Skopelos, Sporades
For all the Hollywood hype about Mamma Mia, which was largely filmed on the island, Skopelos remains refreshingly down-to-earth – embodying the unspoiled Greek-island life. Skopelos town is a pretty arrangement of white houses and red-tiled roofs tumbling down to turquoise seas. The island is a green Eden of sea cliffs on one side and sandy coves on the other, punctuated by monasteries and criss-crossed with walking paths.
Stay
In the absence of any standout hotel offerings, make like a movie star and rent a private villa from The Thinking Traveller’s exclusive Greek islands selection (thethinkingtraveller.com). It has three properties on Skopelos; the pick of them is the seven-bed Maistros with generous terraces, a private path to a translucent cove and cinematic views to the Mamma Mia wedding chapel.
Eat and drink
The setting is bliss – a vinefringed terrace suspended above the sea – hence the name Agnanti (agnanti.com. gr), “view”. But its star billing rests firmly within its kitchen, which blends island produce and traditional recipes (salad of wild Skopelos artichokes, squid ink pasta with calamari) amassed by three generations of the Stamatakis family. Beside picturesque Agnontas cove, where the pines meet the sea, there are several fish tavernas of a similar calibre. In the old town, the family-run and popular Finikas Taverna (+30 2424 022008) serves traditional plates such as saganaki cheese and rolled pork with plums and apples.
Explore
Mamma Mia fans will head to pine-scented Kastani Beach to re-enact rom-com musical moments such as Does Your Mother Know? The fairytale chapel where Donna and Sam married is long dismantled but the real chapel, Agios Ioannis, commands a promontory above the Aegean. There is a Mamma Mia bus tour (dolphinofskopelos.com), of course.