Naxos

Rising at the dead centre of the Aegean Sea as the largest, highest and greenest island of the Cyclades archipelago, Naxos is the culinary and geographical heart of the island chain. Crowned by 1,003-metre Mount Zas (where mythological Zeus grew to manhood after being born on Crete, and where Dionysus, God of Wine, made his home), Naxos looks like two islands fused together: along its western coast stretches a ten-kilometre ribbon of white-gold crystalline sand and turquoise water, while its mountainous interior hides fertile olive-and-citron valleys, Byzantine frescoed chapels and marble villages.

Greeting every arriving ferry on the islet of Palatia is the 530 BC marble Portara (Great Door of the Temple of Apollo), framing the conical hill of Naxos Town (Chora), its 1207 Venetian Kastro and whitewashed Bourgos. Just minutes south begin the legendary beaches of Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna, 4-kilometre Plaka and cedar-forested Alyko, while inland roads wind up to the neoclassical towers of Halki, marble-paved Apeiranthos, and the 6th-century BC Kouros giants kept inside ancient quarries. Start with our before-you-go briefing and top things to do in Naxos.

Naxos is one of the easiest islands in Greece to arrive at: all Blue Star and SeaJets ferries from Athens (Piraeus and Rafina), Paros (30 to 45 minutes), Mykonos (40 minutes) and Santorini (1.5 to 2 hours) dock directly at the central pier of Naxos Town (Chora), and the main KTEL Bus Terminal sits literally at the foot of the ferry pier. Naxos National Airport (JNX) lies just 3 kilometres south of Chora (5 minutes by taxi or bus) with multiple daily 40-minute flights from Athens. See getting to Naxos and how KTEL buses and car rental work.

Because the shallow sandy bay of Agios Georgios (Saint George Beach) starts just 400 metres south of the historic Chora waterfront, staying in Naxos Town or Agios Georgios gives you the best of both worlds: you walk to a sandy beach by day and walk into the Venetian Kastro and Old Market alleys for dinner every night without needing a car or bus. If you prefer waking up directly on a resort beach, book in Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna or Plaka (connected to Chora by buses until midnight). Compare all bases in where to stay in Naxos.

Walk across the stone causeway to watch sunset through the 530 BC marble Portara, climb through the 13th-century gate of the Venetian Kastro and the labyrinth of Bourgos, swim along the turquoise coves of Agios Prokopios and Agia Anna, cycle or stroll the dunes of Plaka Beach and the cedar forest of Alyko, visit the 530 BC marble Temple of Demeter and the giant Kouros of Melanes and Apollonas, sip Kitron liqueur in Halki, and wander marble-built Apeiranthos. Full list in things to do in Naxos.

Unlike rocky Cycladic islands that import their produce, Naxos has vast agricultural plains and dairy herds, making it a gastronomic powerhouse famous across Greece for PGI-protected Naxos Potatoes, PDO hard sweet Graviera Naxou cheese, aged sheep-and-goat Arseniko cheese, slow-cooked Kalogiros beef with aubergine and cheese, Rosto garlic-and-wine pork in Apeiranthos, and PDO Kitron liqueur distilled from the fragrant leaves of the citron tree in Halki since 1896. Read more in our Naxos food and cheese guide.

Ruled from 1207 to 1566 as the capital of the Venetian Duchy of the Archipelago under Marco Sanudo, leaving fortified stone tower-houses (pyrgia) and a Catholic cathedral atop the Kastro alongside Orthodox villages, Naxos was the ancient marble-sculpting quarry that supplied the colossal statues of Delos.