Frommer’s Athens and the Greek Islands, 2nd Edition

Whether it’s the experience of sailing into Santorini’s volcanic caldera, getting a glimpse of the windmills lining stark hilltops on Mykonos, or seeing the ancient temple doorway that looms over the port on Naxos, your first sightings of the Cyclades will likely make quite an impression. Even the commonplace seems spectacular in this archipelago of 24 inhabited islands and hundreds of islets floating southeast of the mainland. From afar, dazzling white villages of the islands’ distinctive cubical houses look like stacks of sugar cubes or a dusting of snow. Rising out of all that glaring white are the brilliant blue domes of chapels and churches. Memorable moments will keep coming as you travel through the rugged, often barren Cyclades, so named—from the ancient Greek word for circle—because the islands encircle Delos, birthplace of the god Apollo and one of ancient Greece’s most sacred religious sanctuaries. The islands, even unspoiled Folegandros, surrender some of their character to visiting hordes in August, when some, especially Mykonos and Santorini, can also be ridiculously expensive. Even so, it’s a testament to these islands’ scenic beauty, fine beaches, and Cycladic charm that even then they remain almost irresistibly appealing.

Dry and barren Mykonos is no natural beauty, but even so, along with neighboring Santorini, this low-lying hunk of rock is one of the most popular of all the Greek isles. Ever since Jackie O. and other celebs started stepping ashore from their yachts in the 1960s, Mykonos has been a place to see and be seen. You may love the party scene or want to flee on the next boat, but do stick around long enough to discover the island’s more down-to-earth allure, too. Mykonos shows off especially good sides in beautiful Mykonos Town (better known as Hora), along a coastline ringed with sandy beaches, and on Delos, the haunting and legendary ruin-rich islet just offshore.

ARRIVING Mykonos International Airport, about 3km (2 miles) south of Hora, is well connected to Athens by several flights daily, most operated by Olympic Airways (www.olympic-airways.gr;

210/966-6666) and Aegean Airlines (en.aegeanair.com;

210/998-8300). In summer, the airport is also served by many flights to and from London, Frankfurt, Rome, and other European cities. A bus (mykonosbus.com;

22890/26797) runs hourly from the airport into Fabrika square at the edge of Hora; pay the 2€ fare to the driver. A taxi from the airport to Hora costs 10€–15€.

Frequent ferry service runs to and from Piraeus, and high-speed catamarans go to and from Rafina and Lavrio, both outside Athens. In season there are daily ferry connections between Mykonos and other Cyclades, including Andros, Ios, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Siros, and Tinos; as well as service usually daily to Iraklion and Rethymnon, Crete; and twice a week to Kos, Rhodes, Samos, Skiathos, Skyros, and Thessaloniki. The island has two ports: the old port, just at the edge of Hora, generally handles the high-speed catamarans, while the new port, 2km (1 mile) north of Hora in Tourlos, accommodates ferries. However, be sure to check which port you’ll be arriving in and from which you’ll be departing. Keep in mind that due to winds, boats often run late. The websites www.gtp.gr and www.ferryhopper.com are useful resources for checking out the many ferries that serve Mykonos, but your best bet for getting up-to-date schedules is to check at individual agencies. Reputable agencies on the main square in Hora include Delia Travel (www.mykonos-delia.gr;

22890/22322) and Sea & Sky Travel (www.seasky.gr;

22890/22853).

VISITOR INFORMATION Mykonos Accommodations Center, at the corner of Enoplon Dhinameon and Malamatenias in Hora (www.mykonos-accommodation.com;

22890/23-160), helps visitors find lodgings and functions as a tourist information center. Windmills Travel

(www.windmillstravel.com;

215/215-9400) has an office at Fabrica square where you can get general information, book accommodations, arrange excursions, and rent a car or moped.

GETTING AROUND You can reach many places on the island by boat or bus. Caiques to Super Paradise, Agrari, and Elia beaches depart from Platis Yialos beach, on the island’s south side, every morning, weather permitting; there is also service from Ornos beach in high season (July–Aug) only. Caique service is highly seasonal, with almost continuous service in high season and no caiques October through May. Mykonos has an excellent bus system, with frequent service operated by KTEL Mykonos (mykonosbus.com;

22890/26797) to towns and beaches around the island. Depending on your destination, a ticket costs about 1€ to 4€. There are two bus stations in Hora, one near the Archaeological Museum and one on the other side of town (both are well marked). With a little planning, you should be able to get just about anywhere you want to go on the island by bus, but you may want to rent a car, moped, or all-terrain vehicle for a day to explore some of the farther-flung beaches on the island, especially those on the north coast. Expect to pay at least 35€ per day for a small car with manual transmission, 20€ for a bike (prices rise to even more in July and August). Among many rental agencies on the island, Amenos (www.mykonosrentcar.com;

22890/24607) has offices in Hora near the School of Fine Arts and in Plata Gialos. Rentals include free parking in a lot at the edge of Hora—a huge plus, since parking is tight around town. If you stash your car in a no-parking area, the police will remove your license plates and you—not the rental office—will have to find the police station and pay a steep fine to get them back.

Prices for accommodations can be sky-high in July and August, and even at that, hotel rooms can be scarce. Book well in advance, or consider a shoulder season visit—rates in May or late September might be at least 50%, even 75% less.

Belvedere

Should you have any doubt that Mykonos is the epitome of Euro-chic, you need only step into this super-cool retreat in the palm-shaded Fine Arts District of Hora. Rooms look out toward the distant sea, lush gardens, and a shimmering pool. A study in white-on-white simplicity, these quarters are so stylish, with handcrafted island furnishings fashioned from rich woods, that you won’t notice their small size. One of the in-house restaurants is the very hip open-air sushi emporium Matsuhisa Mykonos (an offshoot of the Matsuhisa-Nobu family in London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and elsewhere around the world). A spa and pool bar are among the other amenities.

Off Odos Ormou Agi-Agou Ioanni (aka Ring Rd.), School of Fine Arts District, Hora. www.belvederehotel.com.

22890/25122. 48 units. 200€–500€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: 2 restaurants; 3 bars/lounges; fitness center; Jacuzzi; pool; sauna; spa; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–Mar.

Cavo Tagoo

At this sophisticated getaway above the marina just north of Hora, a sumptuous outdoor lounge surrounds the infinity pool, while an indoor pool is the centerpiece of a hedonistic spa. Huge rooms and suites, set amid beautiful gardens, are done with golden stone accents amid expanses of soothing white, with splashes of blues and greens, and are filled with high-tech gadgetry, handcrafted furnishings, and luxurious baths with sunken tubs and walk-in showers. Most rooms and suites have divan-equipped, sea-facing terraces, many with private pools. It’s a 10-minute walk into Hora along a busy road without a sidewalk or shoulder—it’s best to let the hotel car whisk you back and forth.

Tagoo, coast rd. to Tourlos. www.cavotagoo.gr.

22890/23692. 70 units. 400€–1,200€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; 2 pools; spa; in-room pools; Jacuzzis; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–Apr.

Mykonos Grand

This sprawling resort on the island’s west end above Agios Yiannis beach (where the film Shirley Valentine was set) breaks the generic Greek holiday complex mold with exceptional service that’s typical of much more intimate surroundings, along with endless amenities that ensure guests feel pampered. Many of the sea-facing rooms are equipped with deep whirlpool tubs and steam rooms; stylish decor makes the most of some fairly small spaces. A beautiful pool sparkles above the private sandy beach, and a spa, tennis courts, and in-house bars and restaurants make staying put a pleasant alternative to coping with high-season crowds.

Agios Yiannis. www.mykonosgrand.gr.

22890/25555. 100 units. 350€–700€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: 2 restaurants; 3 bars; pool; beach; spa; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

Petasos Beach

For sheer drama it’s hard to top this hilltop perch at the north end of Platis Yialos beach, on the island’s southwest coast. Many of the bright, sharply appointed accommodations are fairly standard size, but that hardly seems to matter, when just beyond their glass doors and balconies lie a huge swimming pool, lavish sun terraces, and the sparkling Aegean. The beach at Platis Yialos is more crowded than a rush-hour bus, but the Petasos has its own seaside aerie, a rocky peninsula from which a ladder descends into the heavenly waters. Dining is on a ledge above the sea. For those without a car, Hora and the south coast beaches are within easy reach by bus, caique, or taxi.

Platis Yialos. www.petasos.gr.

22890/23437. 133 units. 350€–650€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; beach; fitness center; pool; sauna and steam room; spa; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

Apanema

Large, airy rooms above the marina just north of Hora are simply but tastefully done, comfortable and casually elegant with woven rugs on cool tile floors, splashes of bright colors, handcrafted pottery, and handsome wood pieces. Balconies open to a sea-facing terrace and pool, with a small indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar tucked next to one end.

Tagoo, coast rd. to Tourlos. www.apanemaresort.com.

22890/28590. 17 units. 180€–360€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

Elysium

Mykonos is not quite the gay mecca it once was, but you would hardly know it from this hilltop retreat above the Fine Arts District. This is a welcoming place to stay even if you aren’t a young male, though the poolside parties are definitely geared to those who are, as are the sunset cabaret shows. The scene-stealers, though, are the pool, hillside views of Hora and the sea, and the friendly ambience. Rooms are pleasant though not fancy, of the white-wall, plain contemporary furniture variety, enlivened with some bright fabrics and portraits of male nudes.

Hillside above Fine Arts District, Hora. elysiumhotel.com.

22890/23952. 42 units. 120€–360€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; gym; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

Leto Hotel

A location on the harbor at the edge of Hora is Leto’s big plus, along with a seaside garden with a pool, bar, and indoor-outdoor restaurant. Fairly generic rooms maintain basic standards of comfort with not a hint of chic, but any style shortcomings are offset by the hospitality, shady pool terrace, and convenient location. The palm-fringed Leto garden is a justifiably popular spot for weddings, so when booking, make sure an all-night party won’t be interrupting your sleep.

Waterfront, off Polikandrioti near Old Harbor, Hora. www.letohotel.com.

22890/22207. 25 units. 75€–300€ double. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; Wi-Fi (free).

Carbonaki Hotel

One of the island’s oldest hotels, tucked away on the back lanes of Hora, is family-run with a well-deserved reputation for hospitality and exceptional service. Just about all of the simply furnished but stylish rooms surround a beautiful, multilevel courtyard garden with a plunge pool, ensuring quiet (especially welcome at night, when late-night diners make their way home along the little lane out front). Downstairs is an attractive bar and lounge; breakfast is served here and in the garden. The hotel can only be reached on foot, but it’s a short walk from the bus station and a parking lot, near a taxi stop along Hora’s ring road.

23 Panachrantou St., Hora. carbonaki.gr.

22890/24124. 21 units. 70€–210€ double. Breakfast 12€. Amenities: Garden; pool; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

Fresh Boutique Hotel

Minimalist design, soothing lighting, and earth tones bring a sense of calm to the heart of Hora in these small but attractive and well-equipped rooms surrounded by shops, restaurants, and bars. Double-glazed windows and an interior garden, onto which many rooms open, help ensure a good night’s sleep.

Kalogera 31, Hora. www.hotelfreshmykonos.com.

22890/24670. 10 units. 80€–230€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; garden; Wi-Fi (free).

Omiros

A hillside above the new port ensures knockout views, yet the center of Hora and Tourlos Beach are only 10 minutes away by walking (albeit an uphill climb on the way back). Minimalist, soft-hued rooms are soothing, as is the pool and sun terrace and many private outdoor spaces, some equipped with Jacuzzis. Rates climb in the summer peak, but given the style and comfort are a remarkably good value in spring and early fall.

Tagoo, Hora. omirosmykonos.com.

22890/23328. 11 units. 90€–320€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Bar; pool; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Nov–mid-Apr.

Philippi Hotel

It’s hard to believe that Mykonos could still have a simple, family-run Greek-style hotel, but here it is, right in the heart of Hora, with a pretty garden to boot. Rooms are simply furnished but spacious, stylish, and nicely topped off with a smattering of antiques and family pieces. All are different, and many have balconies; those off the street are pleasantly quiet. Amenities are few, but the shops and restaurants of Hora are just outside the door.

25 Kalogera St., Hora. www.philippihotel.com.

22890/22294. 13 units. 90€–210€ double. Breakfast 5€–10€. Amenities: Garden; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Oct–mid-Apr.

In Mykonos, you can eat like a king—at least like a shipping magnet or film star—or a mere commoner, in some highly acclaimed and unabashedly glitzy hotspots or in some delightfully simple tavernas focusing on fresh fish and traditional recipes. Not all Mykonos dining prices are daunting: there are many grill houses in Hora serving up gyros for about 5€, including Sakis, near the Alpha Bank at Kalegora 7 (www.sakisgrill.com;

22890/24848). Other fast-food stops in Hora are Pepper, Kouzi Georgouli 18 (www.pepper-mykonos.com;

22890/27019), for burgers and souvlaki, and Popolo, Drakopoulou 18 (

22890/22208) for sandwiches, salads, and pastries. For a hands-on experience with island cuisine, Mykonos Cooking Classes (www.getyourguide.com) take guests into a home kitchen to show off traditional methods of making such classics as stuffed peppers; sessions cost about 65€ for a 6-hour program, transport, food, and drink included.

Fish Taverna Kounelas

SEAFOOD This plain upstairs room with a cramped garden below is a Hora institution, living up to its reputation with simple preparations of the freshest catch available. Prices are fair but vary with weight; you may have to negotiate with the rushed and sometimes surly staff to make sure they don’t foist a lavish seafood feast on you. You’re welcome to go to the kitchen and pick out the fish, shrimps, or other seafood you want.

Savoronou 1, near Old Harbor and town hall, Hora.

22890/22890. Entrees 8€–20€. Daily 6pm–2am.

Funky Kitchen

SEAFOOD The name doesn’t do justice to this restaurant’s creative menu or its casually relaxed surroundings, with white tables on white-edged flagstones on the little lane out front and a bright, blond room inside. Dishes are carefully infused with just the right touch of exoticism—tuna is seared and accompanied with a tangy babaganoush, pork medallions are topped with dollops of rich creamy yogurt, pork tenderloin is pillowed on a bed of rich couscous. The house dessert, chocolate nirvana, is so rich you won’t mind sharing with the table. Reservations are essential in season.

Bassoula Igantiou, off Plateia Lakka. Hora.

22890/27272. Entrees 12€–25€. Daily 6pm–1am.

Joanna’s Niko’s Place

GREEK You’ll have no trouble letting your guard down and relaxing on this terrace right at water’s edge on Megali Amos Beach, on the south side of Hora. Fish and shrimp are grilled right on the beach, and accompanying them are platters of fritto misto, along with moussaka and other standard tavern fare.

Megali Amos.

22890/24251. Entrees 6€–12€. Daily noon–11pm. Closed Nov–Apr.

Kiki’s

GREEK One of the island’s great pleasures is simple: a swim at beautiful Agios Sostis on the north shore followed by a lazy lunch beneath the flowering vine that shades Kiki’s seaside terrace. Fish and meat are grilled outdoors, and you’ll step into the kitchen to choose one of the just-made fresh salads. The place has no electricity and shuts up at sundown.

Agios Sostis. No phone. Entrees 6€–8€. Daily noon–7pm. Closed Nov–Mar.

La Maison de Catherine

GREEK/FRENCH One of the island’s most iconic restaurants was serving fusion cuisine long before that became a trend—wonderful seafood soufflés, French leg of lamb infused with island spices, and an apple tart with light Greek pastry. The candlelit room in the heart of old Hora is pretty and so blessedly quiet you won’t mind not being outdoors, but if you need to be, ask to sit at one of the tables out front.

Ayios Gerasimos & Nikou, near Old Harbor, Hora.

22890/22890. Entrees 20€–35€. Daily 7–11pm.

Niko’s Taverna

GREEK These tables sprawling across a square in the heart of Hora are never empty, and the moussaka, cabbage stuffed with feta, and other basic tavern fare is reliably good. Avoid lunch and early evening, when the cruise-ship crowd packs in; wait to dine late and you can linger into the wee hours beneath the trees and stars.

Agios Moni Sq. near Parapotianis, Hora. tavernanikos.gr.

2289/024320. Entrees 6€–10€. Daily noon–midnight.

To Maereio

GREEK Mykonos could use about a dozen more places like this one—simple and atmospheric, serving good traditional fare at reasonable prices. Most Mykonites feel the same way, so come early or late to avoid the crush. Ask for a table on the little street, and tuck into country sausage, meatballs, zucchini fritters, and other delicious fare, offered on a small menu and in daily specials.

No matter how crowded the narrow streets may be, like legions of other international travelers you will soon succumb to the Cycladic charms of Mykonos Town (better known as Hora). Wooden balconies hang from white cubical houses, outdoor staircases are lined with pots of geraniums, and oleander and hibiscus scent the air. The experience is made all the more pleasant by the absence of motorized traffic, mostly prohibited beyond Plateia Mando Mavrogenous. This busy square is named for the island heroine who pushed back a fleet of invading Turks in the War of Independence in 1822. Despite her fame, the beautiful and aristocratic Mando Mavrogenous died forgotten and in poverty on Paros, but she is now honored with a marble bust here, gazing out over the harbor. The mazelike arrangement of the surrounding lanes was laid out to baffle invading pirates, and they can still have the same effect on those looking for a specific address. Even locals often navigate by benchmarks—“the little lane after the big tree,” whatever, so when in doubt simply ask for the nearest landmark.

