Andros
In Menites, a village a few minutes from Chora, water flows from the rock in so many different points that the inhabitants have bu...
Updated 10 July 2026
Andros
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This season · July · Summer
What to do in Andros now
The story
The story of Andros
An ancient island between the Cyclades and the northern Aegean Sea
Andros has been inhabited since antiquity: the excavations of Zagora, a settlement of the geometric period, and of Paleopolis, the island's ancient capital in the classical and Hellenistic era, testify to a history spanning more than three thousand years. It was part of the Delian League, passed under successive dominations up to the Byzantine period, and like most of the Cyclades later experienced the rule of the Duchy of Naxos under the Venetians, before the Ottoman conquest. Its position, the northernmost of the Cyclades and the closest to Euboea, has always made it a crossroads between the central and northern Aegean Sea, a role that over the centuries has influenced both trade and the cultures that have overlapped there.
The Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art
Founded in 1979 by the shipowners Basil and Elise Goulandris, the museum in Chora is probably the most surprising cultural institution in all the Cyclades: a permanent collection of modern Greek sculpture flanked, in temporary exhibitions, by absolute masterpieces of twentieth-century art, from Picasso to Matisse, from Braque to Léger. The choice to open a museum of this level on a relatively peripheral island was not accidental: the Goulandris, like other shipowning families originally from Andros, wanted to give back to their native island part of the wealth accumulated in world maritime trade, transforming Chora into a cultural destination in its own right, capable of attracting visitors regardless of the sea.
Chora, the city of the shipowners
The island's capital stretches over a narrow promontory between two bays, with an elegant urban layout of stone houses and neoclassical mansions built precisely by the shipowning families between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Walking along the central pedestrian street, you come across art galleries, the archaeological museum with finds from Paleopolis and Zagora, and Kairi square, which looks out onto a glimpse of open sea. At the tip of the promontory, on a small island connected by a bridge, stands the Tourlitis lighthouse, built in 1897: it was the first automatic lighthouse in Greece, destroyed during the Second World War and faithfully rebuilt decades later, today the symbolic image of the island.
Batsi and the west coast
If Chora represents the cultured, historic soul of Andros, Batsi is its most touristy and lively face: a fishing village overlooking a semicircular bay, today the island's main tourist port and seaside resort, with a seafront promenade full of taverns and bars. From here, excursions set off to some of the west coast's most loved beaches, such as Chrisi Ammos and Achla, and to the hilltop villages of the interior. It is the most convenient base for those seeking a classic seaside stay, while still staying just a few kilometres from the more rural, less-trodden landscape of the island's centre.
Menites and the lion-head springs
A few minutes from Chora, the village of Menites owes its name and its fame to the numerous springs that flow from the mountain above: the water, extremely abundant even in the height of summer, emerges from stone fountains carved in the shape of a lion's head, scattered among gardens and alleys shaded by citrus groves. The village is also home to the church of Panagia tis Koumoulous, which according to local tradition stands on the remains of an ancient temple dedicated to Dionysus, precisely because of the presence of the sacred water. It is one of the places that best explains why Andros is called the greenest of the Cyclades.
Apikia and Sariza water
Not far from Menites, the village of Apikia is the source of another famous water resource of the island: Sariza mineral water, bottled and distributed throughout Greece, flows from a natural spring known and used since antiquity for its properties. The village, perched on a green slope dotted with Venetian-style dovecote towers — an echo of nearby Tinos — offers one of the most striking views over the valley below, and is an almost obligatory stop for anyone wanting to understand how the constant presence of water has shaped agriculture and human settlement on Andros.
The trails and mills of the interior
Andros boasts the most extensive and best-marked network of hiking trails in the Cyclades, maintained by a local association that has restored ancient paved mule tracks once used to connect the mountain villages. The routes cross valleys with centuries-old plane trees, stone bridges, cultivated terraces and dozens of water and wind mills, some still intact, others reduced to evocative ruins. Walking along these tracks, often shaded and cool even in summer, is probably the best way to understand why the island is called 'green': a landscape more similar to certain areas of Epirus than to the sun-baked Cyclades of the popular imagination.
Traditions and rural life
Andros' traditional economy, before tourism and shipowner wealth, was based on agriculture and mountain pastoralism, and this rural vocation still survives today in its typical products: mountain honey, goat's and sheep's cheeses, fourtalia — a rustic omelette with potatoes, sausage and local herbs found throughout the island at village festivals — and kitro or aromatic herb liqueur produced by hand. The villages' patron saint festivals, especially in summer, remain occasions for folk music and traditional dances that offer an authentic glimpse of island life, far from the more touristy routes.
When to go and how to experience the island
Thanks to a cooler, wetter climate than the southern Cyclades, Andros also lends itself well to spring visits, when the countryside is in full bloom and the trails are easier to walk without the summer heat. Summer remains the ideal time for the sea and for Batsi's lively atmosphere, while autumn brings intense colours to the inland valleys. A stay of four or five days allows you to alternate between Chora and its museum, the water villages like Menites and Apikia, a few hikes and the west coast beaches, without rushing.
- Visit the Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art in Chora
- Walk to the Tourlitis lighthouse on the small island connected by a bridge
- Drink water from Menites' lion-head fountains
- Walk one of the historic trails among mills and stone bridges
- Relax on Chrisi Ammos beach near Batsi
- Discover the Sariza spring in Apikia
- Taste fourtalia in a village tavern
FAQ
Come si arriva ad Andros?
Qual è il periodo migliore per visitarla?
Cosa vedere in un solo giorno?
Dove parcheggiare a Chora?
Andros è adatta a chi ama camminare?
Quanti giorni servono per visitarla bene?
Getting there
- Nessun aeroporto sull'isola; si arriva in traghetto da Rafina fino al porto di Gavrio (circa 2 ore); spostamenti interni consigliati in auto a noleggio per raggiungere i villaggi di montagna
- Rafina, più vicina di Atene rispetto al Pireo, è collegata da autobus e taxi con l'aeroporto internazionale di Atene: utile per chi arriva in aereo e prosegue subito per Andros
Perfect for
Sentieri, torrenti e mulini fanno di Andros la meta ideale per chi vuole camminare tra le Cicladi anziché solo prendere il sole.
Il Museo Goulandris rende Chora una tappa culturale di livello internazionale, rara su un'isola di queste dimensioni.
Batsi e la costa occidentale offrono un turismo balneare più rilassato rispetto alle Cicladi più affollate.
Menites e Apikia raccontano un lato insolito e sorprendente delle Cicladi, fatto di sorgenti e vegetazione lussureggiante.
To see
What to see in Andros
Routes · Trovido Route
