Spetses
There is a statue at the entrance to the old harbor of Spetses depicting a woman on horseback with a drawn sword
Updated 10 July 2026
Spetses
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The story
The story of Spetses
Bouboulina, the admiral of the revolution
Born in 1771, Laskarina Bouboulina grew up between Hydra and Spetses in a family of seafarers and, twice widowed by wealthy shipowners, inherited a fortune that she decided to invest in building warships in preparation for the revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Her flagship, the Agamemnon, took an active part in the sieges of Nafplio and Monemvasia during the war of independence of 1821, and Bouboulina herself commanded naval operations, an exceptional feat for a woman of her time. Killed in 1825 in a family feud, she remains to this day the only woman on whom Tsarist Russia posthumously conferred the rank of admiral of its navy, an honor that testifies to the international scope of her fame.
The Armata and the burning of the Ottoman ship
In September 1822 the fleet of Spetses, together with those of other islands, managed to set fire to an Ottoman ship that was threatening to attack the island, an episode that the Spetsiots still consider one of the finest moments of their contribution to the war of independence. Every year, on the weekend closest to the anniversary, the island re-enacts the event with the Armata festival: processions in period costume, salute gunfire and, as the climax, the symbolic burning of a model Ottoman ship in the waters of the old harbor, accompanied by fireworks. It is Spetses' most heartfelt popular celebration, capable of bringing the entire imagery of the revolution back to life for one night.
The old harbor of Dapia
The heart of Spetses' town life is Dapia, the old harbor where a battery of cannons once stood to defend the island, still visible today lined up along the quay. Here overlook the cafés, the stately mansions of nineteenth-century shipowners and the piers from which boats depart for the island's coves. The evening stroll along this stretch of waterfront, amid the lights of the cafés and the carriages waiting for customers, is probably the most immediate way to grasp the refined yet unaffected atmosphere that sets Spetses apart from other, more touristy Greek islands.
Baltiza, where wooden boats are still born
Just beyond Dapia, the inlet of Baltiza has been home for centuries to the island's traditional shipyards, where craftsmen still build and restore wooden boats using techniques handed down from generation to generation. Walking along this small bay, among hulls under construction, carpenter's tools and the smell of resin and marine varnish, offers an authentic look at a trade that has almost disappeared elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Spetses' shipbuilding tradition is directly linked to its history as a maritime power, when the same craftsmen built the merchant ships that were later converted into warships.
Bouboulina's house museum
The residence that belonged to Laskarina Bouboulina, located in the historic center not far from Dapia, is today a private museum run by the family's descendants, with guided tours that trace the admiral's life through period furnishings, portraits and memorabilia linked to the war of independence. It is one of the few places in Greece where the memory of a female protagonist of the revolution is recounted in detail, with personal belongings and documents that give a human as well as heroic profile to the figure celebrated by the statue at the harbor.
Sotirios Anargyros and the island's rebirth
At the beginning of the twentieth century the entrepreneur Sotirios Anargyros, who had emigrated to the United States where he had made his fortune in the tobacco industry, returned to Spetses and invested a large part of his wealth in developing the island: he financed an imposing reforestation project with Aleppo pines that still covers much of the territory today, had roads, aqueducts and a large hotel built, and promoted modern education through the founding of an elite school. His intervention transformed Spetses from a declining seafaring island into an elegant destination frequented by the Athenian and European bourgeoisie, an identity the island still proudly preserves.
The Poseidonion Grand Hotel
Inaugurated in 1914 at the behest of Anargyros himself, the Poseidonion Grand Hotel was conceived on the model of the grand hotels of the French Riviera, with a neoclassical façade looking directly onto the old harbor. For decades it hosted the Athenian bourgeoisie and international visitors, becoming a symbol of the ambition with which Anargyros sought to relaunch the island. Restored several times over the years, it remains to this day one of the most photographed buildings in Spetses, a visual landmark for those arriving by sea and taking in the profile of the harbor.
The Anargyrios and Korgialenios School and "The Magus"
In 1927 Anargyros founded, together with the financier Korgialenios, an elite boys' boarding school designed to offer a European-style education to the sons of the wealthiest Greek families. Among its English teachers in the 1950s was a young British writer, John Fowles, who drew from that experience the setting of his novel "The Magus", set on an imaginary Greek island clearly modeled on Spetses. The school building, with its neoclassical architecture nestled among the pines, remains visible from the outside and represents one of the lesser-known but most curious chapters in the island's cultural history.
An island without cars: carriages and bicycles
In the historic center of Spetses private cars are banned, a choice that dates back precisely to the time of Anargyros and has been maintained over the years to preserve the island's character. The most characteristic form of public transport remains the horse-drawn carriage, still used today by both residents and visitors to get around along the waterfront and toward the outlying areas, while luggage and goods often travel on handcarts. Bicycles and, outside the center, rental scooters complete a mobility system that makes Spetses one of the quietest and most orderly islands in the Saronic Gulf.
The pine forests and cycling around the island
The reforestation promoted by Anargyros left behind one of the densest woodland covers in the whole Saronic archipelago, with Aleppo pines that in many stretches of coast come almost down to the water's edge. A coastal road, almost entirely flat, makes it possible to cycle or ride a scooter around the island's entire perimeter in a few hours, taking in secluded coves, small white chapels and panoramic points over the strait that separates Spetses from the Peloponnese. It is the activity most practiced by visitors who stay more than a day, and the best way to leave the elegant center behind and discover the island's more natural face.
- Stroll at sunset along the Dapia waterfront among the historic cannons
- Visit Bouboulina's house museum in the historic center
- Watch the craftsmen at work in the Baltiza shipyards
- Take a horse-drawn carriage ride along the harbor
- Rent a bicycle for a full tour of the island
- Attend, if passing through in September, the Armata festival with the symbolic burning of the ship
When to go and how to experience the island
Late spring and early autumn offer the best climate for cycling around the island without the intense heat of summer, when Spetses instead fills up with Athenian visitors on weekends. Anyone wishing to attend the Armata festival should plan their visit for the weekend closest to the September anniversary, booking accommodation well in advance. Given the absence of cars in the historic center, it is best to arrive without your own vehicle and rely on carriages, bicycles or your own legs to move at the same pace as the island.
FAQ
Come si arriva a Spetses da Atene?
È vero che a Spetses non si possono usare le auto?
Cosa vedere a Spetses in un giorno?
Quando si svolge la festa dell'Armata?
Spetses è adatta a una gita con bambini?
Getting there
- Aeroporto Internazionale di Atene "Eleftherios Venizelos", circa 2 ore e mezza tra trasferimento al Pireo e traversata
- In auto si può raggiungere Kosta, sulla costa del Peloponneso, e da lì attraversare in pochi minuti con taxi d'acqua o piccoli traghetti locali; da Atene sono comuni anche gli aliscafi diretti dal Pireo.
- Poiché nel centro dell'isola le auto private non circolano, conviene lasciare il veicolo a Kosta o non portarlo affatto e muoversi in loco con carrozze, biciclette o scooter a noleggio.
Perfect for
La casa museo di Bouboulina e la festa dell'Armata raccontano il ruolo di Spetses nella guerra d'indipendenza.
Il Poseidonion Grand Hotel e le pinete volute da Anargyros danno all'isola un'aria da riviera d'inizio Novecento.
Niente automobili nel centro storico: carrozze, biciclette e cammino scandiscono il ritmo dell'isola.
I cantieri navali di Baltiza mantengono viva l'arte della costruzione delle barche in legno.
To see
