There are so many things to see around Ohrid. It really is such a beautiful place. If you want to read about why we chose to stay here for a month and what we thought, then look here.
Ohrid and Lake Ohrid are both UNESCO natural and world heritage sites. Remember Ohrid is meant to have over 365 religious buildings. My top 5 churches are detailed below as well as some other amazing places to visit:
Saint John at Kaneo is the most photographed church of Ohrid. Documents suggest the church was built before 1447. It is dedicated to John of Patmos who wrote the book of Revelations. Some consider he is the same person as John the Apostle. Inside there are some beautiful frescoes of St Clement.
The boardwalk platform to Saint John at Kaneo is easy navigate and has beautiful views onto Lake Ohrid.
Church of St. Sophia is a very interesting church as it has gone from being a church to a mosque and then back to a church again. It was built as a church during the reign of Tsar Samuel. It then was converted to a mosque in the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Then back to a church where the main part was built in the 11th century. The frescoes inside show great achievements of Byzantine paintings.
Church of St. Clement was built by St. Clement at the request of Boris of Bulgaria. He used his church as a place to teach his disciples the Slavic alphabet. St. Clement was buried inside the church in 916 and his tomb still exists there today. 1000s of Macedonians gather at this church at Orthodox Easter and Christmas to celebrate and take part in services.
The ancient theatre of Ohrid was built in 200 BC. It’s not clear how many people the original theatre used to seat as only the lower part exists today. During Roman times the theatre was used for Gladiator fights.
Holy Mary Perybleptos is dedicated to Mary. It was built in 1295 and is one of the oldest churches in Ohrid. There are beautiful artworks and frescoes inside the church. The frescoes tell multiple stories and are very well preserved. Photography is strictly forbidden.
Samuel’s Fortress (remember Tsar Samuel) is also within walking distance in Ohrid, but it is so amazing that it has its own post!
There are also several day trips from Ohrid:
St Naum is an amazing Byzantine monastery that we visited close to the Albanian border. Read more about it here.
Galicica National Park is immense with 25 000 ha. We encountered lots of snow and stunning views onto Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespsa. We also had to negotiate several hair pin bends. I will write a separate post on this.
We also visited Trpejca (best beach of Lake Ohrid) which is known for its amazing blue / green / turquoise-coloured sea. In fact we went there twice, both days with the sun shining so I could take photos.
Trpejca is on the way to St Naum, and just before the Galicica National Park turnoff.