Egeo Settentrionale
From Chios to the Turkish coast at Cesme the sea measures barely seven kilometers: you can see the land opposite with the naked ey...
Updated 10 July 2026
Egeo Settentrionale
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Egeo Settentrionale now
The story
The story of Egeo Settentrionale
A borderland archipelago
The five islands of the North Aegean do not form a compact group like the Cyclades or the Sporades: they are rather outposts scattered along the coast of Anatolia, each a few hours by ferry from the others but culturally autonomous. Administratively they belong to the Greek region of the North Aegean, with its capital in Mytilene, on the island of Lesbos. This mutual distance, combined with proximity to Turkey, has made each island a small world of its own: dialects, culinary traditions and even architecture change noticeably from Lesbos to Chios, from Samos to Ikaria. It is a unity more political than cultural, held together by the open sea and a shared history of exchanges, conflicts and coexistence with the Ottoman Empire first and republican Turkey later.
History: Byzantines, Genoese and Ottomans
The islands of the North Aegean were Greek land from antiquity, colonized by Aeolian and Ionian populations who founded prosperous city-states linked to maritime trade. With the fall of Rome they passed under Byzantium, before experiencing centuries of dispute between Genoa and Venice: the Genoese Gattilusio family governed Lesbos and Lemnos in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, while the Genoese Maona administered Chios as a true joint-stock company devoted to the mastic trade. The Ottoman conquest, completed by the end of the sixteenth century, brought centuries of Turkish rule marked by dramatic moments, such as the Chios massacre of 1822, but also by periods of relative commercial prosperity. Only in 1912, during the First Balkan War, were the islands liberated and annexed to the Kingdom of Greece, a union definitively confirmed after the First World War.
Lesbos, the island of the olive tree and Sappho
The third largest Greek island after Crete and Euboea, Lesbos holds eleven million olive trees that have made it for centuries one of the country's major oil producers. It is the homeland of the poetess Sappho, who lived in the seventh century BC in Eresos, and of ouzo, the anise-flavored liqueur that finds its symbol town here, Plomari. The capital Mytilene preserves an imposing Genoese-Ottoman castle, while Molyvos, with its stone houses cascading down to the harbor, is considered one of the most beautiful villages of the Aegean. There is also no shortage of unique geological curiosities, such as the petrified forest protected by UNESCO as a global geopark.
Chios, the kingdom of mastic
Chios is the only place in the world where the mastic tree naturally produces mastic, the aromatic resin that from the Middle Ages fueled the trade of the Genoese and Ottomans and that today is recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage. The fortified villages in the south of the island, the mastichochoria, led by Mesta and Pyrgi, are authentic gems of medieval defensive architecture, while the Nea Moni monastery, founded in the eleventh century, holds some of the most precious Byzantine mosaics in all of Greece.
Samos, between ancient science and sweet wine
Samos was the birthplace of Pythagoras and Epicurus, and even today the port of small Pythagoreio recalls the philosopher with its name. The island holds the Heraion, one of the most important sanctuaries of antiquity dedicated to Hera and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as the Eupalinos tunnel, an aqueduct dug in the sixth century BC through a mountain, a masterpiece of ancient engineering. The green hills produce the famous Samos muscat, a sweet wine exported throughout Europe since the Middle Ages.
Ikaria, the island of slowness
Ikaria has entered international scientific studies as one of the so-called blue zones of the planet, areas where the population lives significantly longer and healthier than average. The secret, the islanders say, lies in a relaxed pace of life marked by nighttime village festivals, a genuine Mediterranean diet and strong community ties. The island's rugged terrain, which for centuries kept it safe from pirate raids thanks to villages built high up and hidden, has helped preserve its isolation and identity.