Matoyanni Street, lined with expensive boutiques, leads south from the square into the Old Quarter. The glittering wealth on this street, with its distinctive white-outlined paving stones, belies the fact that until tourism transformed the island in the 1960s, bleak sun-parched Mykonos was the poorest island in the Cyclades.

Windows onto Mykonos’s Seafaring Past

For centuries before the jet set arrived, the island residents of Mykonos made a humble living from the sea. In fact, the Mykonites were also once corrupt corsairs, and by the 17th century the harbor at Mykonos had become an infamous pirates’ nest. Only in the 19th century, when the piracy business went out of fashion in the Aegean, did the island’s traders and merchants become respectable.

In the heart of the Old Quarter, you can pore over the navigational bric-a-brac displayed at the Aegean Maritime Museum at 10 Dinameon street (aegean-maritime-museum.gr; 21081/25547; admission 4€). The little museum is open April to October, daily 10:30am to 1pm and 6:30 to 9pm. Next door you’ll find Lena’s House, the overstuffed home of a 19th-century sea captain ( 22890/22591; free admission). The house is open daily from April to October, 6:30pm to 9:30pm (from 7:30pm on Sundays).

On Dinameon Street, you’ll find one of the island’s favorite landmarks, the Tria Pagadia (Three Wells). Legend has it that a virgin who drinks from all three wells will soon find a husband. The water is no longer potable—but then, virgins are few and far between on worldly Mykonos these days.

Perhaps the most famous icons of Mykonos are the windmills that line Alefkandra Ridge on a point of land just south along the waterfront from the Old Quarter. Alefkandra means “whitening”—women used to wash their laundry in the surf and string it out on the ridge to take advantage of the same breezes that once propelled the giant blades. Other windmills line a barren ridge above Hora to the east. Until a few decades ago 16 of these conical, thatch-roofed mills were still in operation around Mykonos to grind grain.

Archaeological Museum

MUSEUM Filling a couple of stark rooms off the harbor are funerary sculptures and vases excavated from the purification pit on the island of Rhenea. The artifacts were originally buried with the dead on the sacred island of Delos; in the 5th century b.c., the oracle at Delphi advised the Athenians to cleanse Delos to reverse their defeats in the Peloponnesian War, so human remains and funereal offerings were removed to the necropolis on Rhenea. From Mykonos comes a large pythos (vase) from the 7th century b.c., painted with vivid depictions of the fall of Troy at the hands of soldiers emerging from the wooden horse.

Agios Stefanos. odysseus.culture.gr.

22890/22325. Admission 4€. Thurs–Sat 9am–9pm, Sun–Mon and Wed 9am–4pm.

Folklore Museum

MUSEUM An evocative throwback to times past, this museum is filled with household implements, costumes, and a re-created 19th-century kitchen. Stringed instruments reflect the island’s long-standing musical traditions—even islanders who partake of modern Mykonos’ cosmopolitan nightlife probably also know the ages-old laments sung during feasts at the island’s more than 400 churches. The museum is also the final resting place of Petros, a pelican who took shelter on Mykonos during a storm in the 1950s and soon became the island’s mascot. Since the island began to prosper from the arrival of well-heeled visitors not long afterward, Petros may well have brought good luck with him. Petros met his own bad fortune under the wheels of a car in 1985 and was stuffed for posterity. Several other pelicans have since taken up residence in and around Mykonos Town.

Near Church of the Paraportiani.

6946/775528. Free admission. Apr–Oct Mon–Fri 10:30am–2pm and 5:30–8:30pm, Sat 10:30am–2pm.

Little Venice

NEIGHBORHOOD The esplanade that follows the harbor is especially pleasant in evening, when Mykonites and their visitors stroll and sit at cafe tables to catch a sea breeze, and eventually the seaside walk leads west into the area now known as Little Venice. Many of the island’s sea captains built homes at water’s edge here, on the west side of Hora; the houses are so close to the sea that waves wash against the lower floors—an arrangement reminiscent of houses along the canals of Venice. Of course, those Italian waterways are more placid than the Aegean, and a drink on the seaside balconies of the bars in the captains’ former dwellings often comes with a shower of sea spray. At the north end, the waterside Church of the Paraportiani (Our Lady of the Postern Gate) is actually four little churches pieced together into a squat, rambling, lopsided assemblage that’s homely and utterly charming. In the absence of straight lines, the whitewashed walls look lumpy and rumpled, like a poorly iced cake, and they fascinatingly reflect the shadowy shades of the sea that crashes against the foundations.

The only sizable settlement on Mykonos besides Hora is set amid stark, rolling hills in the center of the island, 8km (5 miles) east of Hora. To one side of the shady plateia is the Monastery of Moni Panagias Tourlianis

, where intricate folk carvings cover the marble bell tower. Inside are elaborate baroque altar screens and incense holders fashioned in the shape of dragons. Even a water spout in the courtyard is decorated with the carved figure of a woman wearing a crown, accordingly known as the Queen. The monastery contains an icon of the Virgin that has been working miracles since it was found in the countryside several centuries ago; every August 15, the feast of the Virgin, the icon is carried in a procession across the island to the Church of Agia Kyriaki in Hora (

0289/71249). Admission to the monastery is free, but it’s open randomly; you can always see the exterior carvings, however.

Beaches on Mykonos are not the best in Greece, but they are among the most popular. The beaches on the island’s south shore have the best sand, views, and wind protection, but they are so well patronized that from June into September you’ll have to navigate through a forest of beach umbrellas to find your square meter of sand. A few (Paradise, Super Paradise) are known as party beaches, and guarantee throbbing music and loud revelry until late at night—actually, until dawn. Others (Platis Yialos and Ornos) are quieter and more popular with families. With all the south coast beaches, keep in mind that most people begin to arrive in the early afternoon; you can avoid the worst of the crowds by going in the morning. The north coast beaches, such as Agios Sostis and Panormos, are much less developed but just as beautiful, though windy in July and August.

Test the winds

Prevailing winds on Mykonos (and throughout the Cyclades) blow from the north, which is why the island’s southern beaches are usually calmer. Periodically, however, a hot southern wind occurs during the summer, kicking up Sahara-like sandstorms on the south-coast beaches. On such days, in-the-know sun worshippers head instead to the northern beaches—and you should do likewise. In Mykonos town, particularly hot temperatures and calm in the harbor are a pretty good sign that the southern wind is coming.

As for the north coast, on many days during July and August into September, the strong meltemi winds blowing from the north tend to whip up awesome and unrelenting waves—which is when the water there is filled with surfers.

Beaches Near Hora For those who can’t wait to hit the beach, the closest to Mykonos Town is Megali Ammos

(Big Sand), about a 10-minute walk south—it’s very crowded and not particularly scenic. To the north, the beach nearest town is 2km (1 mile) away at Tourlos; however, because this is now where many ships dock at the new harbor, it’s not very scenic either. Ornos

, popular with families, is about 2.5km (11⁄2 miles) south of town and has a fine-sand beach in a sheltered bay, with hotels backing the shore. Buses to Ornos run hourly from the South Station between 8am and 11pm.

Platis Yialos

, with back-to-back hotels and tavernas along its long sandy beach, is extremely easy to get to from Mykonos Town by car or bus. It has pristine aqua-blue waters and a variety of watersports, but it is usually so packed with beach chairs that you can’t even see the sand, and its tawdry boardwalk is lined with mostly mediocre eateries. From here, however, you can catch a caique to the more distant beaches of Paradise, Super Paradise, Agrari, and Elia (see below), as well as a small boat to Delos. The bus to and from North Station in Hora runs every 15 minutes from 8am to 8pm, then every 30 minutes until midnight. Tip: The first stop on the bus from town to Platis Yialos, Psarou

, is a higher-brow version of its neighbor, with white sand and greenery overlooked by the terraces of tavernas and hotels.

South Coast Beaches Buses from Hora’s North Station serve the south coast beaches, with service every half hour throughout the day. Caiques to Super Paradise, Agrari, and Elia depart from Platis Yialos (see above) every morning, weather permitting; there is also service from Ornos in high season (July–Aug). Note that there are no caiques October through May. Paradise

is the island’s most famous beach, with golden sands washed by breathtakingly beautiful water, but no one comes here for the sea. Lined with bars, tavernas, and clubs, Paradise is the premier party beach of the island. (One beach party on Paradise that revelers won’t want to miss is the Full Moon Party, a once-a-month bacchanal that would make Dionysus blush. The only other party that compares to it is the Closing Party every September, which has become an island institution.) The more adventurous arrive at Paradise by moped on roads that are incredibly narrow and steep. Seeing how very few leave this beach sober, it is in your best interest (even if you have rented a moped) to get back to town by bus or taxi.

Super Paradise (Plindri)

, in a rocky cove just around the headland from Paradise, is somewhat less developed than its neighbor, but no less crowded. The left side of the beach is a nonstop party in summer, with loud music and dancing, while the right side is mostly nude and gay. The waters here are beautiful but very deep, so it isn’t the best swimming option for families with small children. You can get to the beach by bus or by caique; if you go by car or moped, be very careful on the extremely steep and narrow access road. Farther east across the little peninsula is Agrari

, a cove sheltered by lush foliage, with a good little taverna and a beach that welcomes bathers in all modes of dress and undress.

One of the longest beaches on the island, Elia

is a sand-and-pebble beach surrounded by a circle of steep hills. Despite its popularity, there is no loud bar/club here, so the atmosphere is more sedate than the Paradise beaches. It’s a 45-minute caique ride from Platis Yialos and on the bus route from Mykonos Town. The next major beach is Kalo Livadi

(Good Pasture). Located in a farming valley, this long, beautiful beach is about as quiet as a beach on Mykonos’s southern coast gets. Adjacent to the beach are a tavern, with a few villas and hotels on the hills.

The last resort area on the southern coast accessible by bus from the north station is Kalafatis

. This fishing village was once the port of the ancient citadel of Mykonos, which dominated the little peninsula to the west. A line of trees separates the beach from the rows of buildings that have grown up along the road. The waters are pristine, there’s a good beach restaurant and bar, and hotels along the sands offer water-skiing, surfing, and windsurfing lessons. Boats are available to take you to Dragonisi, an islet with caves ideal for swimming and exploring. (You might also catch a glimpse of rare monk seals—these caves are reportedly a breeding ground for them.) Adjacent to Kalafatis in a tiny cove is Ayia Anna

, a short stretch of sand with a score of umbrellas. Several kilometers farther east, accessible by a good road from Kalafatis, Lia

has fine sand, clear water, bamboo windbreaks, and a small, low-priced taverna.

North Coast Beaches The island’s north coast beaches are unspoiled, often windswept, and much less crowded than those in the south. Huge Panormos Bay has three main beaches. The one closest to Hora, Ftelia

, is a long fine-sand beach, easily one of the best on the island. Farther up the bay’s west coast are two well-sheltered beaches, Panormos

, where a long stretch of fine sand is backed by low dunes, and, another 1km (3⁄4 mile) to the north, Agios Sostis

, a lovely small crescent just below a tiny village. There isn’t any parking at Agios Sostis; leave your vehicle along the main road and walk down past the church and Kikki’s taverna, a perfect spot for lunch. Buses run from Mykonos Town to Panormos four times a day in high season. Farther east, Fokos

, north of Ano Mera, is a superb swath of sand set amid raw, wild scenery.

Make a Splash

Offshore breezes, underwater scenery, and crystal-clear waters make Mykonos one of the Aegean’s favorite playgrounds for watersports enthusiasts. For diving and snorkeling excursions and instruction, try the Mykonos Diving Center on Paradise Beach (www.dive.gr; 22890/24808) or W-Diving on Kalafati Beach (www.mykonos-diving.com). For windsurfing board rental and instruction, try the Wind Surf Center on Kalafati Beach (www.pezi-huber.com; 22890/72345).

Fashion designers such as Christian Dior and Givenchy were chief among the international travelers who began to visit Mykonos in the 1950s. They discovered the island’s distinctive textiles, often woven by hand in a striped pattern, and incorporated the designs into their creations. Young Mykonites then began designing their own fashions, which were soon taken up by Jacqueline Onassis and other well-heeled visitors. The tradition continues. Yiannis Galatis, who applies island designs to thin, multicolored textiles, shows his famous gowns and other creations, including men’s clothing, in his beautiful shop in Hora on Plateia Mando Mavrogenous (

22890/22255). Parthenis showcases designs based on the work of the late Dimitris Parthenis, another innovative island designer, and his daughter, Orsalia, in a shop near Little Venice on Plateia Alefkandra (

22890/23080). Themis Z shows off easy, chic clothing and home décor designs by Mykonos local Themis Zouganeli, on Plateia Goumeniou (themisz.com;

22890/23210).

Efthimiou, on Zouganeli, sells almond sweets, a traditional Mykonos favorite, and wine made on the island (

22890/22281). Gioras Wood Medieval Mykonian Bakery (

22890/27784) is a magical spot, down some steps off Efthimiou Street, where cheese pies, breads, and baklava and other delectable pastries emerge out of a centuries-old wood oven.

Night owls have no lack of venues for nocturnal escapades. Little Venice is the island’s most popular spot at sunset, with several especially pleasant waterside bars. Galleraki (galleraki.gr;

22890/27188), Kastro (www.kastrosmykonos.com;

22890/23072), and Katerina’s (katerinaslittlevenicemykonos.com;

22890/23084) serve up views from their balconies, along with refined music, sophisticated clientele, and decent cocktails (to be sipped slowly, at 12€ or more a drink). Bars in the center of Hora are popular for after-dinner drinks and people-watching, pleasures that go on well into the wee hours. Aroma, on Matoyanni (aromamykonos.com;

22890/27148), and Lola, Zanni Pitaraki 4 (

22890/78391), are perennially popular. Gay bars Babylon (

22890/25152) and Jackie O’ (www.jackieomykonos.com;

697/301-0981) are next-door neighbors on the waterfront in the old port; Jackie O’ also has an outlet on Super Paradise Beach.

The late-night scene is liveliest at Paradise Beach, where Cavo Paradise (cavoparadiso.gr;

694/850-4989) and the Paradise Club (www.paradiseclubmykonos.com;

694/946-8227) get going at about 2am and charge hefty covers (at least 25€) for the privilege of dancing till dawn. A sobering morning swim is included. The Mykonos scene changes each season, however, so check out what’s new and hot once you get to the island.

No one stays on Delos, but day-trippers arrive by the boatload from Mykonos and the other Cyclades, flocking to this uninhabited isle to see one of the most important—and haunting—archaeological sites in the Aegean.

As the legendary birthplace of Apollo, Delos was one of ancient Greece’s most sacred religious sanctuaries. Even in antiquity, Delos was set apart from the rhythms of everyday life: no one was allowed to be born, to die, or to be buried there (the remains of locals were placed in a purification pit on Rhenea, just to the west; you’ll see some of these at the Archeological Museum in Hora, p. 151). Delos even had a second robust act, developing under the Romans into a flourishing center of trade, with a huge slave market, on the shipping routes between the Aegean world and the Middle East. Delos was gradually abandoned, however, after most of the population was massacred in a wave of attacks beginning in a.d. 88. Except for occasional visits by Venetians and crusaders, the temples, mosaics, and shrines were left to the elements—as you’ll see them today.

Getting There From Mykonos, organized guided and unguided excursions leave starting around 8am about four times a day Tuesday through Sunday at the harbor’s west end. Every travel agency in town advertises Delos excursions (some with guides). Individual caique owners also have signs stating their prices and schedules. The trip takes about 30 minutes and costs about 17€ round-trip; as long as you return with the boat that brought you, you can (space available) decide which return trip you want to take. The last boat for Mykonos usually leaves by 3pm. The site is closed on Mondays, and boats usually do not make the crossing in rough weather.

In myth, Delos is the birthplace of Apollo, god of music and light, begotten of Zeus and his lover Leto. When Zeus fell in love with Leto and she became pregnant, Zeus’s furious wife, Hera, ordered the Python, the earth dragon, to pursue Leto. Poseidon took pity on Leto and provided her a safe haven by anchoring Delos to the sea floor with four diamond columns. She first stopped on nearby Rhenea to deliver Artemis; then she gave birth to Apollo on Delos, grasping a sacred palm tree on the slopes of Mount Kynthos, the highest hill on the island, as Zeus watched from the summit.

The island grew to be the center of an Apollo cult, hosting the annual Delian festival in his honor. Its power as a trade center grew, and for a few decades in the 5th century b.c., Delos was important enough to be the headquarters of the Delian League, the confederation of Greek city-states, and the repository for its treasury. By 100 b.c., under Roman occupation, Delos had a cosmopolitan population of 25,000, drawn from throughout the Mediterranean world; its market sold 10,000 slaves a day.

Next to the harbor, you can see what’s left of the Agora of the Competialists, a Roman-era domain of members of trade guilds known as Competialists. Just to the east of it is the Delian Agora, site of the slave market.

Pilgrims once made their way from the harbor to the Sanctuary of Apollo along the Sacred Way, past two long, columned porticoes. After the 2nd century b.c., they would enter the sanctuary through the Propytheria, a triple-arched marble gateway that opened to a precinct of temples and shrines. Some of the oldest remains on Delos are here, including a shrine thought to be Mycenaean, from as early as 1300 b.c. Three great temples to Apollo were erected in the 6th and 5th centuries b.c. One of them, the Porinos Naos, housed the treasury of the Delian League from 477 to 454 b.c.

