Chapter 8: Naxos Town

For the full Naxos Town article and a few more pictures thrown in, you can read the entire article on my website (Disclaimer: This link is to a website to which I contribute/have a financial interest).

Naxos

The island of Naxos is by far the biggest island of the Cyclades – and also the most diverse. It has some great beaches, packs a lot of history and culture, and even has some high mountains.At 1,004 metres high (3,294 feet), Mount Zeus (called Mount Zas by the locals) is the highest peak of the island. When hiking in the island’s rugged interior it is even possible to completely forget that you are on an island altogether.

There is a lot to see and do on Naxos – you could easily fill a week on the island. Given that I’ve visited the island before and this time only added a day on the island as transit stop before taking the ferry to nearby Astypalaia, I would however focus all my attention to Naxos Town.

Naxos Town, or Chora Naxos in Greek, is the island’s capital and requires at least a full day to do it justice. It has the beauty of a typical Cycladic town, interesting historical sights and vibrant taverns and nightlife.

Harbour

Most visitors to Naxos Town will arrive at the port, located right in the centre of the old town. From here, all sights, shops and restaurants are just a short walk away.

Given that there are lots of parking places at the port and that the KTEL bus station is located just across the harbour square, it is also the location where most day trippers arrive in Naxos Town when coming from somewhere else on the island. It thus makes for a convenient point to start your sightseeing tour of Naxos Town.




From the harbour quay, there are some great views over Naxos Town.

Portara

One of the most eye-catching sights of Naxos Town is the Portara, or Great Door. It is a huge marble gate from the year 500 BC which used to be part of a Temple of Apollo, although it was never finished.

The marble entrance gate is all that’s left nowadays and it stands solemnly on the small islet of Palatia, which is located right at the entrance of the Port of Naxos. The islet is connected to Naxos Town by a short causeway.

If it’s windy, do watch out for the waves when walking over to Palatia, unless you want to get wet that is!


A causeway links Naxos Town and its port with the islet of Palatia.






From the islet there are sweeping views back over Naxos.


Looking back over the causeway which links the islet with Naxos proper.

Waterfront

Back on Naxos, I was getting hungry as it was about time to have some lunch. Fortunately, there were plenty of taverns and restaurants to choose from.

Although there are quite some appealing taverns hidden in the backstreets of Naxos Town, most of the city’s pubs and restaurants are located right at the waterfront or in the streets shortly behind.





Sto Ladoxarto

Based on online reviews, I settled for a taverna called Sto Ladoxarto. It turned out to be an absolute home run and was certainly among the best restaurants during this entire summer holiday.

The tavern was beautifully decorated and had great views from its large windows over the waterfront and the marina. Despite it being lunchtime, the tavern was however completely empty – as were many of the other restaurants on the waterfront. You could clearly see that the amount of tourists in town was nothing compared to a normal Naxian summer due to the corona pandemic.

Sto Ladoxarto is well known for its delicious grilled meats. I therefore ordered the “kontosouvli” – or spit roasted BBQ pork. It was beautifully presented on a wooden board and was served with roasted tomatoes with yoghurt sauce, a pita bread and some chips.

Everything was absolutely delicious and tasted fresh, juicy and authentic. If you visit Naxos Town, I can highly recommend Sto Ladoxarto. If I would revisit Naxos in the future, I’d return to the restaurant in a heartbeat.









Grotta Beach

After the excellent lunch I continued my tour of Naxos Town, first heading to the northern shore. The name of the beach is derived from the Italian word ‘grotta’, which means cave.

It was also the location where an ancient Mycenaean city once stood, which at the time was perhaps the most important town of all the Cyclades.

Today, Grotta beach feels delightfully derelict at some places, with abandoned buildings taking a battering from the fierce meltemi winds, the fierce northern winds which are dominant in the Aegean Sea in the summer months.

Because of the strong winds, Grotta Beach is not really suitable for a swim, although it does make for a highly picturesque walk.









Orthodox Cathedral

If you walk away from Grotta Beach across the coastal road, you will find yourself in front of the Orthodox Cathedral of Naxos. This large whitewashed church, whose official name is the Metropolitan Church of Zoodochos Pigi, was built at the end of the 18th Century to replace a smaller church.

At the large square in front of the Cathedral you can find two other, smaller churches which are well worth a quick visit.







Kastro

In my opinion, the best of Naxos Town is not found at the waterfront but in the backstreets of the old town. The further you walk away from the sea, the narrower the streets become and the more delightful the town gets.

Naxos Town is at its absolute best when exploring these streets at random without a map to guide you. Just follow your eyes and nose and get lost in the maze-like streets running up to the hill.

The lower area of the old town is called Bourgos and is the place where the Greeks used to live in Medieval times. The highest point of the old town is called the Kastro (castle).

This “castle” is actually more like a walled, hilltop town on its own and was constructed by the Venetians. Led by Marco Sanudo, the Venetians had conquered the island from the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1207.

Sanudo established a duchy in the Aegean Sea and made Chora Naxos its capital. The Venetian rulers and the local Roman Catholic population lived together in the safety and shelter of the Kastro walls, divided from the Orthodox Greeks in the Bourgos area down below.

You can easily spot the old walls, entrance gates and small passages linking Bourgos with the Kastro.

The centrepiece of the Kastro is the Roman Catholic Cathedral which dates back to the 13th Century, although much of the present-day building is a 16th Century restoration paid for by the wealthy Catholic merchants and traders of Naxos.


One of the entrances to the Kastro.








The Roman Catholic church of Naxos Town.









To be continued...