Volos is the port city of Thessaly on the Pagasetic Gulf, birthplace of the tsipouradiko: the ouzo-and-meze taverns that define the city's eating culture. It is the gateway to Mount Pelion, whose villages rise directly behind the city, and the ferry port for the Sporades islands. Ancient Iolkos, the mythical home of Jason and the Argonauts, stood here.