Ermoupoli attractions

This excellent chronicle of Syros’ industrial and shipbuilding traditions occupies a restored factory packed with more than 300 well-labelled items relating to sewing, printing, spinning, engines, ships and more. As…

Ano Syros, originally a medieval settlement, has narrow alleyways and whitewashed houses. It is a fascinating place to wander around and has views of neighbouring islands. Be wise and catch the bus up to settlement.…

This great square is perhaps the finest urban space in the Cyclades. Once situated immediately upon the seashore, today it sits well inland and is dominated by the dignified neoclassical town hall, designed by Ernst…

Stroll the Vaporia district, east and northeast of Plateia Miaouli, for palm-lined squares and elegant shipowners’ mansions (some now home to boutique hotels). The shipowners’ wealth is evident in the grand Orthodox…

Plateia Miaouli is dominated by the neoclassical town hall, which was designed by Ernst Ziller. A couple of elegant old-world cafes are found in the hall’s wings, with alfresco seating for great people-watching.

Built in the 1860s, this venerable theatre was partly modelled on La Scala in Milan. Keep an eye out for regular theatre performances (in Greek), or pop in to take a look around.

The wealth of the shipowners who built the elegant Vaporia district is evident in this grand Orthodox church, loaded with fine murals, icons, gilt and chandeliers.

The town’s small, unremarkable archaeological museum is housed in the rear of the town hall. Founded in 1834 and one of the oldest in Greece, it houses a tiny collection of ceramic and marble vases, grave stelae and…

This museum celebrates Markos Vamvakaris, the locally born patriarch of rembetika (blues).