Lemnos, the island of the divine blacksmith
A volcanic island with a low profile and long sandy beaches, Lemnos is linked in Greek mythology to Hephaestus, the blacksmith god who is said to have fallen there from Olympus. The archaeological site of Poliochni, on the eastern coast, is considered one of the oldest urban settlements in Europe, predating even Troy. Myrina, the capital, is dominated by a Venetian-Genoese castle overlooking the sea, while the dunes of Gomati offer an almost desert-like landscape, more unique than rare in the Aegean.
A landscape of volcanoes, pine forests and salt pans
The North Aegean landscape alternates the dark volcanic rock of Lemnos and Lesbos with green, wooded mountains like those of Samos and Ikaria, down to the limestone cliffs of southern Chios. The coasts offer isolated coves reachable only by sea or dirt track, salt pans that color the horizon pink in the summer months, and a mountainous hinterland often terraced for growing olives and vines. The Mediterranean scrub, Aleppo pine and the chestnut groves of Ikaria make up an unusual botanical variety for medium-sized Greek islands.
Flavors of the North Aegean
The cuisine of these islands tells of centuries of exchanges with Anatolia: Ottoman influences can be found in honey sweets and spices, alongside deeply Greek dishes such as Kalloni sardines, Lesbos extra virgin olive oil, cheeses from Ikaria and Lemnos and the sweet muscat of Samos. Plomari ouzo accompanies the meze of the taverns, while Chios mastic is found not only in liqueurs and sweets but also in chewing gum and cosmetics, produced artisanally for generations by local families.
Traditions and village life
The panigyria, the village patron saint festivals celebrated with live music, dancing and shared food late into the night, are the heart of summer social life on all five islands, with Ikaria having made them almost a defining trademark. Religious processions, weekly markets in the main towns and local textile and ceramic craftsmanship keep alive customs that elsewhere in the Mediterranean have faded, helped also by mass tourism, which arrived here later and in a more contained form.
When to go
The ideal season runs from May to October, with June and September offering the best compromise between mild climate, warm sea and fewer crowds compared to August, the month when Greek communities living abroad return en masse for their holidays. Spring, between April and May, is perfect for those who love hiking and is the flower season in Ikaria and Samos; winter remains a discovery for the few, with many facilities closed but authentic charm in the towns.
- Strolling through the medieval alleys of Mesta and Pyrgi in Chios
- Tasting ouzo in Plomari, on the island of Lesbos
- Visiting the Heraion and the Eupalinos tunnel in Samos
- Taking part in a nighttime panigyri in Ikaria
- Exploring the prehistoric site of Poliochni in Lemnos
- Bathing in the hot springs of Lesbos
FAQ
Come ci si sposta tra le isole del Nord Egeo?
Qual è l'isola più adatta a un primo viaggio nel Nord Egeo?
Meglio noleggiare un'auto?
Il Nord Egeo è adatto alle famiglie?
Quanto tempo serve per visitare più isole?
Getting there
- Aeroporto di Mitilini (MJT), Lesbo
- Aeroporto di Chios (JKH)
- Aeroporto di Samo (SMI)
- Aeroporto di Ikaria (JIK)
- Aeroporto di Lemno (LXS)
- Non esistono collegamenti stradali tra le isole: gli spostamenti avvengono via mare o via aria, con traghetti in partenza dal Pireo (Atene) e voli diretti stagionali dall'Italia verso alcune isole.
- Prenota i traghetti inter-isola con largo anticipo in alta stagione: le corse sono limitate e si esauriscono rapidamente ad agosto.
Perfect for
Da Pitagora a Saffo, il Nord Egeo è denso di siti archeologici e miti fondativi della cultura greca.
Ouzo, mastice, moscato e formaggi locali rendono queste isole una meta golosa fuori dai circuiti di massa.
Foreste pietrificate, dune vulcaniche e montagne verdi offrono paesaggi insoliti per l'Egeo.
Villaggi vivi tutto l'anno, panigyria notturne e un turismo ancora a misura di comunità locale.
Ikaria in particolare insegna un ritmo di vita più lento, adatto a chi cerca vacanze senza fretta.
To see
What to see in Egeo Settentrionale
Routes · Trovido Route
