There are too many interesting sights around Naxos Town to fit into one post, so here are some more views and details we’ve stumbled across since this previous post.
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Naxos Town
Naxos Town (also known as simply Chora) is the main city on the island of Naxos, as well as the ferry port. Naxos is a hub for the Cycladic island ferries, and the enormous ships are arriving and departing many times each day, with streams of people, vehicles and cargo embarking and disembarking every hour or two.
Read the full post »Arrival in Naxos
After our stay on tiny Astypalea, we took an early-morning ferry to the island of Naxos, the largest island in the Cyclades group. We are staying in Naxos Town (Chora) where there’s a lively port area with many restaurants and bars, as well as a fascinating labyrinth of streets that lead up to a Venetian castle.
Read the full post »Chora Day & Night Views
We’ve returned to the streets around the castle a few times now, wandering at different times of day and in different lighting, and the urge to take a photos is impossible to resist.
Read the full post »Pera Gialos Port
Pera Gialos is a small port adjoining the main town (Chora) in Astypalea. It used to be the primary port for the island, but now the larger ferries dock at a separate port several miles out of town. Pera Gialos is a former fishing community, and it retains a quieter feeling, with small shops and restaurants surrounding a concrete pier and a sandy beach.
Read the full post »Astypalea Castle
After winding our way up through the heart of Astypalea’s Chora, we finally found ourselves in the stony castle (aka kastro or castro) that dominates the top of the hill. Entrance was through an arched tunnel, where we also found some signboards with information about the history of the castle.
Read the full post »Astypalea Chora Climb
Despite being in Astypalea for a while, we couldn’t resist climbing up through the steep, winding streets of the Chora to see the castle at the top on our very first day.
Read the full post »Astypalea “Traditional” House
While in Astypalea we have rented one of 11 small houses in a complex located just between the Chora and Livadi beach. Each house has separate access, but they are connected to some common areas, including a beautiful little patio where the staff serve great breakfasts each morning. It’s an interesting mix of having the privacy of your own place with some of the conveniences of staying in a hotel. Very low stress!
Read the full post »Arrival in Astypalea
From Athens, we took a short flight to the small island of Astypalea (also sometimes spelled Astypalaia, a bit closer to the Greek Αστυπάλαια). Shaped like a butterfly from above, the island’s main town (or Chora, from Χώρα for “town”) is located in the gap between the two wings of the butterfly. The town features whitewashed Cyclades-style buildings ringing a steep castle-topped hill, spilling down to a small sea port.
Read the full post »Knossos
Knossos is an archeological site located in Crete just outside the capital city of Heraklion. The palace complexes built here by the ancient Minoans peaked around 1700 BC with a population of over 100,000 residents.
Read the full post »Fortezza of Rethymno
Rethymno may be smaller than Chania, but its Venetian Fortezza (fortress, aka castle) is much more impressive than the Firka in Chania. We’d been warned the Fortezza might be closed due to recent rainy weather, but we wandered up anyway, if only to take some photos of the outside.
Read the full post »Rethymno Old Town
Away from the Venetian Harbour and the beach we wandered the narrow streets of Rethymno’s old town. We found them quiet, and aside from a few discreet new boutique hotels the area is not as entirely devoted to tourism as the old town in Chania.
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