Just beyond the eastern perimeters of Apollo’s precinct are the ruins of the long Sanctuary of the Bulls, so called for a pair of carved bull heads over the entryway. Two former headquarters of state are next to the sanctuary, the Bouleterion (Council House) and the Prytaneion (Senate).

A slight depression in the earth is all that remains of the Sacred Lake, now dry. On its shores stood the enormous Agora of the Italians, once bordered by 112 columns, and the 50m-long (164 ft.) promenade, the Terrace of the Lions, where 5 replicas of the original 12 or even 16 marble lions still stand, as if ready to pounce (the remaining 5 originals are in the site museum). Presented by the people of Naxos around 600 b.c., the snarling lions were probably intended to guard the sanctuaries and also inspire righteous fear in worshippers.

North of the lake is the House on the Lake, a once-elegant residence; the Granite Palaestra, a gymnasium and bath complex; and beyond that, the stadium, where the Delian Games were first staged in the 5th century b.c. A nearby synagogue was built around 80 b.c. to serve Syrian and Lebanese Jews who came to Delos during the island’s heyday as a trading center.

East of the harbor, in what was once the residential district of the island, you can see a theater carved into a hillside that could seat 5,000 spectators. Elaborate villas built by wealthy merchants and bankers in this area include the House of the Dolphins, House of the Masks (perhaps a boardinghouse for actors), and the lavish House of Dionysus. Behind this rises Mount Kynthos, which you can ascend on a stepped path for a stunning view of the sea and ancient city.

A small archaeological museum on the island displays many artifacts, including five of the original lions (another one is over an entrance to the Arsenale in Venice), statues of Apollo and Artemis, and pottery and other household objects that residents left behind. A snack bar sells beverages and light meals.

Site and museum: odysseus.culture.gr.

22890/22259. Admission 12€ (reduced on most organized tours). Tues–Sun 8:30am–3pm. Closed Nov–Mar.

One of the first tourists to visit Naxos was the god Dionysus, who descended to the island to woo the mortal princess Ariadne, who’d just been jilted by her lover Theseus. The god allegedly blessed Naxos with fertility, which explains why the largest and greenest island in the Cyclades has fertile valleys overlooked by proud villages, abundant fields (potatoes are a famous staple), and meadows and pastures where cows and sheep graze. Rising high above these landscapes is the highest mountain in the Cyclades, Mount Zas, associated in antiquity with Zeus, who felt at home on lofty eminences.

Long stretches of sand ring Naxos’s shores, and inland are temples, Venetian towers, and Byzantine churches. Despite such a wealth of natural beauty and monuments, Naxos is also one of the less visited of the major Cyclades. While its justifiably popular beaches are a magnet for throngs of sun-loving northern Europeans, the villages and countryside can often seem appealingly isolated.

ARRIVING Naxos is well connected by at least twice-daily boat service to and from Piraeus, depending on season, with both high-speed and regular ferries. There’s fairly frequent service as well to and from Paros, Santorini, Mykonos, Siros, and the other Cyclades. In summer, four or more boats a day make the 45-minute crossing between Naxos and Paros, making it easy to visit one island from the other. The websites www.gtp.gr and www.ferryhopper.com are useful resources for ferry schedules, but keep in mind that due to winds, boats in the Cyclades often run late. The Naxos Apollon airport, 5km (3 miles) south of Naxos Town, handles two to four flights a day to and from Athens, depending on the season, operated by Olympic Air (www.olympicair.com) and Aegean Airlines (en.aegeanair.com). The airport can handle only small planes and seats sell out quickly, so in high season especially, book early if you plan to fly.

VISITOR INFORMATION Naxos does not have a municipal tourist office, but you can get maps and information at Zas Travel (www.zastravel.com;

22850/23-330), on the Paralia opposite the ferry pier, or any of the other agents along the waterfront. You’ll find some info online at naxos-island.com.

GETTING AROUND The bus station is on the harbor. Schedules are posted and one of the agents can answer questions, or find daily schedules and other info at www.naxos-tours.gr. In summer, there’s service every 30 minutes to the nearby south coast beaches at Ayios Prokopios, Ayia Anna, and Plaka; buses also run several times a day to and from inland villages. Buy tickets in the station, from a machine outside the office, or at shops around the island. In summer, the island bus company operates guided tours to inland villages and other points of interest, about 25€; get brochures and info at the bus station. In summer, there’s fierce competition for seats on the beach routes, so get to the station well ahead of time.

Apollon Hotel

The owners of the Chateau Zevgoli (below) also run this more modern hotel next to the sea in the Fontana neighborhood in the lower town. They’ve infused much of the charms of the Chateau on the flowery terrace out front and in antiques-filled lounges. Guests quarters are less character-filled but comfortably standard, with traditional furnishings, large bathrooms, and balconies that face the attractive neighborhood and look out to sea. This is a good choice for travelers who want to stay in Naxos Town but aren’t up to lugging luggage uphill, or who want to park a car outside their hotel.

Fontana, Old Town. www.naxostownhotels.com.

22850/26801. 13 units. 45€–90€ double. Breakfast 10€. Amenities: Bar/café; terrace; Wi-Fi (free).

Chateau Zevgoli

A medieval mansion tucked next to the walls of the Kastro, high above the harbor, the Chateau Zevgoli has so much charm and character that you will not mind the trek through the narrow lanes to the front patio—taxis can’t get anywhere close. Once inside the three-story landmark, a welcoming, wood-beamed lounge with a fireplace is filled with family heirlooms of owner Despini Kitini. Marble-floored, tastefully done guest rooms surround a plant-filled courtyard. Several have sea-view balconies, and all exude a vaguely exotic old-world flair, with dark furnishings and a few antiques here and there. A breezy roof terrace overlooks the harbor and Portara. Two charming apartments have been fashioned out of a 13th-century Venetian house opening to a lofty, sea-view terrace higher up in the Kastro.

Bourgo, just below Kastro. www.chateau-zevgoli.gr.

22850/22993. 10 units. 55€–80€ double. Breakfast 10€. Amenities: Bar; Wi-Fi (free).

Panorama Hotel

A perch at the edge of the Kastro places these inviting, breezy rooms within the neighborhood’s exotic warren of narrow lanes—and the accompanying freedom from traffic noise—yet they’re a relatively easy uphill climb from parking and taxi drop-offs. A large roof terrace overlooks the town and harbor, as do some of the white-washed rooms, enhanced with iron bedsteads and other traditional touches.

Apollonos & Dionysou, Naxos Town. www.panoramanaxos.gr.

22850/22330. 13 units. 35€–75€ double (4-night min. stay mid-July–Aug). Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Roof garden; fridges; free parking nearby; Wi–Fi (free). Closed Nov–Apr.

Studios Kalergis

Across from the sands of Agios Yeoryios (St. George) beach, at the southern edge of Naxos Town—about a 10-minute walk from the center, in a pleasant neighborhood of white houses and small hotels—these bright, attractive studios with well-equipped kitchenettes are stylishly decorated with painted wood ceilings and handsome traditional pieces. Upper-floor units open off a big terrace and have breezy sea-view balconies, while those on the lower floor share many shady nooks tucked amid the garden’s greenery, with the beach just on the other side of a low wall. An adjacent beachside cafe serves an excellent breakfast (not included in room rates), as well as snacks and drinks into the early evening.

Agios Yeoryios, Naxos Town. studios-kalergis.com.

22850/22425. 18 units. 70€–145€ double. Amenities: Cafe; beach; Wi-Fi (free).

Villa Marandi

This stone and stucco villa set in seaside gardens surrounding a large pool is the perfect Greek island retreat. Beautifully designed and maintained rooms are large, stylish, and supremely comfortable, with crisp fabrics and casually elegant custom pieces. All have large, well-furnished terraces, most with sea views. A private strip of beach is at the end of the garden path, while the island’s spectacular west coast beaches, Naxos Town, and other island sights are all an easy drive away. An expert and hospitable staff serves cocktails and inspired Mediterranean-style meals in the beautiful garden, and plenty of shady spots encourage hours of lazy idling.

Stelida, 5km (3 mi) W of Naxos Town. www.villa-marandi-naxos.com.

2285/024652. 16 units. 120€–320€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; beach; Wi-Fi (free).

The island’s rich landscapes produce most of what you’ll eat here, and note, the cuisine is land-based rather than from the sea—meat and cheese from the cows and sheep that graze in seaside pastures; potatoes and other vegetables from village gardens and fields; wild herbs that grow on rocky mountainsides and infuse honey. Even some of the most sophisticated restaurants in Naxos Town serve such old-fashioned island staples as rooster simmered with red wine and tomatoes and herb-infused stews of wild rabbit. Shelves are laden with local cheese, honey, and olives at Tirokomika Proionda Naxou (

022850/22230), a fragrant, old-fashioned food emporium on Papavasiliou, Naxos Town’s main inland shopping street, just off the waterfront. Accompany your choices with a selection of island wines from Pamponas on the waterfront Paralia (

22850/22258); ask for a free tasting of kitro, a lemon liqueur for which many Naxian households have a secret recipe. The liqueur also moistens melachrino, a cake made with local walnuts that you’ll find at most bakeries around the island.

1926-Gevis Naksou

GREEK The name refers to the year the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Naxos was formed, and this restaurant, butcher shop, and market showcases island produce—everything on the menu comes from Naxos, prepared to traditional Naxian recipes. Graviera cheese is fried, saganaki-style, and served with tomato jam; potatoes (the island’s biggest cash crop) appear alongside grilled pork with garlic and dill, lamb chops with thyme honey, or in a meal-in-itself salad with tomatoes and capers. The setting for a meal is a high, wood-beamed room or a quayside terrace.

Waterfront, Naxos Town. www.1926naxosrestaurant.gr.

22850/23866. Entrees 9€–16€. Daily 1pm–midnight.

Akrogiali

GREEK You’ll feel the sand beneath your feet at the best and most appealing of a string of tavernas lining the beach in popular seaside Agia Anna. The sea practically laps against the tables that, come evening, replace the daytime sunbeds, so it’s not surprising that grilled or fried fish is usually on the menu, along with casseroles, roasted lamb and pork, and other taverna classics.

Beachfront, Agia Anna.

22850/42726. Entrees 8€–15€. Daily 9am–midnight. Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

Lithos

MODERN GREEK This stylishly contemporary dining room, with glistening white walls and floors accented with bright colors, is tucked beneath the walls of the Kastro. In good weather, the friendly sister and brother team also serve at tables strung along the steep lane out front, offering a small menu that’s a refreshing change from standard taverna fare: kritharoto is a creamy risotto with sausage and feta, carmelized pork belly is succulent and delicious, and seafood linguine is laden with clams and fresh fish.

Just beneath Trani Porta. Naxos Town.

2285/026602. Entrees 8€–14€. Daily noon–2am.

Metaxy Mas

GREEK It seems that all of Naxos pours into this landmark at the foot of the Kastro, and whether you’re seated in the stone-and-wood dining room, on the cozy terrace, or at one of the tables that spill out onto the lane, you’ll enjoy delicious takes on Greek and island classics. Garden-fresh salads and a long list of mezes—including island cheeses and feta sautéed with tomatoes and peppers—are followed by moussaka, slow roasted lamb, and other homey fare, including some inventive seafood pastas and several daily specials, accompanied by carafes of the house wine.

Taverna Lefteris

GREEK The main marble street of Aprianthos, the prettiest of the Tragaea Valley villages (p. 165), is lined with traditional tavernas that for many islanders are the focus of a trip into the mountains. One of the most popular stops is this marble-floored dining room behind a terrace shaded by two massive walnut trees. The freshest of island vegetables appear in such staples as fava beans with carmelized onions, peppers, and feta. A nontraditional house specialty is the Lefteris bifteki, a beef patty stuffed with Naxian graviera cheese, topped with locally grown tomatoes and peppers, and served with potatoes grown in village gardens and roasted. Meals are enhanced with hearty homemade bread and capped off with delicious sweets.

Main street, Aprianthos.

22850/61333. Entrees 5€–10€. Daily noon–midnight.

Taverna to Kastro

GREEK An animated table-filled square just outside the south gate of the Kastro is a refreshing spot for a meal on a summer evening, with views extending over the rooftops to the sea and Agios Yeoryios beach. Simply grilled meats and fish dishes are accompanied by roasted, locally grown potatoes and other fresh island produce; the house specialty is rabbit stewed in red wine with onions, spiced with pepper and cinnamon.

Plateia Braduna, Naxos Town.

22850/22-005. Entrees 7€–15€. Daily 7pm–2am.

From the harbor, it’s an easy climb along little lanes through Bourgo, the lower town, and from there a heftier trek up to the hilltop Kastro, the mighty fortress of the Venetians who ruled Naxos from 1207 until it fell to the Turks in 1566. The name Kastro also applies to the neighborhood of handsome Venetian-style mansions that huddle beneath the fortress walls.

Bourgo

NEIGHBORHOOD A long line of cafes line pedestrian-only Parali, entry to the busy streets of the Bourgo, the lower section of the Old Town. During Venetian rule, the grandees lived above in the Kastro, while the Bourgo was home to the Greek citizens of Naxos. But even long before that, Mycenaeans, classical Greeks, Romans, and early Christians inhabited this stretch of shoreline. This long past comes to light in the extensive excavations in front of the Mitripolis (cathedral), on Cathedral Square just inland from the waterfront, where bits and pieces of ancient chapels, temples, and an agora are well marked. The excavations are an open site, where you can wander for free. Inside the cathedral, coats of arms of Venetian families litter the marble floor, and Byzantine icons showing Western subjects reflect the mix of Eastern and Western traditions on the island. The church is open Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 2:30pm; admission is free.

Kastro

NEIGHBORHOOD Any of the narrow streets winding uphill from the Bourgo lead into the Kastro, the Venetian fortress, and the neighborhood of tall houses, chapels, and convents within its walls. Of the 12 towers once rising above the fortification, only the Tower of Crispi remains. The most impressive way to make the transition from the bustle of the Bourgo into the medieval world of the Kastro is though Trani Porta (Strong Gate), via Apollon Street at the northern end of the port. An incision on the right column of the arch marks the length of a Venetian yard, used to measure the cloth merchants brought to Naxos for aristocratic households. The coats of arms of noble medieval Venetian families appear above many doorways, and flowering vines trail over walls surrounding well-kept gardens. Many residences are still occupied by members of the families who built them; the home of the Dellarocca-Barozzi clan is open to the public as the Domus Della Rocca-Barozzi Venetian Museum (

22850/22387), next to the Trani Porta. Salons are filled with furnishings the family has collected during their 800 years of residency, and the garden is the setting for summertime concerts. Admission is 5€; the house is open June to August, daily 10am to 3pm and 7 to 10pm.

Naxos: A Venetian Outpost

Naxos was both Venetian and Turkish for many centuries. In 1210, Venetian duke Marco Sanudo began ruling the Cyclades on behalf of Constantinople; Venetian rule under lax Turkish oversight lasted into the 18th century. The fact that a French School was founded here by Roman Catholic Jesuits in 1627 is testimony to how permissive the Turkish administrators were. Nikos Kazantzakis, the famous Cretan author of Zorba the Greek and other modern classics, attended that school in 1896. The island made a lasting impression on the young Kazantzakis, who always remembered it as a land of “great sweetness and tranquility.” However, he left abruptly when his father appeared at the door with a torch, demanding, “My boy, you papist dogs, or else it’s fire and the ax!” The school’s former building is now the Archaeological Museum (odysseus.culture.gr; 22850/22725; admission 2€), a showplace for sensuous, elongated, white marble Cycladic statuettes that date to 3000 b.c. yet strikingly resemble the work of 20th-century Italian sculptor Amedeo Modigliani. From mid-April through October, the galleries are open 8am to 3:30pm, every day except Tuesday; the rest of the year they’re open 8am to 3pm, every day except Monday.

Portara

ANCIENT SITE A great unfinished doorway stands on the islet of Palatia at the western end of Naxos Town harbor, providing a dramatic backdrop for an approach to the island by sea. According to myth, the god Dionysus built this for Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete. Ariadne helped the hero Theseus escape the maze of the Minotaur at Knossos (p. 248), but Theseus abandoned her on Naxos. Dionysus took pity on the lovesick princess and swept down in a chariot borne by leopards to marry her; the Portara was the gateway to their bridal palace. (This story inspired both Titian’s beautiful painting Bacchus and Ariadne and the opera Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss.) The more prosaic story is that this was part of a temple to Apollo begun by the ruler Lygdamis in 530 b.c., which was abandoned after he was overthrown in 506 b.c. A thousand years later the Venetians carted off much of the temple’s marble to build their hilltop Kastro, but this doorframe and lintel, constructed from slabs weighing 20 tons each, were too heavy to move. Along the shore just north of the Portara are some of Greece’s oldest antiquities—the submerged remains of houses and steps constructed by Cycladic peoples who lived on the island as long as 5,000 years ago. You can take a look at the underwater antiquities while swimming off the rocks below the temple door.

Away from the spectacular yet crowded beach strip on Naxos’ southwestern coast are lush valleys, craggy hillsides, and old villages that surround shady squares. Among these rural landscapes you’ll find a scattering of antiquities and Byzantine chapels and monasteries.

