Kastro


All the steep whitewashed alleys through Skyros Town's historic core eventually lead to the Byzantine-Venetian fortress, which has been closed for restoration since a 2001 earthquake but may reopen. A marble lion, thought to be from a pre-existing acropolis, overlooks the kastro entrance, which gives way to the 10th-century Monastery of Agios Georgios (open to visitors).

On the way back down, pop in to tiny Agia Triada for its fine frescoes.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Monastery of Agios Georgios

0.01 MILES

Founded in 962, the working Byzantine Monastery of St George (whose bells might wake you early if you're staying in town) crowns Skyros Town, within the…

2. Agia Triada

0.07 MILES

Following signs to the kastro through upper Skyros Town's maze of white streets, you'll come to this tiny candlelit chapel with fine ceiling frescoes.

3. Archaeological Museum

0.19 MILES

Along with Mycenaean pottery and jewellery found near Magazia, vessels unearthed in Skyros Town and artefacts from the Bronze Age excavation at Palamari –…

4. Papa Ta Houma

0.21 MILES

Skinny-dippers can leave it all behind at this tan-toned nudist strand just beyond the southern end of Magazia.

5. Manos & Anastasia Faltaïts Museum

0.21 MILES

Spread across the Faltaïts family's 19th-century mansion, this not-to-be-missed gem unravels the island's mythology and folklore in a multilevel labyrinth…

6. Magazia Beach

0.38 MILES

Magazia's lengthy brown-sand beach is the island's most popular, with clear water, a good few restaurants and beach bars, a smattering of sunbeds, and…

7. Molos Beach

1.03 MILES

Blending into the northern end of Magazia, Molos' grey-brown sand-and-pebble beach stretches past a small harbour to a rugged headland (once a quarry),…

8. Agios Nikolaos

1.51 MILES

A huge rectangular free-standing rock forms the sacred space of Agios Nikolaos, at the northern end of Molos in what was a quarry in ancient times. A…