Naxos: a small, independent world, right in the middle of Cyclades, at the heart of historical development, fertile, rich in history, abundant in ancient, Byzantine and Venetian monuments, full of customs, music and festivals organized all year long. A hospitable place welcomes you with plenty of frangrances and flavors of cheece, wine and vegetable varieties able to captivate the most discerning diners. “Naxos surpassed all the other islands in prosperity”. Herodotus, Pindar, Archilochus of Paros, as well as the great writer Nikos Kazantzakis have written about the beauties of Naxos. And god Dionysus gracefully raised a glass of wine to its health…
The castle of Naxos Chora is unique in the Aegean and inhabited for centuries. The island’s aristocracy was historic and the descendants of old rulers still reside in their magnificent mansions.
Naxos countryside glows under the Aegean sun, full of springs, rivers, beautiful settlements, orchards, plains, valleys, orange groves, lemon groves… Byzantine monuments stand out in the olive groves of Tragaia. Stalactites drip slowly in the famous cave on Zas (Drion). Thousands of people enjoy their vacations every year at the endless sandy beaches decorating seashores like a golden jewel. But Naxos is much more; it hides even more treasures. Traces of prehistoric settlements, ancient and Venetian towers that lasted over the centuries, museums with rare treasures, local fectivals, celebrations, cultural events that amaze the visitors and also paths and dirt roads that challenge the adventure-lovers, fragrances of thyme, spearmint, jasmine, wildflowers and chaste trees, as well as mohair from the sheep pens where graviera dries. There are plenty of things to enjoy and keep in memory when the boat sails and you say goodbye to Portara, the emblem of Naxos that shines under the light of the evening sun. You will soon come back. It is difficult to ever have enough of Naxos, this wonderful small world of the Aegean.