Agios Mammas

CHURCH One of the oldest churches of Naxos was built under the Byzantines in the 9th century as the island’s cathedral, seat of the Greek Orthodox archbishops of the Cyclades. Though abandoned through much of the Middle Ages, the stone church is still a commanding presence on the herb-scented hillside. If you’re lucky, the church may be open, but even if it isn’t, you can admire its rough-hewn exterior. Views extend far across the countryside where sheep and goats graze—an apt tribute to Mammas, the patron saint of shepherds.

3km (2 mi) S of Pirgos Bellonia on a lane off rd. to Sangri, 8km (5 mi) S of Naxos Town.

Apollonas

VILLAGE This once-quiet fishing village on the northern tip of the island is a popular, though undistinguished, summer resort. Besides the good sandy beach, many travelers are attracted here to see a huge kouros statue, 10m (33 ft.) tall, which still stands abandoned in the quarry where it was being carved in the 7th century b.c.—most likely because it cracked when it was shifted.

Melanes

ANCIENT SITE Melanes (also known as Flerio) lies in one of the many verdant valleys that carpet the interior of Naxos. In the shady garden of a Venetian estate nestled in a gorge at the end of the valley lies a kouros, a huge marble statue of a beautiful youth reclining on a pillow. Some 6m (20 ft.) long, the statue was carved in the 6th century b.c., probably intended for the Sanctuary of Apollo on Delos (p. 158). You can admire the boy’s repose as you sip a beverage at a cafe run by the garden’s owner.

About 7km (4 mi) E of Naxos Town on rd. to Kinidharos. Free admission. Open site.

Pirgos Bellonia (Pirgos Tower)

HISTORIC SITE Venetian overlords built tall fortified towers across Naxos, not only to provide refuge from pirate attacks, but also to keep an eye on their estate workers from the upper stories. When danger was imminent, tower dwellers lit fires on the flat roofs to warn their neighbors. These stone castles may seem like a romantic, fairy-tale presence in the countryside today, but back in the day they could be most unwelcoming when residents drew up drawbridges and poured boiling oil through the loopholes. An especially elaborate example, the Bellonia tower was once the home of the Venetian archbishop of Naxos—look for an emblem of the Lion of St. Mark, symbol of the Venetian Republic, embedded above the doorway. The tower is a private residence today, though it is sometimes possible to slip into the adjoining twin chapels, one for Roman Catholics and one for Orthodox Catholics.

Sangri

TOWN Old tower houses and cypress trees rise from the end of a valley to mark the entrance to Sangri, a cluster of three small villages that tumble into one another on a hillside. Mount Profitis Elias, topped with a chapel and a ruined Byzantine fortress, overlooks the villages. At the foot of the mountain is a beautiful fortified monastery, Timios Stavros (the True Cross), now abandoned. In the 18th and early 19th century, before Naxos became part of a united Greece, monks here secretly taught Greek language and culture, which had been neglected under the centuries of Venetian and Turkish rule. Sangri’s most notable monument is the ruined Temple of Demeter, about 5km (3 miles) outside the village on a well-marked dirt road (free admission). Archaeologists have only recently re-erected its columns and pediments, which had lain scattered about the site for centuries. Fittingly, this temple dedicated to the goddess of grain is surrounded by fertile fields.

Spreading across the center of Naxos, the beautiful Tragaea Valley epitomizes the green landscapes that make Naxos different from the other Cyclades. Olive groves and lemon orchards climb the slopes of mountainsides, and chapels, monasteries, and small villages overlook countryside that has changed very little from the days of the Byzantines.

Begin in Moni

, some 18km (12 miles) east of Naxos Town. This little mountain village is known throughout Greece for the Church of Panagia Drosiani (Our Lady of Refreshment), with its dome and walls of rough-hewn rock. Legend has it that during a drought in the 8th century, Naxians brought icons of the Virgin from churches across the island to the sea to pray for rain: Only the icon from this church yielded results. Some of the oldest frescoes on the walls of the three simple chapels date to the 7th century and are rich with imagery not always seen in Orthodox art. Hours vary, but the church is generally open daily, 8am to 1pm and 4 to 6pm; admission is free but donations are welcome.

Chalki

, 5km (3 miles) southwest of Moni, surrounds a beautiful plaza, shaded by plane trees. In the 1,500-year-old tile-roofed Church of Panagia Protothrone (Our Lady Before the Throne), layers of frescoes date to the 6th century, with the oldest depicting the Apostles. The 17th-century Pirgis Frankopolous, a Venetian tower house, is sometimes open to the public; from its upper floors you can see a broad swath of the Tragaea Valley.

The white houses of Filoti

, 3km (2 miles) southeast of Chalki, sparkle on the flanks of Mount Zas—which, at a little more than 1,000m (3,281 ft.), is the tallest peak in the Cyclades. The tower of the Church of Kimisis tis Theotokou (Assumption of the Mother of God) stands above the rooftops, a beacon to revelers who come from all over Naxos in mid-August for the island’s biggest paneyeri (feast), in honor of the Virgin. Hours vary, but the church is generally open daily, 8am to 1pm and 4 to 6pm; admission is free but donations are welcome. From the village, a trail climbs the face of the mountain to the Arghia Cave, one of several caverns in Greece said to be the birthplace of Zeus. The cave is spectacular, entered through a wide natural arch that leads into a main chamber spanning more than 4,000 square meters (43,056 sq. ft.) without support. Tools found in the cave suggest human habitation more than 5,000 years ago.

A tour ends high above Filoti in Apiranthos

, 7.5km (41⁄2 miles) to the northeast, where the streets are paved in marble and the houses are made of rough, gray stone hewn from the mountain. The village is barely distinguishable from the hillside out of which it is carved.

The capes and promontories of the southwest coast shelter the island’s finest beaches, some of the best in the Cyclades. The sandy strands closest to Naxos Town, especially Agios Yeoryios and Agios Prokopios, are fine but crowded. Agios Yeoryios

, right at the edge of town, can’t be topped for convenience if that’s where you’re staying; its shallow waters are ideal for young swimmers. Busy Agios Prokopios

is about 8km (5 miles) south of Naxos Town, the first of a long stretch of golden sand along the southwest coast. If you have a car, it’s well worth continuing just a little farther south to its less-crowded neighbors Plaka

, backed by sand dunes and bamboo groves, and Kastaraki

, etched with rock formations. Both stretch for miles, leaving plenty of room for everyone. Pyrgaki

, the southernmost beach on this stretch of coast (though still only 21km/13 miles from Naxos Town), seems a world removed, with empty white sands and crystalline waters edged with fragrant cedar forests. Summertime bus service from Naxos Town serves most of these beaches, running about every half-hour.

Marble dug out of Paros quarries was the pride of the ancient world, fashioned most famously into the Venus de Milo. The island still yields all sorts of glittering prizes, making Paros a favorite of travelers who relish a mix of antiquities, sand, sun, and quiet coves—minus the crowds and hype of Mykonos and Santorini. The narrow lanes of Parikia, or Paros Town, are cooled by marble fountains and wind their way to a medieval castle built with chunks pillaged from ancient temples. One of the world’s oldest churches, Panagia Ekatontopylani, is a Byzantine masterpiece with a lemon-scented courtyard and a purported 100 doors. Shorelines open to gentle bays, sandy beaches, and little ports like chic Naoussa, where tiny lanes dead-end at the sparkling blue water. In the mountainous hinterlands, Lefkes and other medieval villages are tucked onto terraced hillsides crisscrossed with marble Byzantine paths. And in the highly unlikely event Paros fails to deliver enough of an island getaway, little Antiparos is just a short ferry ride away.

ARRIVING Paros is served by 2 or 3 boats a day from Piraeus in season, and in summer, four or more boats a day make the 45-minute crossing between Naxos and Paros, making it easy to visit one island from the other. Frequent ferry and hydrofoil service links the island with its Cycladic neighbors Ios, Mykonos, Santorini, and Tinos, and several times a week, boats arrive and depart from and to Folegandros, Sifnos, and Siros. For up-to-date schedules, go to www.gtp.gr or www.ferryhopper.com. The Paros National Airport (10km [6 miles] south of Parika;

2284 090502) handles several flights a day to and from Athens on Olympic Air (www.olympicair.com) and Aegean (en.aegeanair.com), but since the runway is short, there are no flights with larger aircraft from abroad. A bus usually meets flights for transfer to Parika, and a taxi costs about 20€.

VISITOR INFORMATION A tourist information office inside the windmill on the Parikia waterfront is open daily in summer; the municipal website, paros.gr, is also a good source. Santorineos Travel (www.traveltoparos.gr;

22840/24-245) and Polos Tours (polostoursparos.com;

22840/2233) are among the travel agencies on the harbor that sell boat tickets, offer excursions, and handle car and scooter rentals.

GETTING AROUND A good bus network (ktelparou.gr) will take you where you need to go on Paros, so a car is not really necessary. The main bus station (

22840/21-395) in Parikia is on the waterfront, to the left as you face the windmill. There is often hourly service between Parikia and Naoussa, from 8am to midnight in high season. Other buses run frequently, from 8am to 9pm, in two general directions from Parikia: south to Aliki or Pounda, and southeast to the beaches at Piso Livadi, Chrissi Akti, and Drios, passing the Marathi Quarries and the town of Lefkes. Schedules are usually available at the Parikia bus office. Buy tickets at the offices in Parika and Naoussa or at shops around the island.

Hotel Dina

If you’re not looking for luxury, you may find these simple rooms that open to balconies and terraces to be your Parian paradise. You reach the nicely old-fashioned hotel—an island institution, having housed guests for the past 40 years—through a narrow, plant-filled courtyard at the quiet end of Parikia’s Market Street. The choicest of the tidy, plain but comfortable rooms is number 8, at the back, with a balcony that faces a little chapel, so close you can almost reach out and touch the blue dome. Dina Patellis is a gracious and helpful hostess and will tell you what you need to know about seeing the island. Her late husband wrote the excellent Guide Through Ekatontapiliani, about the town’s remarkable church, available in local bookshops.

Market St., Parikia. www.hoteldina.com.

22840/21-325. 8 units. 50€–85€ double. Amenities: Garden; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–Apr.

Lefkes Village Hotel

You’ll glimpse this handsome, estate-like enclave on an adjacent hillside as you wander through Lefkes; staying here as a guest will net you similarly stunning views over the town and sea. In fact, with these views, and a delightful swimming pool, you may not mind being away from the beaches and Parikia, 10km (6 miles) away down the mountainside. Bright tile-floored guest quarters are scattered among stone and stucco houses set up to resemble the surrounding village, where you can join the residents for an early-evening wander through streets and squares.

Lefkes. www.lefkesvillage.gr.

22840/41-827. 25 units. 130€–210€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; Jacuzzi; pool; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Oct–Apr.

Yria Hotel Resort

Like many resorts around Greece, this handsome assemblage on the coast just south of Parikia imitates a Cycladic village, with whitewashed bungalows tucked away in well-tended gardens with the blue sea glistening in the near distance. Rooms and suites are done in pleasant-if-unexciting decor (lots of soft pastels with bright blue-and-white motifs) and have well-furnished terraces overlooking the grounds and a huge swimming pool. A sandy beach is about 150m (500 ft.) down the lane.

3km (2 mi) S of the port, in Parasporos. www.yriahotel.gr.

22840/24-154. 60 units. 175€–475€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; concierge; fitness center; pool; tennis; spa; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Nov–Apr.

Distrato

GREEK/INTERNATIONAL It’s hard to resist taking a seat beneath the spreading branches of an enormous ficus tree on the street that runs from the cathedral to Market Street. In fact, it seems many habitués never leave, starting the day here with a coffee and croissant and ending it with wine and one of the tasty pasta dishes. The kitchen also serves an assortment of crepes, sandwiches, and salads. A shop stocks nicely packaged organic Greek produce. If there are no tables at Distrato, try Symposio, a few steps away, with tasty snacks and breakfast, minus the shady tree but with a vine-covered terrace.

Ouzeri Mitsi

GREEK/MEZES Sitting on the waterfront lingering over an ouzo or a carafe of wine and a platter of seafood is one of the reasons to come to Naoussa. Here you’ll be in the company of wind-burned fishermen, chic Athenians, French tour groups, and islanders who enjoy the old-fashioned ambiance and reasonable prices for small plates of octopus, grilled sardines and other mezes, along with seafood platters and some meat choices as well.

Naoussa waterfront.

22840/53042. Small plates and entrees 8€–15€. Daily noon–midnight.

Trata Taverna

GREEK/SEAFOOD There’s nothing fancy about this waterfront seafood house that looks like one of the neighboring boat sheds along the waterfront. The name means “trawler,” so little surprise the fish and seafood is the specialty, reputed to be the freshest and best on the island. Everything that isn’t caught offshore is raised on or around the island, including shellfish from coastal beds and vegetables that appear in such creations as chickpea stew.

Parikia waterfront, near the harbor.

22840/24651. Entrees 8€–20€. Daily noon–1am.

Old Parikia, just behind the busy harbor, is a pretty cluster of whitewashed Cycladic houses on lanes of white-etched paving stones that open into shady squares. A stepped street passes a marble fountain, built under French-Ottoman rule in the late 18th century and inscribed with a jaunty verse that ends, “Come, good folk, every one, take drink but be sparing of me.” The street leads on into the Kastro, the seaside fortress Venetians cobbled together in the early 13th century using marble fragments of ancient temples. Pediments and chunks of columns are pieced randomly into the walls, presenting a jumbled glimpse of the classical-era days when Paros grew wealthy from marble quarried on the island by tens of thousands of slaves. The fortress provided the Venetians little protection against pirates; however, they were eventually chased off the island by Barbarossa, the most famous medieval brigand of them all.

Archaeological Museum of Paros

MUSEUM A rich depiction of Greece’s distant and often mythic past, the Parian Chronicle—intricately carved in marble quarried on the island—commands pride of place in these galleries. The fragment here tells only the tail end of the story, from 356 to 299 b.c., highlighting in complex imagery the march of Alexander the Great and the birth of the poet Sosiphanes. (To follow the entire chronicle, you need to travel to England, where the other slab, covering 1581–356 b.c., has been on display at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford since 1667.) Among other intriguing remnants scattered about the museum is a marble frieze of the 7th-century-b.c. poet Archilochus, who was born on Paros and died on the island in a battle against the Naxians. He is shown reclining on a couch, as if he is about to utter one of his famously ironic verses laden with such timeless insights as “for ‘tis thy friends that make thee choke with rage.”

Near waterfront, behind church. odysseus.culture.gr.

22840/21231. Admission 2€. Tues–Sun 8:30am–3pm.

Panagia Ekatontopylani (Church of the Hundred Doors)

CHURCH One of the oldest churches in the world is also, from the moment you step through the gates into the lemon-scented courtyard, one of the most transporting. The surroundings are steeped in legend. Helen, mother of Constantine, the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire, took shelter on Paros during a storm on her way to the Holy Land in 326 a.d. Here, it is said, she had a vision of finding the True Cross (the one on which Christ was crucified) during her voyage, and she vowed to build a church on Paros if she did. Her dream came to pass, and Constantine completed the basilica upon his mother’s death. Emperor Justinian rebuilt the church in the mid-6th century, sending Isidoros, the architect of the Hagia Sofia in Constantinople, to Paros to build the dome. Isidoros handed the commission over to his apprentice Ignatius, then was so filled with envy when he saw the splendid structure that he pushed the apprentice off the church roof. Ignatius grabbed Isidoros as he fell; the two men plummeted to their deaths. A sculpture on the gate near the Chapel of St. Theodosia supposedly shows Isidoros rubbing his beard, a sign of apology, and Ignatius rubbing his head, perhaps plotting revenge. (More likely, the figures are satyrs who once adorned a temple of Dionysus that stood on the spot.) Only 99 of the eponymous 100 doors have been found; the last will not be located, legend has it, until Constantinople is Greek once again. A thick wall, embedded with monks’ cells, surrounds a shady entrance court. Within the cross-shaped church, frescoes, icons, and a sea of columns of Parian marble are bathed in soft light. The church is one of Greece’s most important shrines to the Virgin Mary and is much visited on her feast days, when pilgrims arrive from throughout Greece.

Byzantine Road

HISTORIC SITE A section of this stone-and-marble roadway, paved in the Middle Ages and once the main route across the island, descends from the mountain village of Lefkes through olive groves and grazing land to Prodomos on the coastal plain below. The well-marked walk from Lefkes is easy—only about 4km (21⁄2 miles), mostly downhill, from the bottom of the village. Prodomos is a fascinating little place, where whitewashed houses, squat little chapels, and gardens with bougainvillea spilling over the walls are confusingly arranged in a bull’s-eye pattern radiating from a central plateia—a maze intended to thwart invaders and still ensured to do so today. Check schedules for buses from Prodomos back to Lefkes or Parikia, or you could be stranded for hours.

Christos sto Daos

CONVENT The convent of Christ of the Wood, reached by a path on a hillside just above the Valley of Petaloudes (see p. 172), is the final resting place of St. Arsenios, a 19th-century schoolteacher and abbot noted for his ability to conjure up rain in times of drought. In a famous exchange, he told a group of farmers who sought out his divine services, “If you truly have faith, why have none of you brought umbrellas?” The nuns sometimes allow visitors, but women only, to come into their walled compound to view the tomb and share sweeping views of the sea and surrounding farmlands.

