Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ýdhra Town
ÝDHRA
TOWN
, with tiers of grey-stone mansions and humbler white-walled, red-tiled
houses rising from a perfect horseshoe harbour, makes a beautiful spectacle. Around
the harbour, trippers flock to cafés and chic boutiques, but it's also worth spending
time wandering the backstreets and narrow alleys - one thing you may notice while
doing so is that even more than most Greek island towns, Ýdhra is overrun with wild
cats, probably because there are so many “cat ladies” who feed them.
The waterfront mansions were mostly built during the eighteenth century on the
accumulated wealth of a remarkable merchant fleet, which traded as far afield as
America and - during the Napoleonic Wars - broke the British blockade to sell grain
to France. In the 1820s the town's population was nearly 20,000 - an incredible figure
when you reflect that today it is under 3000 - and Ýdhra's merchants provided many of
the ships for the Greek forces during the War of Independence, and consequently
many of the commanders. At each side of the harbour, cannons facing out to sea and
statues of the heroes of independence remind you of this place in history.
5
The mansions
he
mansions
of the wealthy eighteenth-century merchant families are still the great
monuments of the town; some labelled at the entrance with “
Oikía
” (“Residence of
…”) followed by the family name. Among the finest are the two
Koundouriótis
mansions
, built by two brothers: Yíoryios, whose former home is periodically open for
art exhibitions, was a leading politician of the fledgling Greek nation and grandfather
of Pávlos, president of Republican Greece in the 1920s; older brother Lázaros was
prominent in the independence wars.
Mandhráki
ACCOMMODATION
Alkionides
Bratsera
Hydra Hotel
Kirki
Miranda
Pension Erofili
Piteoussa
EATING & DRINKING
Barba Dhimas
Gitoniko (Manolis & Christina's)
Pirate
Sunset
To Koutouki tis Agoras
Xeri Elia
5
2
6
4
7
1
3
4
6
2
1
3
5
Cannons
Melina
Mercouri Centre
Historical
Archives Museum
NIGHTLIFE
Amalour
Hydronetta
Red
2
1
3
Cannons
Hydrofoils &
Catamarans
Water Taxis
Hellenic Seaways
Ticket Office
Excursion
Boats
Football
Stadium
Market
Kímisis tís
Theotókou
N
Lázaros
Koundouriótis
Museum
0
100
ÝDHRA TOWN
metres
