Sifnos · Towns & villages

Towns & villages of Sifnos

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

Apollonia & the hill villages

Apollonia

The white capital on the hills, where every evening ends on the Steno

Apollonia is the capital of Sifnos, a white village spread over three low hills in the middle of the island. Its main lane, the Steno, is a narrow marble-paved street of shops, cafes and small bars that fills up after dark. Around it are quiet lanes of whitewashed houses with blue doors, churches on every corner, a square with the Folklore Museum, and paths that lead out across the fields to Artemonas, Kastro and Exambela. It is the best base for a first visit: everything on the island is a short drive or a walk away.

An evening walk along the Steno
The Folklore Museum on Iroon Square
The paths to Artemonas and Kastro
Sweets and coffee by the bus stop
Sunset from the hill of Agios Symeon nearby

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Apollonia & the hill villages

Artemonas

The village of mansions and windmills, with the finest view on the island

Artemonas sits on the hill just north of Apollonia, a short walk along the lanes. It is the most elegant village on Sifnos: next to the white Cycladic houses stand neoclassical mansions with gardens and painted doorways, built by island families who made their money at sea and abroad. Above the village are the old windmills, and from the top you look down over the white villages, the fields and dovecotes to Kastro and the sea. It is quieter than Apollonia, with a small square, a much-loved bakery and a few good places to eat. The poet Ioannis Gryparis was born on Sifnos, and the village's small folk exhibition keeps a few of his things.

The windmills above the village
The mansions and their gardens
The view to Kastro and the sea
Sweets from the village bakery
Small plates on the square in the evening

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Kastro & the east coast

Kastro

The old capital on its rock, a walled village above the open sea

Kastro stands on a rock above the east coast, and it was the capital of Sifnos from ancient times until 1836. The ancient city that Herodotus wrote about stood here, and on the top of the hill are the remains of its acropolis. In the Middle Ages the houses were built in rings, with their back walls forming the town wall, so the village is a fortress you can walk into. Inside are narrow vaulted lanes, old mansions with coats of arms, chapels, Roman sarcophagi and ancient columns built into the walls, and the small Archaeological Museum. Below the village, the chapel of the Seven Martyrs sits alone on a rock in the sea, and people swim from the rocks around it.

The lanes inside the walls
The chapel of the Seven Martyrs
The Archaeological Museum
A swim from the rocks below the village
Sunrise over the sea

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Kamares & the west

Kamares

The port in a deep green bay, with a sandy beach and the sunset straight ahead

Kamares is where the ferries come in, at the end of a long bay between two steep hills on the west coast. It is more than a port. The waterfront is lined with cafes and tavernas, a sandy beach runs along the head of the bay, and the sun sets straight down the bay every evening. Kamares is also one of the old centres of the island's pottery, and a few workshops still work near the beach. Across the water, the small village of Agia Marina has a white chapel on the shore. Stay here if you want the beach and the boats on your doorstep.

Watching the ferry turn into the bay
The sandy beach at the head of the bay
Pottery workshops near the shore
Sunset at a waterfront table

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The south coast

Platis Gialos

The longest beach on the island, with potters, tavernas and soft sand

Platis Gialos, the wide shore, is a long curve of soft sand on the south coast, about 8 km from Apollonia. The water is shallow and calm, which makes it the family beach of Sifnos, and the tavernas and small hotels along the back of the sand keep it lively from morning until late. Several potters have their workshops here, and you can watch them at the wheel. On the hill above stands the white monastery of Panagia tou Vounou, with a view over the whole bay. Not far inland is Aspros Pyrgos, the White Tower, the best known of the round watchtowers the ancient islanders built.

A day on the soft sand
The pottery workshops
The monastery of Panagia tou Vounou above the bay
Dinner at the water's edge

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Kamares & the west

Vathi

A fishing village on a round bay so closed in it looks like a lake

Vathi lies in a deep bay on the south-west coast, almost closed by two headlands, so the water is calm on even the windiest days. For a long time the village was reached only by boat or on foot, and it still feels far away. There is a sandy beach, a handful of tavernas with tables near the water, a few potteries, and a small white church right at the water's edge. In the evening, when the day visitors go, the bay turns silver and quiet. You can drive down from Apollonia, or walk the old path through the hills.

Swimming in the calm round bay
The white church at the water's edge
Revithada at a family taverna
The old footpath down from the hills

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The south coast

Faros and Chrysopigi

A small fishing harbour, and the island's patron monastery on a split rock

Faros is a small fishing harbour on the south-east coast, with boats in the bay, a few tavernas and the sandy coves of Fasolou and Glyfo a short walk away. From the village a path follows the shore to Chrysopigi, the monastery of the Virgin that is the patron of Sifnos. It stands on a rock cut off from the land by a narrow channel of sea, crossed by a little bridge. The story goes that a nun chased by pirates prayed to the Virgin, and the rock split in two. The icon is said to have been found by fishermen floating in the sea. The monastery dates from the 17th century, and on Ascension Day, forty days after Easter, the whole island comes for its great feast.

The coastal path from Faros to Chrysopigi
The monastery on its split rock
A swim at Apokofto beside the monastery
Fish at a harbour taverna
The Ascension Day feast

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Regions

Where to base yourself in Sifnos

Apollonia & the hill villages

The white capital and the villages that run into it along the spine of the island: Artemonas with its mansions and windmills, Ano and Kato Petali, Katavati and Exambela, the birthplace of Tselementes.

Kastro & the east coast

The walled old capital on its rock, the chapel of the Seven Martyrs, the little harbour of Seralia and the cape of Panagia Poulati.

Kamares & the west

The port bay of Kamares with its beach and potteries, the chapel village of Agia Marina across the water, and the calm round bay of Vathi further south.

The south coast

The long sand of Platis Gialos, the fishing harbour of Faros, the monastery of Chrysopigi on its rock and the coves of Apokofto, Fasolou and Saoures.

The north

Dry, empty hills, the old mines of Agios Sostis, the coves of Vroulidia and the fishing hamlet of Cherronisos at the end of the road.

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