Lefkes

VILLAGE The medieval capital of Paros sits high atop an interior mountain, out of harm’s way from the pirates who once raided the coast. Brigands who made their way this far inland were further thwarted by the town’s mazelike arrangement of narrow lanes, cascading down the mountainside from the beautiful main square. Rising high above the cluster of white houses are the impressive twin towers of the Church of Agia Triada, an enormous 19th-century marble edifice (open daily 8am–6pm). Windmills on an adjoining ridge are still used to grind grain, grown in a tidy patchwork of terraced fields interspersed with olive groves.

Marathi Quarries

ANCIENT SITE Translucently white and luminescent, the highly-prized white marble of Paros was dug out from three shafts in Marathi. Some of the greatest works of antiquity were crafted from Parian marble, among them Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus by Praxiteles, now in the Archaeological Museum in Ancient Olympia; the Venus de Milo, the most prized ancient treasure of the Louvre in Paris; and temples on the sacred island of Delos. Thousands of slaves worked the dank quarries night and day, wearing oil lanterns strapped to their heads that gave the marble the name lynchnites, “won by lamplight.” French engineers came to Marathi in 1844 to mine marble for Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides in Paris, the last people to work the quarry. Visitors can now descend (bring a flashlight and wear shoes with a good grip) into the 91m-deep (300 ft.) tunnels to see millennia-old chisel marks and, in the middle quarry, a 3rd-century-b.c. relief of the gods.

5km (3 mi) E of Parikia, off Parikia–Lefkes Rd. (ask bus driver to get off). Free admission. Dawn to dusk (site is unattended).

Museum of Cycladic Folklore

MUSEUM The Cyclades are magically re-created in a lovely garden, where you’ll see carefully crafted models of the pigeon towers of Tinos, the lighthouse of Andros, the Kastro in Parikia, and other monuments of the Cyclades. All are the creation of Benetos Skiadas, who is often on hand to show off the model ships he builds and will make models to order upon request.

Aliki Rd., near airport, about 8km (5 mi) S of Parikia.

698/168-0068. Admission 3€. Apr–Oct daily 10am–4pm.

Naoussa

TOWN Many players in the Mediterranean have anchored in this ancient port on a broad gulf: Persian and Greek warships, Venetian galleons, Russian frigates taking on supplies during the Turko-Russian War of 1768–1774, and the French pirate Hugue Crevelliers. Reminders of this storied past—a Venetian watchtower, the submerged ruins of the seaside kastro fortress, and a medieval gateway—today lend a colorful backdrop for fishing boats bobbing in the harbor and an animated resort life that transforms the quiet village during the summer. Even when the town is busiest, you can still get lost in tiny lanes winding inland from the harbor or come to a dead-end next to the sparkling blue water. Perch on the shady terraces of seaside ouzeries and explore the shady, whitewashed lanes of the old town. The Church of Agios Nikolaos Mostratou reflects Naoussa’s maritime traditions with models and plaques of ships that mariners have left as offerings of thanks for salvation from drowning; it’s open daily 8am to 6pm and admission is free. Some of the best sands on the island flank Naoussa: Santa Maria and Langeri to the east, Kolimbithres to the west.

Valley of Petaloudes (Valley of the Butterflies)

NATURE SITE On the grounds of a Venetian estate spread across a small vale, you’ll discover a surprisingly verdant landscape watered by several springs, one of the greenest patches on this dry island. The valley is especially enticing in the spring and early summer, when flowers bloom in wild abandon against a backdrop of cypress trees, and the air hums with the flapping wings of swarms of butterflies—actually, a species of tiger moth with spectacular brown and coral red wings. The best time to experience the spectacle is in the early evening, when moths by the thousands awaken from their daytime slumber and flutter upward toward the cool air. When the creatures are not alight, feel free to scold visitors who clap and shout to alarm the butterflies and make them fly, often causing the fragile insects to collapse.

5km (3 mi) S of Parikia off airport rd. parosbutterflies.gr.

22840/91211. Admission 3€. Mid-May–mid-Sept daily 9am–7:30pm.

The Paros Antidote: antiparos

This islet off the southwestern coast of Paros was once a place to get away from it all, and still is. These days, though, villas along its cove-laced coastline have become the not-so-secret hideaway of some famous film stars, while rates at some nice yet charmless hotels have soared up to accommodate the less privileged. Still, the open countryside is beguiling, beaches at Glyfa and Soros are sandy, the water is sparkling, and life is relaxed in whitewashed Antiparos Town and other settlements. All this makes the crossing to Antiparos a pleasant and worthwhile detour. Boats run hourly throughout the day from Parikia (3€ each way, about 20 min.), and a car ferry shuttles all day from Pounda (3.50€ each way for car and driver). A bus makes the rounds of villages and sights on Antiparos. The island’s big attraction is the Cave of Antiparos (off coast road, 10km/6 miles south of Antiparos Town; admission 5€; open Apr–Oct 10am–3pm). Legions of travelers have climbed into the grotto, including 19th-century British poet Lord Byron (see box, p. 91). The most noted visitation was on Christmas Eve 1673, when a French nobleman arranged a candlelight mass for 500 celebrants in a 40m-tall (131 ft.) cavern known as the Cathedral. An inscription on the base of a stalagmite, known as the Altar, commemorates the event. Near the entrance to the cave, the monastery of Agios Ioannis Spiliotis (St. John of the Cave) was built around a grotto etched out of the hillside. Here, a miracle occurred when St. John turned the doors to stone to protect residents who had taken refuge inside from marauding pirates.

Some of the island’s most popular beaches are on either side of the gulf of Naoussa. Santa Maria

, popular with windsurfers, is the most beautiful beach on the island, with especially clear water and shallow dunes of fine sand along the irregular coastline. Santa Maria Watersports (

694/572- 2404) provides windsurfing gear and a brief lesson for about 20€ per hour. Kolimbithres

is interspersed with huge boulders that divide the gold-sand beach into several tiny coves. Both can be reached by boat or bus from Naoussa.

The southeastern shores of the island are also lined with fine beaches, including the long strip of golden sands at Chrissi Akti

(Golden Beach), 20km (12 miles) southeast of Parikia, where the World Cup windsurfing championships take place every August (offshore winds make it one of Europe’s best windsurfing spots). The Aegean Diving College (www.aegeandiving.gr;

210/922-6510) at Chrissi Akti offers scuba lessons and certification and excursions to shipwrecks and other submerged sites. Piso Livadi, just north of Chrissi Akti and 17km (10 miles) southeast of Parikia, is a pleasant seaside village surrounded by pine forests and fronted with a sand beach that’s popular with families. Chrissi Akti and Piso Livadi are well served by buses from Parikia.

Nightlife on Paros is no match for that on Mykonos or Santorini. Nevertheless, islanders and their visitors enjoy sitting outdoors to enjoy an evening. Just behind the windmill in Parikia, the local landmark Port Café

(

22840/27354), a basic kafenion lit by bare incandescent bulbs, is filled day and night with tourists waiting for a ferry, bus, taxi, or fellow traveler. Pirate Bar

(

6979/194074), on the market street within the old quarter behind the harbor, often has classical music and good jazz. Alexandros Cafe

(alexandros-cafe.gr;

6930/671269), in a restored windmill by the harbor, is a perfect spot to enjoy the sunset and watch the passing evening scene.

In Naoussa, Agosta

(

694/571-1207) is a popular harborside spot for an after-dinner drink, while Kafeneio Palio Agora (

22840/51847), tucked into the old lanes behind the waterfront, is a wonderfully old-fashioned place to snack and drink.

Sifnos is the favorite getaway of too many people to be a well-kept secret, but it’s still one of the most beautiful—even, at times, serene—islands in the Cyclades. The mountains that frame Sifnos’s deep harbor, Kamares, are barren, but as the road climbs from the port, you will see elegantly ornamented dovecotes above cool green hollows, old (no one really knows just how old) fortified monasteries, and watchtowers that stand astride the summits of arid hills. The beautiful slate and marble paths across the island, monopati, are miracles of care—you’ll come across islanders washing them—and Sifnos is a walker’s delight. It’s astonishingly green, not only in spring but well into the summer. Beaches along the southern coast offer long stretches of fine amber sand; several smaller rocky coves are also excellent for swimming. Sifnos does not have much in the way of nightlife or must-see sights, but the allure is just wandering those green hillsides and dazzlingly white villages, and finding a place to enjoy the water along the cove-etched coastline. In the interest of full disclosure, if you decide to visit Sifnos in August, when much of well-to-do Athens seems to be transplanted to the island, you might have a decidedly less favorable impression.

ARRIVING Weather permitting, there are at least four boats daily from Piraeus, including car ferries and fast boats, some of which take cars. They arrive at Kamares, the island’s port. From Kamares the road climbs through a narrow gorge, past olive groves, and emerges at Apollonia, the island’s main settlement, about 5km (3 miles) southeast. Ferries travel on ever-changing schedules to other islands, including Serifos, Kimolos Milos, Tinos, Paros, and Kithnos. Go to www.ferryhopper.com or www.gtp.gr for the latest schedules, but remember, boats in the Cyclades run notoriously late; any ticket agency on the island will give you estimated arrivals and departures.

Visitor Information The best place on the island for information and help getting a hotel room, boat tickets, car, motorbike, or hiking excursion is Aegean Thesaurus Travel and Tourism

, with offices on the port (www.thesaurus.gr;

22840/32-152) and on the main square in Apollonia (

22840/33-152). Just off the main square in Apollonia, Xidis Travel (www.xidis.com.gr;

22840/32-373) is another good travel agent.

GETTING AROUND Apollonia’s central square, Plateia Iroon (which locals simply call the Plateia or Stavri), is the main bus stop for the island. Buses run regularly to and from the port at Kamares, north to Artemonas and Cheronisso, east to Kastro, and south to Faros, Platis Yialos, and Vathi. Apollonia’s main square is also the island’s primary taxi stand. There are about 10 taxis on the island, each privately owned; you can get their mobile phone numbers from travel agents and some cafes. Most hotels, restaurants, and shops will call a taxi for you; offer to pay for the call.

The golden Years

Sifnians were among the wealthiest of the ancient Greeks, thanks to the silver and gold they mined. They flaunted their riches and made especially lavish offerings to Apollo on the sacred island of Delos (p. 156). One year the greedy Sifnians decided to substitute gilded lead for their offering of gold. As the story goes, Apollo detected the ruse and wreaked his revenge by conjuring an earthquake that caused the mines to flood. The mines on Sifnos did indeed stop yielding riches, but on account of natural causes. Many of the mines were dug beneath sea level and eventually filled with water; others were simply depleted of their precious minerals over time.

Reliable agencies for cars, motorbikes, or ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) are Aegean Thesaurus (www.thesaurus.gr;

22840/33151), in Apollonia and Proto Moto Car (www.protomotocar.gr;

22840/33793), with a quayside office in Kamares and offices in Apollonia and Plati Yialos. In high season, you should reserve ahead. The daily rate for an economy car with full insurance is from 30€; a moped or ATV rents from 20€.

Akti Hotel Platys Yialos

This 1960s landmark overlooks the cove in Plati Yialos, set apart from the busy strip of the island’s only beach town. The sand beach slopes gently into the sea, ideal for children, and ground-floor guest rooms, with patios facing the garden and water, are also well suited to young travelers. Rooms on upper floors command sweeping sea views from their balconies and are bright and attractive studies in white, with white furnishings against white floors and walls, with the occasional touch of local stone. A flagstone sun deck extends from the beach to a dive platform at the end of the cove.

Platis Yialos. www.platys-gialos.gr.

22840/71324. 24 units. 100€–220€ double (5- to 7-night min. stay July–Aug). Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; water sports; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Oct–Mar.

Elies Resort

Sifnos has always been sophisticated, but quietly so, and this swank retreat on a hillside above Vathy brings glossy glamour to the island. Whether this is a welcome change depends on your taste and budget (many islanders resent the intrusion). Lavish rooms and villas are full of contemporary style and comforts, many with private pools; indoor/outdoor restaurants are excellent; and a large swimming pool sparkles above a sandy beach. The beautiful seaside village of Vathy is just beyond the gates.

Vathy. www.eliesresorts.com.

22840/34000. 32 units. 240€–340€ double. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; beach; spa; tennis courts; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Oct–Apr.

Hotel Anthoussa

These rooms above the very popular Gerontopoulos Cafe are right in the center of town. They face a flowery garden or look out to the surrounding hills, but even so, all of Sifnos seems to congregate outside the windows, so don’t expect a quiet getaway. Rooms have balconies and are simple yet appealing, with crisp blue fabrics and homey furnishings, and the location makes a handy base for exploring the rest of the island by bus. The open-air cafe downstairs is a great place to linger.

Apollonia. hotelanthousa-sifnos.gr.

22840/31431. 15 units. 40€–80€ double. Amenities: Cafe; garden; fridges; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Oct–Apr.

Petali Village Hotel

This comfortable perch is high above Apollonia, requiring a walk uphill from the square but ensuring views across the villages and the rolling interior hills to the sea. The extremely comfortable rooms and suites are large and attractive and face well-kept gardens from large terraces. All the village sights and services are within walking distance, and the pool and the summertime-only restaurant are most welcome after a day of sightseeing.

Apollonia. sifnoshotelpetali.com.

22840/33024. 25 units. 90€–240€ (4-night min. stay July–Aug). Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; Wi-Fi (free).

Sifnos is famous for its olive oil and sophisticated cooking; in fact, “Tselementes,” a Greek slang term for cookbook, is a tribute to the famous 20th-century Sifnian chef and cookbook writer, Nikos Tselementes. The secret, it’s said, is slow-roasting in ceramic pots made of Sifnian clay; many restaurants serve a dish prepared this way, called mastelo—goat or lamb soaked in wine and sprinkled with dill, set on grapevine shoots in a pot, and placed in an oven to slow steam for hours. As you travel around Sifnos, you’ll notice a lot of bakeries (a bakery is called a furno in Greece) and sweet shops. Among the island’s most popular bakeries are Katerina Theodorou, on the main street in Aretmonas, and Gerontopoulos Pastry Shop in the Hotel Anthousa in Apollonia.

Narlis Farm (www.sifnos-farm-narlis.com;

697/977-8283), in Apollonia, hosts half-day cooking courses (around 100€), during which visitors gather ingredients from the farm, make traditional Sifnian recipes, and enjoy a meal.

Chrysopigi

GREEK/SEAFOOD You can see the seaside monastery of the same name from the shady terrace of this very relaxed taverna on Apokofto beach. Caper salad and other Sifnos specialties are made daily, and fresh fish from the fleet at Faros, just around the headland, is grilled to perfection.

Apokofto.

22840/71295. Entrees 5€–15€. Daily noon–11pm. Closed Oct–Apr.

A Baker’s dozen

A Sifnian baker named Benios (pronounced Ve-ni-os) once had 13 children—a baker’s dozen—and almost all the children and their children’s children and successive generations of the Venios family became bakers. Several bakeries in Sifnos to this day are owned by one or another member of the Venios family. Many families, and even some restaurants, send their revithia (chickpeas) in a Sifnian clay pot, a skepastaria, to a Venios bakery to be slow-cooked overnight for a traditional Sunday dinner.

Kafenes

GREEK It’s worth the trip down to the port just to enjoy a meal at this friendly, arbor-covered taverna terrace and a cozy adjoining room. Many of the tavernas in town are good and do a brisk business with diners coming and going from the port, but Adoni and his family are island-famous for the salads, fresh vegetables, homemade sausages, and fruit-infused liqueurs they produce on their farm, as well as their preparations of wild goat and other Sifnian dishes.

Hotel Boulis, Kamares.

22840/32122. Entrees 6€–12€. Daily noon–midnight.

To Liotrivi

GREEK One of the oldest and best-known restaurants on Sifnos has introduced legions of travelers to caper salad, chickpea croquettes, and other island specialties. Service is not always first-rate, but a meal on the square out front or in a cozy dining room is still a memorable experience.

The island’s capital, Apollonia, is really a cluster of five villages that tumble across the inland hills in haphazard fashion, a jumble of whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches interspersed with vineyards, orchards, and gardens. Flagstone footpaths delicately outlined in whitewash wind through the villages and converge on Plateia Iroon (Hero’s Square). A bus from the port in Kamares makes the trip up to the square hourly from about 6am to midnight every day in summer. To one side of the square, the Popular and Folk Art Museum (

22840/33730), is a showplace for island embroidery and weaving, along with the earthenware pots and jars that Sifnians once loaded onto ships in exchange for staples. The museum is generally open April through October, daily 10am to 1pm and 6 to 10pm; admission 2€). A short walk west up a path brings you to the Panagia Ouranophora (Church of Our Lady of the Heavenly Light), where a relief of St. George crowns the doorway. A marble column and a few other fragments of a temple to Apollo are scattered about the shady courtyard.

Artemonas

VILLAGE The path from Plateia Iroon rises through the quiet village of Ano Petali, drops down to a stone bridge across the Marinou River, then climbs into the most beautiful of the Apollonia villages. The remains of a temple to Artemis—Apollo’s sister, goddess of virginity and the hunt—are said to be buried beneath the Kochi, one of several churches that rise above the village rooftops. Panagia tou Barou (Church of Our Lady of the Baron) is named for one of the Italian nobles who ruled Sifnos from the 15th through early 17th centuries. The baron allegedly fell in love with a nun in a nearby monastery and turned his unrequited ardor toward local women; his offspring soon populated the quarter, known ever since as the Barou in his honor.

