A pilgrimage site of national importance, this elegant walled-off church contains a namesake icon depicting the Virgin, which is believed to make miracles. Indeed, the recovery of a Turkish governor in 1701, attributed to the icon, relieved the village from hefty Ottoman taxes for almost a century. On 15 August every year, the icon is taken from the church and carried around the village in a colourful procession attended by thousands of religious pilgrims.
Church of the Panagia Vrefokratousa
Lesvos
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest
29.2 MILES
This fascinating state-of-the-art museum chronicles what a volcano can do at a moment's notice – in this case 20 million years ago. Don't miss the…
23.67 MILES
Ayvalık’s old town is a joy to explore. A maze of cobbled streets east of the liman, it is full of market squares, atmospheric cafes, Greek Orthodox…
10.94 MILES
Extraordinary. It's worth coming to Lesvos for this alone – the Teriade Museum and its astonishing collection of paintings by artists including Picasso,…
28.34 MILES
Built in 540 BC on top of a 238m-high hill overlooking the Gulf of Edremit, this temple with its squat Doric columns has undergone a reconstruction that…
10.89 MILES
On the same site as the Teriade Museum, this humble structure contains 86 paintings by the primitive painter Theophilos, who remains a folk hero among…
16.26 MILES
Around 36km north of Mytilini Town, near Mantamados village, stands one of Lesvos’ most important pilgrimage sites. An axis of Orthodoxy, myth and…
25.58 MILES
About 9km west of Andissa, the Byzantine Moni Ypsilou stands atop a solitary peak surrounded by volcanic plains. Founded in the 8th century, this storied…
23.85 MILES
This erstwhile Greek Orthodox cathedral, built in 1844 but never used as a place of worship, was completely renovated in 2013 and positively shimmers in…
Nearby Lesvos attractions
5.43 MILES
Modestly tucked away in the village of Papados, between Mytilini and south-coast Plomari, this little museum showcases 19th-century steam-powered presses…
7.05 MILES
Up the main road from Agios Isidoros, this famous distillery offers tours and tastings.
7.66 MILES
Plomari is ouzo central for Greece. This museum, where the family has made ouzo for five generations, gives you the chance to tour its copper distillery…
4. Vrisa Natural History Museum
9.71 MILES
Associated with the Museum of Palaeontology and Geology at the University of Athens, the museum displays impressive and well-signed prehistoric fossil…
9.92 MILES
The bulbous dome of this church crowns Mytilini’s skyline. Its ornate interior boasts a huge chandelier, an intricately carved iconostasis, a priest’s…
10.16 MILES
This early-19th-century Turkish mosque, with crumbling atmosphere to spare, is near the end of Ermou, where a Turkish market used to thrive. In front of…
10.33 MILES
This handsome refurbished museum, about 500m above the eastern quay, portrays island life during Roman times, from the 2nd century BC to the 3rd century…
10.43 MILES
Mytilini’s imposing early-Byzantine fortress was renovated in the 14th century by Genoese overlord Francisco Gatelouzo, and then the Turks enlarged it…