several climbing routes begin to the southwest of Litochoro.
Litochoro is located 22 km S of Katerini, 90 km SSW of Thessaloniki, 58 km N of Larissa and 420 km WNW of Athens, on the eastern slopes of Mount Olympus, of mythological fame as the home of the twelve gods of Olympus.Pine, cedar and fir trees of the forests of Mount Olympus lie to the southwest and northwest. Much of the land around Litochoro, in particular to the South, remains uncultivated. Farmland is predominant to the North. Litochoro has several restaurants and cafeterias. Some of the most popular are "Erato", "To Tzaki", "Liangkas" and "Bouros". East of the town of Litochoro there is a coastal area spreading northwards and southwards from the foot of Olympus and extending from Platamona in the South to Nea Agathoupoli in the North, a distance of some 70 km. The coast mainly consists of sandy beaches with seaside resorts. As well as hotels, campsites, seaside restaurants and beach bars, (which mostly operate during the Summer season from June to September) there are private residences, villas and cottages.
Litochoro has schools, banks, a post office, a harbour, a sports centre, a town hall, a hospital, a museum, a concert hall, shopping facilities and squares (plateies). There are two main churches, Agios Nickolaos in the centre and Agios Dimitrios in the North.
Since the 1960s Litochoro has been served by an interchange with GR-1/E75 to its east. In the mid-1990s, the Greek "National Road" from Athens to Thessaloniki was improved in part to "Motorway" standard. Litochoro is on the Northern stretch of this 6 lane dual carriageway, 90 km from Thessaloniki. Its nearest beach is 5 km to the east. There is a regular bus service to Katerini and a local train service (3 trains daily in each direction) to Thessaloniki and Larissa where there is an interchange with the main line to Athens. Taxis are to be found in abundance. * Litochoro acquired some fame during the 1999 NATO war in Yugoslavia when allied naval forces arrived on the beach of Gritsa; an action which provoked a reaction by the town's Communists. The event was broadcast live on CNN.
* Nickolaos Vlachopoulos, mariner; hero in the 1912-1913 wars * Michael Kofos, mariner; hero of 1912-1913 wars * Vassilios Geroliolios (1913-1996), priest * Giorgos Papathanasiou, local politician, present Mayor of Litochoro (1984-2006) * Nickolaos Kakalos, politician, former Member of the Greek Parliament for Pieria Region.
Litochoro is one of the few municipalities that has the majority of its population living within the town's boundaries. 197 or 2.95% live outside the town.