A bust of a more respectable resident, Nicholas Chrysogetos, stands near the village square. The surroundings have changed little since this hero of the 1821 War of Independence taught in Artemonas before becoming Greece’s first minister of education. This is a nice spot in which to linger and sip a coffee before resuming your wanderings along any of the lanes that lead off the square.

Exambala

VILLAGE The name of the southernmost of the Apollonia villages translates as “trouble in the night”—a reference to the days under Turkish rule when the village was famous for spirited, independence-oriented rhetoric and song that often got out of hand as the nights wore on. On a hillside just outside the village the large, whitewashed monastery of Kyria Vryssiani (Sacred Spring) stands among olive groves. The cool spring that still bubbles forth in the courtyard is said to supply the freshest water on the island.

The island is not known for its beaches, though Chrysopigi (see below) and Vathy (p. 189) are beautiful places to get into the water. Kamares, the port, has a nice sandy beach. Plati Yialos, on the island’s south coast, is the only bonafide beach resort on Sifnos. This one-street town is pleasant enough but pretty much devoid of character and exists only for tourism during the summer season.

Agios Andreas

CHURCH/ANCIENT SITE One reason to make a vigorous 20-minute hike up to this hilltop church is to enjoy the almost 360-degree view of Sifnos and neighboring islands. (Less sportingly, a road also climbs to the summit.) Another reason is to explore the excavations of an ancient acropolis, and its excellent small site museum. People have lived on this spot from perhaps the 13th century b.c. until at least the 4th century b.c. Massive walls that once stood some 6m (20 ft.) high (shorter versions still stand here) encircled the settlement, with its sanctuary of Artemis and small houses. From the site, you can see the remains of some of Sifnos’s more than 80 stone towers, used for defense and for communication: bonfires could flash messages quickly across the island from tower to tower. All this and more is explained in the excellent museum, where everything is labeled both in Greek and English.

Chrysopigi

MONASTERY The Monastery of Panagia Chrysopigi (the Golden Wellspring) has been close to the heart of Sifnians since it was founded atop a rocky islet in 1650 to house an icon of the Virgin Mary that fishermen found washed up on the rocks. The image soon miraculously intervened to save the island from the plague—and came to the rescue again in 1928, when locusts descended upon the island. Yet another miracle occurred when two women fled to the monastery to escape pursuing pirates. They prayed to the Virgin, who interceded by creating a deep chasm in the rocks to separate Chrysopigi from the mainland (a bridge now crosses the rift above the churning sea). Fishermen bring their sons to the monastery to be baptized in a font on a rocky point at the very edge of the surf, hoping to ensure that the boys will forever be safe from the perils of the seafaring life. You can contemplate the beautiful, still-active monastery with its simple church from a sandy beach, Apokofto, nestled beside an adjacent cove. A stone path leads around a headland to Faros, a small fishing village that takes its name from the lighthouse that guides the fleet past the rocky shoreline.

8km (5 mi) SE of Apollonia. Church open occasionally, hours vary; courtyard always open.

Kastro

TOWN While the villages of Apollonia are light and airy, Kastro is somberly medieval, a fortress hugging a rocky promontory above the surf. The capital of Sifnos under Venetian rule, the fortress/town was virtually unassailable, made so by a row of connected houses that form a solid defensive wall around the inner town. Tunnel-like passages lead into a maze of little lanes and tiny squares lined with tall Venetian-era houses—and littered here and there with sarcophagi left behind by the Romans who occupied Sifnos. The two-room Archaeological Museum (free admission) displays bits of pottery and friezes from the ancient city that occupied these heights 3,000 years ago. The museum is open Wednesday through Monday, 8:30am to 4pm. The Church of the Eftamartyres (Seven Martyrs) sits atop a sea-girt promontory far beneath a clifftop promenade that skirts the town’s outer flanks. The scene of the white chapel practically floating on the waves is remarkably picturesque, especially when wind-whipped waves buffet the sturdy white walls.

Profitis Elias o Pilos

MONASTERY The highest mountain on the island rises 850m (2,789 ft.) and is topped by an isolated monastery. O Pilos means “high one,” a term that takes on special meaning as you make the 1-hour-long climb on a steep, well-worn path, the only means of access, and regard the panoramic views across what seems like most of the Aegean Sea. A monk is often on hand to show you around the thick-walled courtyard and chapel and offer a glass of cool water. The monastery celebrates the feast of Elias around July 20, when hundreds of celebrants make a nighttime pilgrimage up to the monastery carrying torches.

Trail begins 2km (1 mi) W of Apollonia in Katavati, a hamlet just south of Exambala.

Vathy

TOWN Until a new road was laid about 20 years ago, the only way to reach Vathy was on foot, donkey, or boat. Even with this road link to the rest of the island, Vathy remains a serene getaway, a small collection of houses along a beach of fine sand, backed by a verdant valley. This setting is made all the more beautiful by the presence of the Monastery of the Taxiarchis Evangelistrias (Archangel of the Annunciation), so close to the seaside that the whitewashed walls and a bell tower seem to rise out of the water. Note: If you follow the monopati footpath across the island to Vathy from Chrysopigi, at the top of the peninsula above the Bay of Platos Yialos you’ll notice the Aspro Pirgos, or White Tower, a lookout post built round 500 b.c., when the mines of Sifnos still yielded gold and the island was an important Aegean outpost.

Famed in antiquity first for its precious metals, Sifnos was famous well into the 20th century for ceramics. Among the island’s main exports were bowls, plates, and jugs for everyday use, and the island still produces some wonderful brown glaze pottery with minimalist white decorative swirls. As you crisscross the island, you’ll see signs advertising pottery workshops. Giannis and Simos Apostolidis carry on a century-old family ceramics tradition and show off their wares in their En Sifno workshop, just outside Kamares in Leivadas (apostolidis-ceramics.gr;

22840/33721). Sifnos Stoneware in Artemonas (www.sifnosstoneware.com;

22840/33090) displays pottery and dinnerware that Antonis Kalogirou, carrying on a family tradition, fashions from the deep gray or red clay mined in the inland hill region. In Apollonia, Kastro, and Artemonas a number of other shops sell pottery, but it’s mostly from neighboring Paros (p. 167)—Parian pottery is distinguished by its bright colors, shiny glazes, and scenes of fruit, flowers, and island life. For those in search of distinctive jewelry, Spyros Koralis’s Ble (

22840/33-055), in Apollonia, does innovative work in silver and gold.

Do yourself the favor of arriving by boat rather than by plane, because sailing into Santorini is one of the great Greek experiences. From the deck of the ferry, you will be looking up the 300m-high (1,000 ft.) cliffs that form the western flanks of the main island. The bay, some 10km (6 miles) long and as deep as 400m (1,312 ft.) in places, is actually the flooded caldera of a volcano, whose eruptions caused the center of a once-large island to collapse. Gaze back west to the islets on the west side of the bay, Therasia and Aspronissi, and you’ll see that they were originally fragments of the rim.

From the sea, the towns and villages that line the caldera look almost like apparitions. At first the clusters appear to be natural formations of white stone, until blue domes come into focus and you notice white cubical houses practically teetering on the sides of the cliffs.

Little wonder that Santorini is the most visited of the Greek isles. You won’t encounter too many vestiges of authentic Greece here or explore wild terrain, but you will never tire of soaking in the beauty of one of the world’s most spectacular natural settings. When you tear yourself away from the views of the volcanic caldera, you can bask on black sand beaches and encounter the remains of prehistoric civilizations at Akrotiri and Ancient Thera.

arriving Aegean Airlines (en.aegeanair.com), Olympic Air (www.olympicair.com), and Sky Express (www.skyexpress.gr) fly several times a day between Athens and the Santorini airport, Monolithos (

22860/31-525), 6km (31⁄2 miles) east of Fira. The small airport also handles flights to and from other European cities operated by easyJet (www.easyjet.com) and many other airlines, including summertime charters. There are frequent connections with Mykonos and Rhodes, and service several times a week in summer to and from Iraklion, Crete. A bus to Fira (4€) meets most flights; the bus stop is beside the airport entrance and tickets are sold on board. A taxi to Fira costs about 13€.

Frequent ferry and high-speed catamaran service runs to and from Piraeus. The trip takes 9 to 10 hours by car ferry on the Piraeus-Paros-Naxos-Ios-Santorini route, or 4 hours by catamaran, if you go via Piraeus-Paros-Santorini. Boats are notoriously late, especially the catamarans; any travel agent or the Santorini Port Authority (

22860/22-239) will be able to give you updates. In summer, ferries connect several times a day with Ios, Naxos, Paros, and Mykonos, with almost daily service to and from such smaller Cyclades islands as Folegandros, Sifnos, and Sikinos. Service to Iraklion or Rethymnon on Crete runs once or twice daily, and service to Thessaloniki (a trip that takes 17–24 hr.) runs four to five times per week. Go to www.ferryhopper.com or www.gtp.gr to keep up with ever-changing schedules.

Almost all ferries dock at Athinios, where buses meet each boat for the trip to Fira (one-way to Fira costs 3€, buy tickets on board); taxis are also available from Athinios, charging about 15€. Santorini Port Super Shuttle (www.santoriniport.co;

6940/792211) has an office at the port and offers shared transport around the island, as low as 12€ to Oia and other far-flung spots. The service is especially handy late at night when buses are not running. Athinios is charmless, lined with a few lackluster and overpriced tavernas; when you come here to catch a ferry, it’s a good idea to bring a snack, water, and a good book.

The exposed port at Skala, directly below Fira, is unsafe for the larger ferries but is often used by small cruise ships, yachts, and excursion vessels. If your boat docks here, head to town either by cable car (6€, luggage 3€ each piece) or you can do the 45-minute uphill walk. Avoid making the trip on the back of one of the often-mistreated donkeys.

Visitor Information Bellonias Tours (www.bellonias.com;

22860/32026), Kamari Tours (

22860/31-390), and Pelican Travel (www.pelican.gr;

22860/22220) are well established on the island, offering bus tours, boat excursions around the caldera, and more. You’ll find some helpful information on the island at the municipality of Fira website, www.santorini.gr.

Getting Around The central bus station is just south of the main square in Fira. Most routes are served every hour or half-hour from 7am to 11pm in high season. A conductor on board will collect fares, which range from 2€ to 5€. Destinations include Akrotiri, Athinios (the ferry pier), Ia, Kamari, Monolithos (the airport), Perissa, Perivolas Beach, Vlihada, and Vourvoulos.

A car is not really necessary, except for maybe a 1-day excursion to visit Pyrgos, wineries, Akrotiri, Ancient Thera, or to make a sweep of the island’s famous volcanic beaches. Many travel agents on the island rent cars, charging about 60€ a day in high season for a small car with unlimited mileage. Parking is tight around Fira; it’s best to use the free, well-marked municipal lot at the southern edge of town. If you park in a no-parking area, the police will remove your license plates, and you, not the car-rental office, will have to pay a steep fine to get them back.

If you decide to rent a moped or ATV, keep in mind that many roads on the island are narrow and winding. Between local drivers who take the roads at high speed, and visiting drivers who aren’t sure where they’re going, the island’s high accident rate should be no surprise. If you’re determined to use these modes of transportation, expect to pay about 25€ per day, less in the off-season. Greek law now requires wearing a helmet.

The taxi station is just south of the main square. In high season, book ahead by phone (

22860/22-555 or 22860/23-951) if you want a taxi for an excursion; be sure that you agree on the price before you set out. For most point-to-point trips (Fira to Ia, for example), the prices are fixed. If you call for a taxi outside Fira, you’ll be charged a pickup fee of at least 2€; you’re also required to pay the driver’s fare from Fira to your pickup point. Bus service shuts down at midnight, so book a taxi in advance if you’ll need it late at night.

A caldera is Born

A caldera forms when molten rock, known as magma, is ejected from a volcanic crater during an eruption. Without the support of underlying magma, the land surrounding the crater collapses. A volcanic eruption several hundred thousand years ago created the caldera in Santorini, when the center of a circular island collapsed and the sea rushed in to fill the caldera. Volcanic debris from other eruptions has refilled the caldera many times over the millennia, only to collapse again. By the time of the last eruption, around 1500 b.c., the Santorini caldera was almost entirely ringed with land, except for one narrow channel. One of the largest eruptions on record, the 1500 b.c. explosion blew open additional channels, creating the present-day appearance of the caldera.

Which leads to the million-dollar question: Is Santorini Atlantis? Plato tells us that Atlantis “disappeared into the sea depths” some 9,000 years before his time—but that’s only one zero off from 900 years (a mistake passed down through the ages, perhaps?). Plato wrote in the 5th century b.c., so the missing-zero theory places the destruction of Atlantis tantalizingly close to the time of Santorini’s last eruption.

Many hotels along the caldera are accessible only via very long flights of steep steps. Staff members are usually on hand to carry your bags, but if you’re not up to some fairly rigorous climbs, many of these places are not for you—and many are not suitable for young children. Ask about accessibility when booking and, if that’s an issue, seek out lodgings on level ground. You’ll save a hundred or more euros a night if you choose to stay somewhere other than along the caldera rim in Fira and the towns north from there to Oia. Wherever you stay, reserve as far in advance as possible if you’re planning a visit in July or August, when rooms book up quickly. Many hotels require a minimum stay or 2 or 3 nights at that time.

Astra Suites

Dramatic eagle’s-eye views over the caldera and the Skaros promontory set the scene for stylishly appointed suites and apartments that surround a lovely pool and cling to the side of the caldera, looking like a tiny, whitewashed village. This amazing setting is the backdrop for extremely tasteful, comfortable accommodations, with vaulted ceilings, beautiful tile work, and handsome wood and fabrics. Everything is just right, and the management and staff—a large part of what makes Astra so special—go out of their way to ensure it remains that way, providing service that focuses on every detail.

Imerovigli. www.astrasuites.com.

22860/23-641. 27 suites. 250€–450€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Bar; restaurant; pool; spa services; Wi-Fi (free).

Esperas

You’ll feel like a cliff dweller at this welcoming enclave of traditional houses teetering on the edge of the caldera at the edge of Ia. Shops and restaurants are just steps (in the literal sense) away, and a path leads to stairs descending to Ammoudi’s beach Even so, this enchanted perch seems like a world unto itself, set apart from the busy Ia scene. Views are stupendous from the private terraces (many with hot tubs) or the beautiful pool and terrace, and the comfortable and tasteful accommodations, filled with traditional island furnishings, invite seclusion (a rare commodity on the crowded caldera these days). The in-house restaurant shows off local produce in delicious salads, wonderful seafood dishes, and a slow-cooked lamb shank.

Ia. www.esperas.com.

22860/71088. 17 units. 270€–370€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; pool; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–Mar.

Ikies

On an island famous for dramatic settings, this aerie tucked away on the side of the caldera ranks high on the gee-whiz scale. All units are different, though each is a greatly enhanced cliff house with a kitchenette, living area, and bedroom or two. Many are on two levels, and each opens to its own terrace with a private hot tub and eye-filling views. Stonework, domed ceilings, bright-blue shutters, and other architectural details provide plenty of exotic island ambiance, while furnishings are a design-magazine-worthy mash-up of contemporary and traditional styling. Attentive, low-key service accentuates the feeling that you are in a world of your own with the sparkling Aegean at your feet.

Ia. www.ikies.com.

22860/71311. 11 units. 300€–500€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Room service; pool; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–Mar.

Aressana Spa Hotel

Travelers put off by the steps of caldera-view hotels will find a welcome refuge in this stunning retreat set around a dramatic swimming pool and lush gardens in the middle of Fira. The surroundings can be aggressively hip, but the stylish rooms are large and offer every comfort; most rooms have balconies or terraces, often facing the pool and quiet gardens, and many have the high barrel-vaulted ceilings typical of this island.

Fira. www.aressana.gr.

22860/23-900. 50 units. 190€–300€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: Cafe; bar; pool; room service; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Nov–Feb.

Aura Marina

A hillside above the village of Akrotiri at the south end of Santorini is the quiet setting for airy, handsomely furnished apartments that look over the sea and the caldera. All of the beautifully designed, handsomely furnished units have sitting rooms, kitchenettes, and bedrooms/sleeping lofts, and all open to large terraces with private plunge pools. You’ll need a car to reach this pleasantly remote place, but you’ll be near the island’s best beaches as well as the archeological sites.

Near Akrotiri. www.aura-marina.com.

2286/083101. 9 units. 190€–400€ double. 3–night min. stay. Amenities: Private pools; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–Mar.

Hotel Keti

You don’t have to take out a second mortgage to afford a caldera view at this delightful and reasonably priced inn clinging to the cliff face below the center of Fira, full of the island’s famously eye-catching scenery. Rooms are pleasantly vaulted, whitewashed, and traditionally furnished. All open onto a shared terrace overlooking the caldera, while bathrooms, at the back of the rooms, are carved into the cliff face. The fanciest accommodation in the house is a suite with an outdoor Jacuzzi. You’ll do some climbing to get in and out of this hideaway, but your efforts are well rewarded.

Fira. www.hotelketi.gr.

22860/22324. 7 units. 190€–220€ double. Rates include breakfast. 3-night min. stay July–Aug. Amenities: Bar; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–mid-Mar.

