Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
seafront taverna crafts local cheese, sausage, wild artichokes and the like into veritable
works of art and has outstanding seafood. Book ahead in high season.
Pyrgos
is a handsome village where even the
cemetery
is a feast of carved marble.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries Pyrgos was the centre of a remarkable
sculpture enclave sustained by the supply of excellent local marble.
The fascinating
Museum House of Yannoulis Halepas
(adult/child €5/2.50;
10.30am-2.30pm & 5-8pm Apr-mid-Oct)
preserves the sculptor's humble rooms and work-
shop. An adjoining gallery has splendid examples of the work of local sculptors.
About 12km north of Hora on the north coast is emerald
Kolymvythra Bay
, where
Ti-
cellent, sandy beaches.
A worthwhile detour inland takes you to
Agapi
, in a lush valley of dovecotes. Ethereal
and romantic, it lives up to its name.
Pass eye-catching
Krokos
with its
Evangelismou tis Panagias
, an enormous Cathol-
ic church, to reach
Volax
, about 6km directly north of Hora. This hamlet sits at the heart
of an amphitheatre of low hills festooned with hundreds of enormous, multicoloured
boulders. The taverna
Volax
(
22830 41021; mains €6-9;
lunch & dinner)
serves reliable
Tinian favourites like wild artichokes with lemon.
The ruins of the Venetian fortress of
Exobourgo
lie 2km south of Volax, on top of a
mighty 640m rock outcropping.
The northeast coast beach at
Livada
is spectacular, but the ones east of Hora, such as
Porto
and
Pahia Ammos
, can seem comparatively built up.
DON'T MISS
ANO SYROS
Originally a medieval Catholic settlement, Ano Syros boasts narrow lanes and
whitewashed houses that tower above Ermoupoli.
From the bus terminus, head into the delightful maze and search out the finest of
the Catholic churches, the 13th-century
Agios Georgios Cathedral
, with its star-fret-
ted barrel roof and baroque capitals (under renovation at the time of research).
Continue past stunning viewpoints to reach the main street, sweet
Our Lady of Mt
Carmel
, the
Vamvakaris Museum
( 10am-2pm & 6-11pm Jul & Aug)
, celebrating
locally born partriarch ofrembetika(blues) Markos Vamvakaris, and the
monaster-
ies
of the Jesuits and the Capuchins.
