SKIATHOS  

Skiathos, with its clear blue waters, beaches of golden sand or bone-white pebbles, and verdant pine forests that stretch right down to the shoreline – as at the renowned Koukounaries – is an ideal summer destination. The island is a swimmer’s paradise, boasting a wealth of choices – some of which are accessible only by boat – not to mention options for water sports and scuba diving at the nearby islets of Arkos and Repi. With the picturesque alleyways of the island’s main settlement, the town of Skiathos, and a plethora of hiking trails to explore, it is no surprise that this island is popular with visitors. Meanwhile, Strofylia Lagoon, located directly behind the pine forest, is a Natura 2000 protected zone and Wildlife Refuge that is an ode to biodiversity.

The island has been inhabited since antiquity, being controlled by Byzantine Empire, the Venetians and the Ottomans over the years. The Venetian influence is most evident in the Bourtzi, a lush peninsula that divides Skiathos’ port town in two. Here, visitors can see the remains of the castle that protected the settlement from the 13^th century to the mid-17^th century, when it was demolished.

Above all, though, Skiathos is the island of the ‘Saint of letters’ himself, one of Greece’s greatest authors, Alexandros Papadiamantis. No visit to the island could be considered complete without a visit to the house – a listed national monument – where this beacon of the Hellenic spirit lived.

Cuisine

Skiathos is also an attractive destination for food lovers. The island’s culinary tradition is traced in the works of Papadiamantis, whose descriptions of the locals’ everyday lives include the entire array of agricultural, livestock and seafood products used in the local diet. Together, they comprise the island’s distinctive culinary identity. The local cuisine is modest and frugal, allowing the flavour to shine through. It is no surprise, then, that it not only survived into the present day but has in fact seen active development thanks to the island’s culinary community.

What sets Skiathos’ cuisine apart is how its dishes combine land and sea. Fish served with vegetables are a mainstay. The waters off the coast of Skiathos are an abundant source of ingredients, providing exceptional fish and molluscs, not to mention ‘tsoflia’, the local term for lobster and other crustaceans, while the island’s fertile farmlands produce top-quality vegetables. Cuttlefish with wild greens, white grouper boiled with tomato, dentex or monkfish stifado, lobster or crayfish with zucchini are just some of the local dishes visitors should sample.

Skiathos is also well known for its traditional pies: kalapodia – the local pies with wild greens – and the local cheese pies with their spiral shape, which the island’s cuisine shares with those of Skopelos and Alonissos.

Of course, no meal on the island is complete without a dish starring the local lamb, wild goat or rabbit, cooked, just like the fish-based dishes, with home-grown vegetables.

As far as sweets go, the island is known for its baklava as well as its chaimalia, dough fritters filled with honey and walnuts and dusted in confectioner’s sugar. Family and communal gatherings could hardly be complete without a helping.

How to get there

Skiathos is an island in the Sporades archipelago. It is easily accessible from the mainland by ferry from Agios Konstantinos or Volos. Visitors can also fly into the island’s International ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ Airport.