A cobbled lane between stone houses in Chora

Samothraki · Towns & villages

Towns & villages of Samothraki

Harbour towns, mountain hamlets and the places where island life still follows its own rhythm.

Chora & the hills

Chora

The old capital, hidden in a fold of the mountain below its Genoese castle

Chora is the old capital of Samothraki, a village of grey stone houses and red-tiled roofs climbing a steep fold of the mountain about 5 km inland from the port. It was built where pirates could not see it from the sea, and it is crowned by the ruins of the castle the Genoese Gattilusi lords raised in the 15th century. Its cobbled lanes wind past fountains, small churches, kafeneia and shops, the Folklore Museum and the square, and in the evening the whole island seems to come up the hill for dinner on a terrace that looks over the roofs to the sea.

Sunset from the castle walls
Dinner on a terrace over the roofs
The Folklore Museum
An ouzo by the village fountain
Coffee and sweets in the lanes in the evening

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Therma & the forest

Therma

Hot springs, plane trees and running water at the foot of the mountain

Therma, also called Loutra, is a village of rooms, tavernas and gardens scattered under huge plane trees on the north coast, where warm, sulphurous springs rise at the foot of Mount Saos. Streams run through it on their way to the sea, the paths to the rock pools of Gria Vathra start at the top of the village, the Fonias gorge is a short drive east, and the trail to the summit of Fengari begins here. In summer it is the island's liveliest place, with a free-spirited crowd of walkers, families and long-haired campers who come back year after year.

The hot springs at dusk
A swim in the pools of Gria Vathra
The Fonias gorge and its waterfalls
The climb to Fengari
Dinner under the plane trees

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Paleopoli & the north coast

Paleopoli

The ancient city and the sanctuary of the Mysteries, between the mountain and the sea

Paleopoli, 'the old city', is a scatter of houses and olive groves on the north coast where the ancient city of Samothrace once stood. In a wooded ravine below its walls lies the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, where for a thousand years people came from across the Greek world to be initiated into the island's Mysteries, and where the Winged Victory was found in 1863. The Archaeological Museum stands at the entrance to the site, the towers of the Genoese Gattilusi rise on the hill above, and a pebble shore and a few tavernas wait by the sea.

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods
The Archaeological Museum
The Gattilusi towers on the hill
The niche where the Winged Victory stood
A fish lunch on the shore

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Kamariotissa & the west

Kamariotissa

The port where everyone arrives, with fish on the grill and the mountain behind

Kamariotissa is the port of Samothraki and its biggest village, on the low western end of the island, with Mount Saos rising behind it. The ferry from Alexandroupoli comes in here, and along the waterfront are the cafes, fish tavernas, bakeries, car hire offices and the bus stop for the whole island. It is a working town rather than a pretty one, but it has the island's best fish, a long pebble beach, and a walk out past a lagoon to the lighthouse at the western tip.

Fish from the family boats by the harbour
The walk to the Akrotiri lighthouse
The Agios Andreas lagoon and its birds
The view of Mount Saos from the sea
A last coffee before the ferry

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The south-west

Profitis Ilias

The hill village of goat on the spit and long sunsets over the west

Profitis Ilias is a small village of stone houses high on the green slopes of the south-west, among plane trees, springs and old walnut trees. It is known all over the island, and well beyond it, for one thing: goat. Its tavernas roast kid on the spit and slowly in the oven, and on summer evenings islanders and visitors drive up from all over Samothraki to eat on terraces that look west over the hills and the sea while the sun goes down.

Kid goat roasted on the spit
Sunset over the west of the island
Spoon sweets of praousti, the wild plum
A walk through the old lanes
Cool mountain air on a hot evening

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The south-west

Lakoma

A farming village of olive groves and goats on the way to the south coast

Lakoma is a quiet farming village on the sunny southern slopes of Mount Saos, surrounded by olive groves, gardens and goat farms, with a plane tree shading its small square. It sits on the road to Pachia Ammos, so most visitors pass through on the way to the beach, but it is worth stopping: for the village kafeneio and its mezedes, the island's cheese and olive oil, a summer feast day, and the long, empty beaches below it at Lakoma and Makrylies.

Mezedes in the village kafeneio
Olive groves and goat farms
The empty shore of Lakoma beach
The road on to Pachia Ammos
The chapel of Krimniotissa at sunset

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Chora & the hills

Alonia

A quiet farming village of stone houses and olive groves below Chora

Alonia is a small village in the farmland south of Chora, among olive groves and fields, named after the old stone threshing floors where the islanders once beat their grain. Its stone houses, gardens and narrow lanes have changed little, and it is a peaceful place to stay, close to Chora and the port but with the slow pace of the countryside, goats grazing on the slopes and views down to the sea.

Stone houses and quiet lanes
Olive groves and goats on the slopes
Views down to the sea
A short drive to Chora and the port

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Regions

Where to base yourself in Samothraki

Kamariotissa & the west

The port on the low western end of the island, with its fish tavernas and waterfront, the gravel spit of Akrotiri with its lighthouse and lagoon, and the slopes of olive groves to the south.

Chora & the hills

The old capital hidden in a fold of the mountain below its Genoese castle, and the quiet farming village of Alonia among the olive groves below it.

Paleopoli & the north coast

The ancient city and the Sanctuary of the Great Gods with its museum, the Gattilusi towers, and pebble beaches and tavernas along the coast road to Kato Kariotes.

Therma & the forest

The village of hot springs under the plane trees, the rock pools of Gria Vathra, the Fonias gorge and its waterfalls, the campsite at Varades and the trail to the summit.

Ano Meria & the east

The empty, forested east of the island, with its walnut trees and goat farms, a much-loved taverna, and the pebble beach of Kipos where the road runs out.

The south-west

Sunny slopes of olive trees and goats, the villages of Lakoma and Profitis Ilias, the beaches of Makrylies and Pachia Ammos, and beyond them a wild coast without roads, Kremasto and Vatos among it, best seen by boat.

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