Naxos
Largest Of The Cyclades: The Portara Gateway, A Venetian Kastro, Long Sand Beaches, Marble Villages And The Mount Zas Summit · Naxos (Chora), South Aegean
Naxos is the largest and greenest of the Cyclades, a big mountainous island in the middle of the Aegean that feeds itself on potatoes, cheese and olive oil rather than living only on tourism. Its port town, Chora, is crowned by a Venetian Kastro built after 1207, when the island became the seat of the Duchy of the Archipelago, and guarded on a causeway islet by the Portara, the huge marble doorway of an unfinished Temple of Apollo from about 530 BC. South of town runs a string of long sandy beaches, from Agios Georgios to Plaka and the kitesurfing sands of Mikri Vigla; inland lie the Tragaea valley, Byzantine chapels, marble villages such as Halki, Filoti and Apiranthos, two unfinished kouroi still lying in their ancient quarries, and Mount Zas, the highest summit in the Cyclades. People come for a calmer, more varied island than Mykonos or Santorini, good for families, walkers and food lovers. The honest caveats: it is big, so buses are slow and a car helps; the meltemi batters the north and west in July and August; and August crowds and prices on the town beaches are real.
Naxos, Cyclades; Chora with the Portara and the Kastro above the port; ferries from Piraeus and Rafina, flights from Athens, Naxos (Chora), South Aegean, Greece
An island, open all year. The town, beaches and villages are always accessible; many beach hotels, tavernas and boat trips run roughly April or May to October, and the island is quiet but alive in winter because people live and farm here. The Portara is open at all hours and free. State sites such as the Temple of Demeter and the Archaeological Museum keep Ministry of Culture patterns - longer days in summer, short winter hours, closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25-26 December, and some close one weekday - confirm current hours. Reach Naxos by ferry from Piraeus or Rafina (roughly 3.5-6 hours depending on the boat) or by a short flight from Athens. Book August ferries, cars and rooms well ahead.