Zannos Melathron

Pyrgos, an atmospheric medieval citadel in the island’s center that was once the capital, is the setting for this distinctive and luxurious hideaway, part of the Relais & Chateaux group. Two exotic 18th- and 19th-century neoclassical mansions are set in lush gardens behind high walls. Restrained old-world ambience fills the frescoed lounges, guest rooms, and suites, all facing patios and a pool. Wine and food are first-rate, views from this vantage point (some of the highest ground on the island) are extensive, and the welcoming lanes of Pyrgos are just outside the door.

Pyrgos. www.zannos.gr.

22860/28220. 12 units. 240€–330€ double. Rates include buffet breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; airport pickup; concierge; Jacuzzi; pool; room service; Wi-Fi (free).

Anatoli Hotel

This remains of an old winery have been transformed into a handsome cluster of stone and whitewashed houses, hidden away on the east side of Fira—a world removed from the noise and bustle but still with spectacular water views, not of the caldera but over the east coast beaches far below. Traditionally styled rooms open off hillside terraces and gardens and come in many sizes and configurations, some set up with kitchens for families. Most have vaulted ceilings and other quirks; many look over the sea from balconies. The center of Fira is a 5-minute walk away.

Fira. www.anatolihotel.gr.

22860/22759. 21 units. 70€–100€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; spa; pool.

Chez Sophie

Popular Kamari beach is just down the road from one of the island’s best-value choices, a pleasant, ocher-colored little inn where the owner and her family seem determined to make guests feel like they’ve found a home in Santorini. Rooms vary in size and furnishings but all are comfortably non-fussy; some have sea views and all have balconies and well-done bathrooms, and they surround a pretty terrace and pool. Buses make the short trip up to Fira about every half hour from a nearby stop and Ancient Thera is just up the road.

Kamari. www.chezsophie.gr.

22860/32912. 12 units. 70€–160€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Bar; pool; Wi-Fi (free).

Paradise Hotel

If you’re willing to forego the caldera views, you’ll be lucky to find yourself in this delightful spot near the island’s ancient sites and lava beaches. Pleasantly plain, tile-floored rooms surround a flowery garden and enormous pool, living up to the standards of a Best Western affiliation. Though the nearby sea is just out of sight, the scene of village life unfolding all around you is a spectacle in itself.

Akrotiri. www.hotelparadise.gr.

22860/81277. 40 units. 75€–160€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Pool; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Nov–Mar.

Smaragdi

“Smaragdi” is a gemstone and an apt name for these attractive and extremely good-value accommodations set back from black-sand Perissas Beach. Rooms range from economy units to luxurious suites, but even the basic “economy” choices don’t skimp on style or comfort. All have generous outdoor spaces (shared, in the economy category) and are clustered around a flower-filled pool terrace. Service is notably attentive, with an amiable staff devoted to providing bus schedules, dispensing sightseeing tips, and helping guests find nearby markets and laundries. Easy-going beach bars and tavernas are just down the lane, as is a bus stop for connections to Fira.

Perivolos, Perissas Beach. maragdihotel.gr.

22860/8270160. 46 units. 50€–170€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Bar; snack bar; pool. Closed mid-Oct–mid-Apr.

Villa Maria

You get a different look at the caldera from the southern end of the island, and at these bright-white houses perched on the edge of a cliff outside Akrotiri, those views come at a fraction of the price you’d pay in Fira or Oia. Pleasantly simple rooms and apartments, awash in shades of white and pale blue, are filled with light and sea views. All have sea-view balconies, and a large sun terrace surrounds a pool.

Akrotiri, on caldera about 1⁄2 mi outside town. www.villamariasantorini.com.

22860/82334. 8 units. 70€–110€ double. Rates include breakfast. Amenities: Pool; kitchens; Wi-Fi (free). Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

A good meal in Santorini is usually laden with island-grown ingredients that include capers; tomatoes, either sun-dried or made into tomato fritters; fava beans, usually pureed and drizzled with olive oil; and white eggplants, often made into melitzanosalata, a delicious dip. Several of these fresh ingredients show up in Santorini Salad, a taverna staple. You can learn about the island’s distinctive cuisine at cooking courses, held daily except Sunday, in kitchens at Selene (selene.gr/cooking-courses;

22860/22249), the island’s highly acclaimed restaurant in Pyrgos; from 85€ a person. Meals on the island can be expensive, but there are some inexpensive but authentic fast-food alternatives, such as Pito Gyros Traditional Grill House in Ia (pitogyros.com;

22860/71119) and Greek Souvlaki Karvounaki in Fira on 25 Maritou (

22860/25095).

Restaurant-Bar 1800

GREEK/CONTINENTAL A 200-plus-year-old sea captain’s house in the center of Ia is one of Santorini’s favorite dining spots, and little wonder. Fresh fish beautifully sauced with capers, tender lamb chops with green applesauce, and other inspired cuisine does justice to the exquisite decor—and, for that matter, to the views from the roof terrace. After you eat, you can decide whether the owner (an architect and chef) deserves more praise for his skill with the decor or with the cuisine.

Main St., Ia. www.oia-1800.com.

22860/71485. Entrees 18€–35€. Daily 8pm–midnight.

Cycladic architecture

On Santorini and other Cycladic Islands, houses were crowded together, one on top of another with common walls, to make optimal use of the land, provide protection, and save money and labor when materials often had to be transported on the backs of donkeys. Many houses on Santorini were built into the cliff face for extra economy (some of the most luxurious hotels on the island now occupy such cave dwellings). Walls were thick for warmth in the winter and for coolness in the summer, and windows were small. Often the only windows were in the front of the house, on either side of a windowed door, above which a clerestory window was placed to emit light and let hot air trapped near the ceiling escape—still a feature in many Santorini hotel rooms. Local materials on Santorini were red and black volcanic stone and “Theran earth,” a volcanic ash that served as mortar. Roofs were vaulted, an efficient way to bridge interior spaces without using support beams and to allow rain to run off into cisterns, where it was stored for drinking and irrigation. Even many flat-roofed houses are vaulted, with parapets built atop the vaults to serve as terraces or passageways to more houses.

Selene

GREEK This elegant retreat, occupying an old manor house in Pyrgos, consistently tops best-in-Greece lists. It works its magic from the moment you step into the handsome dining room or onto the candlelit terrace overlooking vineyards and the distant sea. Dishes such as octopus with smoked eggplant, fava balls with capers, and herb-encrusted rabbit make creative use of local ingredients; the legendary brodero (seafood stew) and baked mackerel with caper leaves and tomato wrapped in a fava-bean crepe make the most of island mainstays, earning stars in haute-cuisine magazines. The beautiful surroundings, perfect ambience and service, and memorable meals come together to form a perfect Santorini evening, one that many travelers talk about for years after. For something a little more casual, and less expensive, you can enjoy a meal or light bite at the adjacent bistro-cafe-patisserie-wine bar (main courses from 12€; open daily noon–11pm).

Pyrgos. www.selene.gr.

22860/22-249. Entrees 17€–30€. Daily 7–11:30pm. Closed Nov–early Apr.

Candouni

GREEK It’s hard to pass by this 19th-century sea captain’s house, where pork fillets stuffed with apricots, pasta with salmon and caviar, and other innovative dishes are served in an enticing candlelit garden and in charming old rooms amid antiques and mementos of old Santorini. The Korkiantis family takes care of guests with warmth and style, and will encourage you to linger over wine late into the evening.

Katina’s

SEAFOOD Fish tavernas line the quay at Ammoudi, the fishing port below Ia. All are good, and given the discerning taste of the islanders when it comes to seafood, none would stay in business for long if offerings were to fail the freshness test. Family-run Katina’s stands out because it is one of the oldest and most revered places on the waterfront, yet it never lets down its high standards. At all these tavernas, the fresh fish, calamari, or octopus you choose from the iced display cases will be grilled and served with fresh salads and vegetables. Lapping waves and bobbing fishing boats provide a suitably nautical backdrop. What more could one ask for? Maybe a taxi back up the hill when it’s time to leave. Just ask your waiter and one will appear.

Amoundi, at bottom of steps from Ia.

22860/71280. Entrees 10€–25€ or more; fish sold by weight. Daily noon–midnight.

Metaxy Mas

GREEK/CRETAN An out-of-the-way location in the countryside outside Pyrgos doesn’t seem to deter eager diners, who pack into the stone-walled dining room and terrace from noon until the wee hours. The name means “between us,” but no one’s chosen to keep this buzzing place a secret. The chief draws are simple time-honored dishes made with the freshest ingredients: Delicious salads, perfectly grilled fish, heavenly shrimp saganaki, simply roasted eggplant, tomato fritters—everything that comes from the kitchen is memorable. If service seems a bit rushed, you’ll certainly understand.

To Psaraki

GREEK/SEAFOOD The name means “little fish,” fitting for this garden and balcony hanging over the harbor of Vilchada on the southern end of the island, which serves freshly caught fish and seafood from select local suppliers, prepared with the tomatoes, white eggplants, and capers for which the island is famous. Grilled just-caught fish is the specialty, and the tarama (fish eggs) baked with eggplant, tomato, and feta seems to combine all the flavors of the island.

Vilchada, 10km (6 mi) S of Fira. topsaraki.gr.

22860/82783. Entrees 10€–25€. Daily 1–11pm. Closed mid-Oct–Apr.

Roka

GREEK A neoclassical house with a colorful garden on the back streets of Ia is a welcome retreat from the busy scene on the caldera rim. The traditional taverna fare sticks close to the basics, making the most of island ingredients. Vegetable pies, peppers stuffed with rice and pine nuts, and grilled meat and fish are unfailingly delicious.

Taverna Nikolas

GREEK An authentic Greek taverna seems almost out of place in Fira these days—but that, of course, is the appeal of this simple, whitewashed room that has been serving old favorites, from a good moussaka to lamb in lemon sauce, for more than 50 years. Nikolas is usually on hand to make sure his guests are happy—and they are, especially in light of the down-to-earth prices. Arrive early or late, and bring cash, as the place is always busy, and reservations and credit cards are not accepted.

Just up from the main square, Fira.

22860/24550. Entrees 7€–10€. Daily noon–midnight.

Zafora

GREEK From a seat on the terrace, you can take in the action of this pleasant village (near the ancient site of the same name) while sampling tomato fritters, pasta with seafood, stuffed peppers, and other local favorites. This is a good lunch stop if you’re exploring the southern end of the island.

Archaeologists have unearthed two notable ancient sites on Santorini: Ancient Thera, from around the 9th century b.c., and Akrotiri, settled by Minoans from Crete around 3000 b.c. Many of the treasures from these ancient settlements are now in the National Archeological Museum in Athens and elsewhere. Even so, the island makes a good showing of delicately painted cups, jugs, pithoi, and other artifacts from both in Fira’s Museum of Prehistoric Thera, near the bus station, with some wonderful fresco fragments, and the nearby Archaeological Museum, to the north on Erithrou Stavrou, founded in 1902 (

22860/22217 for both). They’re open daily except Tuesday, 8:30am to 4pm (until 3pm November until mid-April). Admission to each is 3€ or part of combined ticket (p. 189).

Ancient Sites Ticket Package

For 14€, you can purchase a ticket package that includes all of Santorini’s archeological sites and museums: Ancient Akrotiri, Ancient Thera, the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, and the Collection of Icons and Ecclesiastical Artifacts at Pyrgos. The ticket is good for 4 days.

Ancient Akrotiri

ANCIENT SITE One of the best-preserved ancient settlements in the Aegean, the so-called Minoan Pompeii was settled by Minoans who sailed over from Crete as early as 3000 b.c. By 2000 b.c., Akrotiri was a flourishing urban center that grew olives and grain, created fanciful art, wove beautiful textiles, sent trade ships to ports as far away as Egypt, and took peace so much for granted that residents saw no need to build defensive walls.

Buried deep in ash during the eruption of 1600 b.c., Akrotiri was not uncovered for another 3,300 years, by workers mining ash and pumice in 1860. No human remains and valuables were ever found, suggesting that the inhabitants had enough warning to flee the city. What they could not take with them were the magnificent paintings that once covered the walls of their public buildings and homes; these are now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (see p. 94). Their images, of monkeys (indicating trade with North Africa), ships sailing past leaping dolphins, cows, and young women gathering saffron reveal much about this early society that disliked war and admired beauty. On site you can still see some 40 remarkably well preserved stores, warehouses, and houses lining Akrotiri’s main street, as well as many giant pithoi (earthenware jars) and their contents of oil, fish, and onions. More than two-thirds of the town still remains covered and may one day reveal more treasures and secrets of the past. One of the island’s famously colored beaches, Paralia Kokkini (Red Beach), is next to Akrotiri; at most times it’s pleasantly uncrowded.

6km (4 mi) W of Pyrgos. odysseus.culture.gr.

22860/81366. Admission 12€ or part of combined ticket (see p. 189). Mid-Apr–Oct Tues–Sun 8:30am–8pm, Nov–mid-Apr 8:30am–3pm.

Ancient Thera

ANCIENT SITE This ruined city high atop a rocky headland reaffirms the notion that the ancients never underestimated the value of a good location. The town was settled in the 9th century b.c., and since then Egyptian sanctuaries, Greek temples, Roman baths, and Byzantine walls have risen atop the seaside cliffs. The ruins are a jumble left behind by these different cultures, but the views are so dizzying you probably won’t mind a little confusion. Most striking is the Stoa Basilike (Royal Porch), a colonnade 40m (131 ft.) long and 10m (33 ft.) wide, built in part by Egyptian troops of Ptolemy, garrisoned on Santorini in the 3rd century b.c. The large Terrace of the Festivals in front of the Temple to Apollo Karneios was the stage for the Karneia, a Greek festival in which Ephebes, adolescent males undergoing strict military training, danced naked; the display was more than a little erotic, and it’s been suggested that the spectacle inspired a large phallus carved onto a nearby wall with the inscription “to my friends.” The youth trained in the Gymnasium of the Ephebes and bathed afterward in facilities that the Romans fashioned into elaborate baths. Below the promontory is Kamari, the most famous beach on Santorini, a dramatic swath of silky black sand.

6km (4 mi) E of Akrotiri, 10km (6 mi) SE of Fira. odysseus.culture.gr.

22860/31366. Admission 4€ or part of combined ticket (see p. 189). Mid-Apr–Oct Tues–Sun 8:30am–4pm, Nov–mid-Apr Tues–Sun 8am–3pm.

The island capital, Fira (also spelled Thira or Thera), surrendered its soul to tourism several decades ago, but the cliffside setting remains as intoxicating as ever. From Ypapantis, the walkway that follows the rim of the caldera, the view is never less than staggering. The blue sea sparkles some 300m (984 ft.) below, cliffs take on multicolored hues in the sun, and white houses appear to tumble from the cliff tops. This extraordinary vista is especially dramatic from the stepped path that winds down the cliff face to the little harbor of Fira Skala. You can also board a cable car for the descent and ascent. Tour guides will try to cajole you into mounting a donkey for the ride down and up the cliff-face, but leave the poor swaybacked beasts in peace; the cable car makes the trip in 2 minutes, runs every 15 minutes from 7:30am to 9pm, and costs 6€ each way (3€ for children).

Walking the caldera path

Walking even a portion of the 10km (6-mile) cliff-top path from Fira to Ia is one of the best experiences you will have on Santorini. Looking over the bay and the crescent of cliffs is like staring into the Grand Canyon—an ever-changing scene in which the rock seems to switch color before your eyes. What looks like a patch of snow takes shape as a cluster of houses; an islet suddenly catches your notice.

Santorini is actually the eastern rim of a volcano and the largest fragment of an island that was blown apart by a series of massive eruptions (the 1600 b.c. blast was one of the largest volcanic eruptions ever recorded). Looking across the bay, you can see other remnants of the rim, the isles of Therasia and Aspronisi (White Island); in the center are two isles of blackened earth, Nea and Palea Kaimeni (New and Old Burnt Isles), the cones of volcanoes. This geology reveals itself slowly, and its unique beauty seems to intensify with every step you take along the caldera path. Allow at least 2 hours for the walk from Fira to Ia; it’s a good idea to start in the morning, before the heat of the day.

A good refuge from the crowds along shop-lined Erythron Stavron street is the nearby Megaro Gyzi Cultural Centre

, next to the Cathedral of St. John at Martiou 405 (

22860/22244). Fascinating photographs show Santorini as it looked before and just after the last catastrophic seismic event, the earthquake of 1956, which leveled much of the island. The handsome 17th-century mansion that houses the museum is one of the few historic homes in Fira that withstood the quake. Admission is 3€; the museum is open Monday through Saturday 10am to 4pm. The center is closed from November through April.

A quiet outpost just north of Fira, Firostefani

is a good place to appreciate the island’s beautiful architecture (see box, p. 187). Fira, Firostefani, and many other villages on Santorini were built atop cliffs to protect them from pirates who once marauded around the Aegean. As you walk down any of the lanes descending from the cliff top, note how the white cubical houses huddle together on narrow lanes, one on top of another, many dug into the side of the cliff, a concept born out of necessity and creating an impossibly picturesque townscape.

Tucked into the highest point on the caldera rim 21⁄2 km (11⁄2 miles) north from Fira, the enchanting little village of Imerovigli

delivers more of the visual treats so common on Santorini—views of the caldera and Skaros, a rocky promontory below. Skaros was once crowned with an ancient city and later the fortified town of Rocca, the seat of Venetian nobility and Turkish administrators. After descending the stepped, quiet streets of Imerovigli, then a precipitous drop down a cliff path, you’ll reach the rocky heights that connect Skaros to the rest of Santorini. Then it’s uphill for 2km (1 mile) or so, along a cliff face of volcanic rock, to the ruins of the fortifications, toppled by earthquakes over the years, and a small chapel. Your rewards for the excursion are phenomenal views over the bay and up the walls of the caldera to the villages glistening on the cliff tops.

