Visiting the Didimoticho Castle it’d be a great idea to visit the nearby Pytheion. The atmosphere there is imposing with byzantine towers framing the vista. The four story high castle of Empythios is in a great condition, with two of its main towers still standing tall. Beneath the towers the Evros Valley stretches for miles and it is crossed by the railroads. It was first built at the start of the 14^th century from Ioannis Kadakouzinos the 6^th who after the second byzantine civil war proclaimed himself an Emperor with his new capital the Didimoticho.
The castle and its towers used to be the impregnable fort and personal vaults of Kadakouzinos. The large square tower was prepared as a house and the secondary, bit smaller one, had a military-defensive purpose. Between them an arched entrance lead to the internal castle courtyard. The architecture of the Pytheion castle is unique and it combined both western and byzantine influences. The old wooden train station of Pytheion is one of the most beautiful stations in Greece and it has stood in time in an incredible fashion. This also served as a border station with Turkey, and it worked since 1896, being a stop of the famous Orient Express train, doing the Paris – Istanbul route.