Symi · Towns & villages

Towns & villages of Symi

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

Gialos & the harbour

Gialos

A harbour of painted mansions, where the boats come in under a clock tower

Gialos is the harbour of Symi and the first thing everyone sees: a deep, narrow bay with tall neoclassical houses in ochre, pink, cream and blue stacked up both hillsides, all built in the years when sponges and ships made the island rich. Fishing boats, yachts and the ferries from Rhodes tie up along the quay, tavernas put their tables at the water's edge, and the Kali Strata climbs from the back of the harbour to Chorio above. In the middle of the day it is busy with day boats; by evening it is one of the loveliest harbours in Greece.

The view as the boat turns into the bay
The clock tower and the old boatyards of Harani
The Nautical Museum and the sponge shops
The 1945 surrender plaque on the waterfront
Dinner at a table by the water

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Chorio & the Kali Strata

Chorio (Ano Symi)

The old town on the hill, up the Kali Strata, below a Knights' castle

Chorio, also called Ano Symi, is the old upper town, piled on the ridge above Gialos and reached by the Kali Strata, a broad stairway of stone steps. Its lanes are quieter than the harbour, with old captains' houses, small kafeneia, a row of ruined windmills on the skyline and, at the very top, the walls of the castle built by the Knights of St John around the church of the Megali Panagia. The Archaeological and Folklore Museum is here too. The views over both bays are the best on the island.

The climb up the Kali Strata
The castle and the church at the top
The windmills on the ridge
The Archaeological & Folklore Museum
Sunset over the harbour from a terrace

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Pedi & the east coast

Pedi

A fishing village at the head of a long, calm bay, below the only fields on the island

Pedi lies at the end of a deep inlet east of Chorio, where the only flat land on Symi runs down to the sea. Its name means 'plain'. Fishing boats sit in the little harbour, there is a shallow village beach and a handful of tavernas and rooms, and water taxis leave for the beaches of Agios Nikolaos and Agia Marina along the coast. It is a calm place to stay with children, a short bus ride from Gialos.

The shallow village beach
Water taxis to Agios Nikolaos and Agia Marina
The path to Agios Nikolaos
Fish at a table by the boats

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Nimborios & the north-west

Nimborios

A quiet bay west of the harbour, with early Christian mosaics and a taverna under the trees

Nimborios, or Emporios, is a small, peaceful bay about 3 km west of Gialos along the coast, once the trading port of the island. There is a pebble beach shaded by trees, a taverna, a few rooms, and the remains of an early Christian basilica with mosaic floors near the shore. The road and the coastal walk from Gialos cross bare hills of phrygana, thyme and sage, smelling of herbs in the heat.

A quiet swim under the trees
The early Christian mosaics
The coastal walk from Gialos
A long lunch by the water

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Panormitis & the south

Panormitis

A great monastery of the Archangel in a round bay, with a bell tower on the water

In a sheltered round bay in the south-west of Symi stands the Monastery of the Archangel Michael Panormitis, one of the great pilgrimage places of the Dodecanese. Its tall baroque-style bell tower rises over the water, and inside the courtyard, paved with black and white pebbles, is the church with its silver icon of the Archangel, patron of sailors. Pilgrims stay in simple guest rooms, two small museums show the gifts and the island's old life, and the boats from Rhodes call here in summer. The great feast is on 8 November.

The bell tower over the bay
The icon of the Archangel Michael
The Byzantine and folklore museums
A swim in the calm bay
The road over the mountain from Gialos

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The east coast

Marathounda

A tiny pebble bay at the end of a green valley, with one taverna and a few goats

Marathounda is a small settlement in a bay on the east coast, little more than a few houses, a pebble beach and a family taverna at the bottom of a valley of trees. It is one of the stops for the water taxis from Gialos, and a rough road comes down from the mountain. Come for a swim and a long lunch, and the silence once the boat has gone.

A swim in calm, clear water
Lunch at the taverna on the beach
The boat ride down the east coast

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Regions

Where to base yourself in Symi

Gialos & the harbour

The harbour town of painted mansions, with the clock tower, the old boatyards of Harani, the Nautical Museum and the little beach of Nos.

Chorio & the Kali Strata

The old upper town on the ridge, reached by the stone steps of the Kali Strata, with windmills, the museum and the castle of the Knights on top.

Pedi & the east coast

The fishing village of Pedi in its long bay, the sandy cove of Agios Nikolaos, the chapel islet of Agia Marina and, further south, Nanou, Marathounda and Agios Georgios Dysalona.

Nimborios & the north-west

A quiet bay west of the harbour with early Christian mosaics, and bare hills of thyme and sage.

Panormitis & the south

The pine-covered south, the great monastery of the Archangel in its bay, and the islet of Seskli offshore.

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