Another 9km (6 miles) north, Santorini’s most picturesque village, Ia

, clings to the northwestern tip of the caldera. Once populous and prosperous, home of many of the island’s wealthy maritime families, Ia was all but leveled in the earthquake of 1956. Most residents fled, leaving behind a spooky yet beguiling ghost town of half-ruined houses overlooking the caldera. Recent years have been kinder to Ia, however. Nikolaou Nomikou, the main pedestrian way, is lively once again—perhaps too lively at times—and the blue Aegean sparkles enticingly below cave houses reclaimed as comfortable hotels. Many visitors flock to Ia to watch the sunset from the walls of the open-air remains of the Kastro, at the western edge of town—a spectacular sight, but no more so here than anywhere else on the caldera.

One of Ia’s neoclassical mansions, once home to sea captains, now houses the Naval Maritime Museum

(

22860/71156), where figureheads, ship models, and old photographs recall a time when, in the mid-19th century, Santorini launched one of the largest merchant fleets in the Aegean. By 1850, more than 200 Santorini vessels were shipping the island’s wine to Russia, transporting Russian wheat to ports of call around Europe, and sailing to Athens laden with volcanic pumice from the island, prized for the building craze then transforming Athens, the new nation’s capital. Admission is 3€; the museum is open Wednesday to Monday 10am to 2pm and 5 to 8pm.

A small fishing fleet bobs in the sea far below Ia in the little port of Ammoudi, reached by a flight of 300 stone stairs that wind down the cliff. The quay is lined with a row of tavernas that serve fresh fish right off the boats, and a small pebble beach serves well for a quick swim.

If you instead head south and inland from Fira some 6km (4 miles), you’ll find Pyrgos

, the longtime capital of the island under the Venetians and Turks. Deliberately located away from any harm that could arrive by sea, Pyrgos makes a striking appearance as you approach from the flat, arid landscapes of the coastal plain: A cone of tiered houses rises on the flanks of a hill beneath a Venetian citadel. Built back-to-back and on top of each other, the compact white houses provided a phalanx against invaders, and the lanes that tunnel beneath them could be blockaded to keep out invaders. The once mighty castle at the top of this medieval maze was indeed impenetrable—but not immune to earthquakes, one of which toppled the walls and towers half a century ago. The overgrown ruins afford views across the island. Pyrgos is easy to reach by bus.

The monastery of Profitis Elias

crowns a nearby peak, the tallest on Santorini at almost 1,000m (3,281 ft.). Islanders make their way to these breezy heights not just for the views but to pay tribute to the community that provided a place of refuge and kept Greek traditions alive at a secret school during Turkish rule in the 18th and 19th centuries. A shady series of rooms off the courtyard houses some of the rare books the monks safeguarded, as well as icons. Admission to the monastery is free, though hours are irregular and vary with the comings and goings of the caretakers. The enterprising monks also produced excellent wine on their steep hillsides, shipping the output all over Europe on their own merchant ship, which flew the monastery banner.

Vineyards still grow around Pyrgos and nearby Megalochori

, about a 5-minute drive southwest from Pyrgos (7km [4 miles] south of Fira). Megalochori is the quietest village on the island and also one of the prettiest, nestled well off the caldera rim amid its vineyards. Many of the white Cycladic houses that form a tight warren around the town square at one time housed wine caves where residences processed and stored their precious product. Their vintages, and those of Santorini’s other canavas (wineries), rank among the top Greek wines (see box, below). Several small shops offer tastings, usually for a small fee, or you can sample local wines in one of the tavernas on the main square, overlooked by blue domes and white clock towers.

A fleet of excursion boats take visitors to Nea Kaimeni (New Burnt Isle), one of the cones of the volcano that still smolders in the caldera, and they often also stop for a swim in the hot springs that bubble up off Palea Kaimeni (Old Burnt Isle). Boats then continue to the quiet island of Therasia, a fragment of the rim across the caldera from Santorini, for lunch. All in all, this is a pleasant outing but not essential, especially if your time on Santorini is short. Excursions usually cost about 20€ and can be arranged with any of the legion of tour operators on the island; most boats leave from Armeni, below Ia.

A taste of Santorini Wines

The eruption of 1500 b.c. covered Santorini with ashy volcanic soil that is extremely hospitable to the Assyrtiko grape, a hardy variety that yields the island’s distinctly dry whites and vin santo, a sweet dessert wine. Some 36 other varieties grow on Santorini as well, including the white Athyri and Aidani and the red Mantilaria and Mavrotagano. Growers twist the vines into low-lying basket shapes that hug the ground for protection against the wind, and nighttime mists off the sea provide just enough moisture. Several wineries offer tastings and tours; most of the larger operations cater to busloads of passengers from cruise ships, so don’t expect a winery visit to be low-key. Some of the top wineries that offer tastings are Boutari, in Megalochori ( 22860/81011); Antoniou, in Megalochori ( 22860/23557); and Santo, in Pyrgos ( 22860/22596). The enormous tasting rooms and terraces at Antoniou and Santo overlook the caldera, adding a bit of drama to enhance your tippling. Koutsoyannopoulos winery (www.santoriniwinemuseum.com; 22860 31322), in Vothonas, has put together a little museum in a 300-meter (1,000-ft.) long cave where you’ll see the backbreaking harvesting techniques of yore and taste 3 or 4 wines; the museum is open April through October daily 9am to 7pm (from 10am Sundays) and November through March daily 9am to 5pm (from 10am Sundays); admission is 10€, tasting included. For an introduction to Santorini wines, visit www.santorini.org/wineries. On minibus excursions with Santorini Wine Tours , professional sommelier and informative and gracious guide Vaios Panagiotoulas takes his guests to several distinctive wineries, with tastings and descriptions of the ins and outs of Santorini grape-growing and winemaking; for information, go to www.santoriniwinetour.com ( 22860/28358).

Santorini’s beaches may not be the best in the Cyclades, but they have the distinction of being carpeted with black and red volcanic sand. They are clustered at the south end of the island, away from the high rim of the caldera. On the southeast coast, Kamari

and Perissa

, both with black sand, are crowded and backed by hotels and tavernas. Perivolos, an extension of Perissa, in season teems with beautiful people (many topless). Hikers can enjoy both Kamari and Perissa with a trek up and over the Mésa Vounó headland that divides the two. The ruins of Ancient Thera (see p. 190) top the heights, some 400m (1,320 ft.) above sea level, with the spectacular views you’d expect from such a perch. Head uphill on well-marked paths from either beach, following signs to Ancient Thera, passing the Panaghia church above Perissa and the Zoodochos Pigi above Kamari; the hike is about 3km (2 miles) but allow a couple of hours for the steep ascent and descent and don’t attempt it in the heat of the day. Volcano Diving Center (www.scubagreece.com;

22860/33177) at Kamari, offers guided snorkel swims for around 25€ and scuba lessons for around 60€. The Santorini Dive Center, at Perissa, also has scuba and snorkel facilities and instruction (www.divecenter.gr;

22860/83190).

Southwest, at the end of the road to Ancient Akrotiri, Red Beach (Paralia Kokkini)

is usually a bit less crowded than other beaches on the island.

Santorini is an island of jewelers. The most renowned shop, with lovely reproductions of ancient baubles, is Kostas Antoniou (antoniousantorini.com;

22860/22-633), on Ayiou Ioannou, north of the cable car station in Fira. The Bead Shop (

22860/25-176), by the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, sells beads, of course, most carved from island lava.

In Firostefani, Cava Sigalas Argiris (

22860/22-802) stocks all the local wines, including their own. Also for sale are locally grown and prepared foods, often served as mezedes: fava, a spread made with chickpeas; tomatahia, small pickled tomatoes; and kapari (capers).

Replica Hellenic Art and Culture (

22860/71916), on the main street in Ia, is a source of contemporary statuary and pottery as well as museum replicas. Atlantis, an English-language bookshop down the street (www.atlantisbooks.org;

22860/72346), is a haven for visitors hungry for good literature, and is a friendly meeting spot as well.

Santorini’s sunsets are legendary, and many visitors traipse to Ia to watch the end-of-day spectacle from there; other discerning viewers enjoy the fiery scene as a backdrop for a cocktail on the terrace of Franco’s (

22860/24428) or Palaia Kameni (www.paliakameni.com;

22860/22430), caldera-side bars in Fira.

Quieter venues in Fira include the stunning Pool Bar at the Aressana Hotel (www.aressana.gr;

22860/23900) and the very mellow Cori Rigas Art Café (coririgasartcafe.com;

22860/25251), just off the caldera path below the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. The Kira Thira, just south of the Archaeological Museum on Ipapantis (

690/909-7271) is a serious, adult jazz bar with live music some nights and muted, conversation-inducing selections on others.

In Ia, Restaurant-Bar 1800 (www.oia-1800.com;

22860/71485) and Hassapiko (

22860/71244), in a former butcher shop, keep the evening going with a lively bar scene well into the wee hours.

As the evening wears on, the young usually find their way to the string of ever-changing discos on the seaside in Kamari, on the island’s southeast coast. Open Air Cinema Kamari (santorinicinema.com;

22860/33452) just off the beach, has summertime nightly showings, accompanied by cocktails, at 9:30pm.

Little Folegandros, a volcanic outcropping only 33km (12 square miles) in total area, is home to fewer than 800 permanent residents, but it has everything travelers would want to discover on their perfect Cycladic island: Dramatic, almost magical scenery; what might be the most beautiful town in all the Greek islands; and a relaxed lifestyle played out on some very nice beaches and in lime-tree shaded squares. The island has few sights to draw you here, little in the way of luxury, and none of the glamor of Santorini or Mykonos—all adding to the allure of an island getaway that, while not undiscovered, is still unspoiled.

ARRIVING Boat service to and from the island changes frequently and is often sporadic. Check schedules carefully when making hotel reservations or you may find yourself with a room and no way to get to it. For up-to- date schedules, go to www.gtp.gr or www.ferryhopper.com. Travel agencies on the island list daily schedules. In summer, a boat or two usually arrive daily from Piraeus, though service is severely curtailed in winter. Summer service also usually includes at least two boats a day to and from Santorini, and it’s also usually possible to make connections to and from Folegandros and any Cycladic island through Syros, the capital of the Cyclades and a transportation hub. Boats arrive in Karavostasis, 3km (2 miles) below Hora, the main town, and well connected by bus. Most hotels offer port pickup and drop-off.

Visitor Information Hotels and cafes on the island usually post bus and boat schedules and notices of local events. A good source on the island for accommodation, boat tickets, car and motorbike rentals, and excursions is Folegandros Travel (folegandros-travel.gr;

22860/41273), with offices in the port of Karavostasis and in Hora. You can find a lot of information online at folegandrosinfo.gr.

GETTING AROUND The island’s main paved road connects Karavostasis with Hora and Ano Meria. Bus transport is excellent, with service operating out of a station at the edge of Hora to and from the port at Karavostasis; Ano Meria; and the beach at Agali. Drivers sell tickets. Stops along these routes allow you to get just about anywhere on the island, in combination with a hike to some of the remote beaches. Boat service from Karavostasis also serves many beaches. Diaplous Travel (www.diaploustravel.gr;

22860/41158) in Hora operates daily boat tours that circle the island with stops at five beaches, about 25€. A car is not really necessary on the island, unless you want to have one for a day to explore Agios Georgios beach and some other far-flung spots, most reached on unpaved roads.

The island specialty is matsata, fresh, eggless pasta with tomato sauce and rabbit, lamb, or goat (also sometimes with chicken and pork, as a concession to international visitors). The restaurants that crowd the Hora squares are all quite good, though many have departed from traditional island cuisine with Mediterranean menus to cater to visitors. One place in Hora that sticks to Greek tradition is the very popular Souvlaki Club (

22860/41002), with gyros and fast-food grill favorites. Many islanders take advantage of the summer influx of travelers and rent rooms in their houses—check listings at www.folegandros.gr.

Aegeo Hotel

This handsome cluster of white houses with blue trim is on a hillside just outside Hora, with a nice outlook over the town to the church of Kimisis tis Theotokou. Small and attractively furnished rooms, and a few larger suites, all have terraces and share a shady, nicely outfitted courtyard and a welcoming lobby lounge.

Hora. www.aegeohotel.com,

22860/41468. 11 units. 55€–105€ double. Breakfast 8€–12€. Amenities: Bar; lounge; terrace; Wi-Fi (free). Closed Oct–Apr.

Irini’s

GREEK This little grocery store with 10 tables crowded next to the shelves is widely acclaimed, but fame doesn’t affect the homey atmosphere or the quality of the dishes that emerge from the tiny kitchen. Matsata is the house dish, here often topped with meatballs, but moussaka and other classics are usually on offer, too, accompanied by tomato fritters, huge salads, and other dishes made with fresh-from-the-garden produce.

Ano Meria.

22860/41436. Entrees 8€–10€. Daily noon–midnight (shorter hrs in winter).

Polikandia Hotel

Nicely located amid village life right at the edge of Hora’s old center, the Polikandia—one of Hora’s smarter lodgings—has a foot in both worlds: The whitewashed houses and homey rooms with wood and stone accents are in keeping with traditional island hospitality, while the pool, flower-filled terrace, outdoor bar, and roof garden are decidedly posh—and most welcome on hot summer days.

Hora. www.polikandia-folegandros.gr.

22860/41322. 25 units. 80€–175€ double. Breakfast 10€. Amenities: Café; bar; room service; pool; port pickup and drop-off; Wi-Fi (free).

To Spitiko

GREEK This is the place to try the island matsata, not only because the local favorite is especially good here, but also because it’s served beneath a canopy of trees on a breezy lane just off the sea cliff edge of town. An especially stiff breeze will send diners into a plain dining room next to the kitchen, which also makes such traditional island vegetarian classics as chickpea stew and caper salad. (The restaurant’s name, shared with many other restaurants in Greece, means “homemade,” a real draw for Greek diners). The adjacent Artos kai Gefsi bakery is a good stop for dessert or stocking up for breakfast.

Hora.

22860/41235. Entrees 7€–14€. Daily noon–midnight (shorter hrs in winter).

From the port at Karovista, an undistinguished string of houses clustered on a road above the harbor, the road climbs 3km (2 miles) up to Hora, the island’s capital and only sizeable settlement. Like many Cycladic towns, this one was built on inland heights out of sight of pirates. Unlike similarly beautiful towns on Santorini and Mykonos, Hora remains practically untouched, still a sparkling white traditional medieval settlement. Streets made of green and blue paving slates outlined in brilliant white lead in and out of three interlocked squares, lively gathering spots filled with little chapels, shops, and café tables beneath the spreading branches of century-old lime trees. Exterior staircases of white, flat-roofed, cube-like houses lead to balconies bedecked with geraniums and bougainvillea. Many of these houses huddle against and inside the walls of the Kastro, the castle the Venetians built when they took control of the island in the 13th century; others teeter on the edge of cliffs some 250m (820 ft.) above the sea, rivaling the cliff-top spectacles of Santorini. The Church of Kimisis tis Theotokou (Mother of God) commands a barren hilltop high above the town, reached by a switchback, zigzag path. If you find the climb strenuous, you’ll be put to shame when you come upon a bridal party making the way up in full regalia, high heels and all.

Outside of town, hills are laced with stone walls enclosing terraced fields that allow farmers to grow barley on steep slopes. These steep barren hills explain the origin of the island’s name, from an archaic word for “rock-strewn.” They’re crisscrossed by an elaborate network of foot and donkey paths, some paved with ancient marble blocks, others hacked from the natural bedrock.

West from Hora, along the spine of the mountainous interior, is Ano Meria, a hamlet of scattered farms that’s the island’s second-largest village. One of the old farmsteads is now the small Ecological and Folklore Museum, where an old house, outbuildings, and a vineyard and orchard show off household items, tools, and a lifestyle that’s been handed down for generations—all the more fascinating because these holdings, old-fashioned costumes aside, aren’t really a relic of the past but are typical of the way of life as it today in the surrounding village. The museum (no phone; free admission, but donation appreciated) is usually open 5 to 8pm weeknights in July and August; the bus from Hora drops you a pleasant stroll away. Hours change frequently, so check with your hotel or any travel agency when you get to the island.

Far below the cliffs that encircle most of the island are rocky coves sheltering pebble beaches. Some are accessible by bus from Hora, others require a boat ride or a combination bus ride and hike. On either side of the port of Karavostasi are Vardia and Livadi, both reached by short walks. Livadi is backed by a campground and has toilet facilities and a food concession. A more pristine beach is Katergo, at the island’s southern tip and reached by boat from Karavostasi harbor; boats run about every hour and charge 5€ for the round trip, including a side trip into a large sea cave en route. Buses from Hora run almost hourly to the pleasant but sometimes crowded beach at Agali; from there a path follows the coast west to a quiet cove at Galifos, then to Agios Nikolaos. Beachgoers also arrive at Agios Nikolaos by boat, often to have lunch at one of two tavernas: Papalagi, with its hilltop terrace, and Agios Nikolaos Taverna, serving grilled fish on a shady terrace right on the sand.