5 PERFECT-FOR-YOU GREEK ISLANDS
With 6 000 Greek islands, finding the right one is quite the challenge. The good news is that each one is also its own universe, attracting a very different crowd. Rachel Howard helps narrow it down
TINOS: FOR WALKERS
Neighbouring islands Andros (see right) and Tinos, above, are in the Cyclades, the best known of the Greek-island groups, celebrated for their chalk-white villages, bluedomed chapels and seaside tavernas. Both are etched with ancient stone pathways. On Tinos these walking trails connect the island’s 60-odd villages and 1 000 dovecotes, intricately decorated by marble craftsmen. (The Museum of Marble Crafts in Pyrgos is worth a visit.)
SPETSES: FOR RETRO THRILLS
One of the joys of summer on the Greek islands is watching a film at an open-air cinema. And one of the loveliest settings is Cine Titania, pictured, on car-free Spetses. There are bean bags for kids, G&Ts for grown-ups, and a sliding roof in case of showers. Built in the ’60s, but abandoned for years, Titania was revived in 2017 by the owners of The Poseidonion, a heritage hotel on the waterfront. Every October, the hotel hosts the Spetses Tweed Run, a cycle ride around the island in retro knickerbockers and vintage frocks.
ANDROS: FOR THE ANTI-TOURIST
Large, lush Andros attracts few non-Greek tourists. And the locals like it that way. There isn’t even a sign outside the Ktima Lemonies B&B, in a valley cooled by rushing streams, hidden down a dirt track. A footpath leads up to the hamlet of Lamyra, with its 19th-century mansions, tinkling marble fountains, and orchards dripping with apricots and oranges. The island’s mountainous terrain is now accessible to ramblers thanks to Andros Routes, an organisation that has cleared and signposted 160km of hiking trails.
ANTIPAROS: FOR THE CHIC SETT
A 10-minute ferry ride from its big-sister island, Paros, Antiparos is becoming hip. Join the chic set for lobster spaghetti at Captain Pipinos, cocktails at The Beach House, and a shopping spree at More Than This, where you can pick up candlesticks and jewellery by interior designer Elena Xanthopoulou. When you want to disappear, take a boat trip to Despotiko island to explore the ancient sanctuary of Apollo (only discovered in 1997).
LESVOS: FOR ART LOVERS
You would never expect to see prints by Picasso, Chagall, Miró, and Matisse in an olive grove on a Greek island, but that’s what you’ll find at the Teriade Museum. Lesvos-born artist and critic Stratis Eleftheriadis donated this collection, and also championed the work of his compatriot, Theophilos, whose folk art is on display in the adjacent museum. Lesvos is better known as the ouzo capital of
Greece, and most ouzo is produced in the seaside town of Plomari, pictured, where you can sample the local tipple alongside local delicacies such as salted sardines and ladotyri cheese.