NAXOS SIGHTSEEING

Chora is the capital, the administrative centre and the harbour of Naxos. The island offers you all modern conveniences all year. A lot of historical monuments are located in Chora such as Portara, the archaeological site of Grotta and the Venetian Castle. In Chora you can visit the Archaeological Museum of Naxos. During the summer days, visitors and locals flock to Ai Yioryis beach that is located in the southern side of Chora, while some swimmers prefer the beach of Grotta, in the northern side of Chora, near the harbour. In the market of Chora you will find a lot of shops with local products, folk art, artefacts, clothing, and jewellery. There are dozens of restaurants and taverns, where you can taste the Greek and local dishes. The intense night life is not absent from the island of Naxos, you can find bars, clubs and small pubs. Chora is connected with regular transportation with all villages and beaches of Naxos.

Chalki is located in the centre of the Tragea plain. It is the capital and the administrative centre of the second municipality of Naxos Drymalia and includes the villages of Tragea and mountain areas. The region of Tragea, is fertile and densely cultivated with olives and other fruit trees and since antiquity it has been one of the most fertile and productive parts of the island. Chalki is surrounded by a number of villages such as Kaloxylos, Akadimoi, Heimarros, Tsikaliaro, Damarionas, and Damalas. The region is known as “Little Mystras” because of the large number of churches located there, dated from 6th up to the 14th century.
In the village Damarionas you will see a lot of beautifull old mansions, many of them are renovated. The residents are occupied with the cultivation of olive trees, the agriculture and the livestock-farming. In the centre of the village you can see the old church of Christ, with a wood carved iconostasis and old icons.

Damalas is a small picturesque village with a few permanent residents. You can visit there the renovated traditional olive press and the traditional ceramics workshop, in the entry of village.
Moni village is built on a slope; from there you can enjoy the view of Tragea plain. The village took its name from the monastery of Panayia Drosiani, which was founded as a monastery and was famous for its tapestries.
Kinidaros is a beautiful village famed for the products from its stock farming activities, but also for its feasts and festivals. The spring that supplies Hora’s water is located near Kinidaros. Summer nights in the village are very beautiful, with celebrations from local musicians in the open-air tavernas.
Melanes village is built in a fertile valley. A region with a lot of natural beauties and running waters that that once powered watermills. The hamlets of Kouroynohori and Myloi are located here. The Fraggopoulos Tower attest to its importance as a fief during Venetian rule. Near Melanes, in the area of Flerio, one from the two archaic Kouros of Naxos is located.
The settlement of Potami is constituted by three small hamlets Ano Potami, Mesi Potami, and Kato Potami, built along a verdant valley among orchards with old watermills. The area is ideal for walking and hiking.
Sagri is built southeast of Chora, in a distance of 11 km, on a fertile plateau planted with olives. The wider region presents big interest and it has many sights. The monastery of Timios Stavros built in the 16th century, it was restored recently and entertains various events; the monastery of Ayios Eleftherios; the Byzantine churches of Ayios Nikolaos and Ayios Artemios, dating from the eighth and ninth centuries and built during the iconomachy; and the Somaripa tower at Kato Sagri. South of the village, at Gyroula, is an archaic temple dedicated to Dimitra.

After Tragea, in the uphill street to Za, the highest mountain of Cyclades (alt. 1004 meters), you will meet the village Filoti. The view is enchanting because it is built amphitheatrically in the foothills of Za. It is one of the most popular villages of Naxos with intense night life and activity. There you will find restaurants, cafeterias, bars and a lot of shops. The village church is Panayia Filotissa, one of the most beautiful churches of Naxos, with rare icons, a marble iconostasis, and sculpted bell tower. Local sights include the Barozzi tower. From Filoti you can follow the path that leads to Himarros tower.
Danakos is a small village, built in the depth of a ravine, with lots of running water that once powered watermills. Near the village, in a splendid locality Fotodotis Monastery is located which is the oldest monastery of Naxos. From the church of Ayia Marina at the turn off to Danakos, a path sets off for the Za’s peak.

Apeiranthos is built, in the heart of mountainous Naxos, at the foot of mountain Fanari. It’s also known as the marble village because it has accomplished to maintain intact its architectural form from the season of Venetian domination. The residents of Apeiranthos have a particular dialect and keep the customs of the island. Most residents migrated from the mountainous villages of Crete in the 17th century; they are said to have a bent for poetry and arts, while the women are especially skilled weavers The 17th-century Zevgeli Tower, built on a rock, in the entry of village is impressive. Coffee shops and taverns of the village offer the famous wine of from mountain-grown vines. You can visit the three museums of the village; Archaeological, Geological and Folklore Museum.
Keramoti is famous for its traditional products of wine and honey. The village is marked by the church of Stavros and offers a vantage point for surveying the island’s eastern and western shores.

Koronos village is built in a valley by the eastern foothills of Mount Koronos at an altitude of 540 meters. Beautiful, graphic village, with intense colours, it was once the heart of the local emery industry but since the mines closed, activity has dwindled as many locals migrated to other areas. There is an ethnographic museum, while the church of Panayia Argokoilotissa just outside the village attracts thousands of pilgrims with its paniyiri..
Skado is a beautiful mountain village, built on a vine-covered slope.
Galanado is from the most graphic villages of Naxos. It is built in the central street to Tragea in distance of 8 km from Chora. The residents are occupied mainly in agriculture and stockbreeding. The Venetian-era Belonia tower rises just outside the village by the church of Ayios Ioannis.
Glinado is a village with big market and taverns. The residents are occupied with the livestock-farming. In the entry of the village you will meet the church of Ayios Nikodimos, protector of the island. At Kampos, between Glinado and the coast, an ancient temple dedicated to Dionysus was found at Yria.

In the village of Ayios Arsenios you will find the church of Ayios Spyridon. Around the village, are a number of pretty chapels and the monastery of Ayios Ioannis Prodromos.

Tripodes, is a graphic village with paved alleys and abandoned windmills. The church of Panayia features a fine wood-carved iconostasis and rare icons. The ruins of the Palaiopyrgos are visible on the road to Plaka beach.
Eggares village is located 8 km north-east from Chora. It is a beautiful, verdant village east of Eggares valley. It’s worth visiting the Pradouna tower and Faneromeni Monastery. In the wider region you will fing two artificial dams; one at Eggares and one, under construction, at Faneromeni