Skiathos Town: Looking for a Walkabout or for Some Celebrities
After one or two days of beaches, hikes, cicadas, dives in the swimming pool, you are ready for a walkabout "downtown".
Here is a nice program to start with: first, have a drink at the Bourtzi, then some appetizers in the old port, do some shopping on Papadiamantis Street, have a nice supper in a tavern along the shore, with your feet almost in the Aegean Sea and then, go and dance until the break of dawn on the "Nightlife Strip".
Like many tourists, you have probably chosen to visit Skiathos in the high season and you are now facing your first problem.
As ALL the people who rent a car in ALL the Greek islands in the summer, you do not know where to park this damn car.
In Skiathos, there is a municipal free parking lot, quite chaotic and "in the local style" (random parking spaces, no marcage on the ground which is NOT in concrete...
).
It is located at the entrance of the city, shortly after the supermarket Asteras on your left (just before the private parking), a small slightly sloping road will take you there.
Go as early as possible and you will have a chance to find a place.
Pick up your car as late as possible and you might avoid the bad surprise of being blocked by another car whose owner has obviously not left his phone number...
If all this scares you, remember it is also possible to take the bus or a taxi.
Well, you have finally found a place to park your car,, so you can "attack" the city, a bit pretentious word since it has only about 5000 inhabitants in the winter (around 80,000 souls at the height of August...
), but since it is the only town on the island, it deserves this name.
Skiathos Town is built like an amphitheater around a sheltered bay, southeast of the island.
Facing the harbor, in the other part of the bay, is the peninsula of Punta: small hills covered with pine and olive trees, dotted with white villas half-hidden in the vegetation, accessible by a road through the shipyards.
Lovely old buildings, white walls, red roofs, blue shutters, which usually belonged to wealthy sailors, line the harbor.
Most have been restored and are beautifully illuminated at night.
The crowd of tourists flows mainly in two areas: the port and Papadiamantis Street which is perpendicular to it.
Restaurants, shops, bars and nightclubs abound in these two areas.
The port is divided into two parts by the little peninsula Bourtzi, on top of which still remain some ruins of the castle built by the brothers Ghizi in the Venetian era.
The Bourtzi is a very nice place and invites you to a stroll among the majestic and fragrant pine bordering the paved driveway leading to the top.
The night view of the city lights, the taverns of the old harbor and the boats is charming.
The Bourtzi is a haven of peace where romantic couples of young lovers love smooch on public benches...
At the top, at the end of the paved driveway you will find a bar with a large terrace, where I recommend you to go and have a drink before dinner.
Behind the bar, a former elementary school converted into a cultural center offers theater performances and concerts throughout the summer.
Descend by the driveway which is located at the rear: it is lined with impressive cactus.
At the right of the Bourtzi (the sea in front of you), on the terraces of the traditional taverns, pizzerias, cafés of the old port, the waiters are trying to attract some clients.
Many are tourist traps, some are worth a visit.
The old port, where cars are forbidden, has kept a picturesque charm thanks to the colorful fishing boats, called "Matoula", "Dimitris" or "Maria", swaying gently along the quay on crystal clear waters.
At a short distance from the Bourtzi, near the quay where the Flying Cats accost, every summer some impressive yachts drop anchor under the admiring glaze of the holidaymakers.
The rumor runs fast and the names of some celebrities circulate all over the island, wrongly or rightly...
Each year, American actors, pop stars or Greek TV presenters, ship owners or singers, which photos adorn the restaurants that have had the honor of a brief visit, just feed the local tabloids.
This summer, David Hasselhof, Tommy Hilfiger, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russel and Philip Green have chosen Skiathos to spend a few hours or days.
After your drink at the Bourtzi and your stroll in the old harbour, you can walk along the marina where private yachts alternate with sailboats and rental boats.
At the end of it, you will find some very nice restaurants, where you can eat traditional "mezedes" accompanied with a small bottle of ouzo or "tsipouro" and admire the Aegean Sea, almost with your feet in the water...
Woaw, it's now past midnight and you have noticed that the human flood passing by has considerably increased.
Time to go to the "Skiathos nightlife strip" with all the nightclubs and bars, which begin to live after midnight and where a motley crowd squeezes up until the wee hours of the morning.
Let's end our touristic tour with Papadiamantis Street.
It goes through the town, perpendicularly to the sea and ends in front of the commercial port.
This is the place for shopping: souvenir shops, clothing stores, fake (many) or authentic (few), jewellery stores and some restaurants, with tables interspersed among the almost ceaseless procession of tourists who walk Papadiamantis Street until closing time of shops (about midnight in summer).
If a if a sudden need for culture takes hold of you, follow the signs for the Papadiamantis Museum.
Alexander Papadiamantis, one of the most famous Greek writers of the 19th century, was born in Skiathos and came back to the island to endi his life in a small and simple house, now open to the public.
You can visit it.
The house is tiny, but it will give the opportunity to learn more about Greek culture and literature.
Papadiamantis's books have been translated into many languages and through his work, you will discover another facet of Skiathos, far away from the touristic and glamourous atmosphere of the island.
Here is a nice program to start with: first, have a drink at the Bourtzi, then some appetizers in the old port, do some shopping on Papadiamantis Street, have a nice supper in a tavern along the shore, with your feet almost in the Aegean Sea and then, go and dance until the break of dawn on the "Nightlife Strip".
Like many tourists, you have probably chosen to visit Skiathos in the high season and you are now facing your first problem.
As ALL the people who rent a car in ALL the Greek islands in the summer, you do not know where to park this damn car.
In Skiathos, there is a municipal free parking lot, quite chaotic and "in the local style" (random parking spaces, no marcage on the ground which is NOT in concrete...
).
It is located at the entrance of the city, shortly after the supermarket Asteras on your left (just before the private parking), a small slightly sloping road will take you there.
Go as early as possible and you will have a chance to find a place.
Pick up your car as late as possible and you might avoid the bad surprise of being blocked by another car whose owner has obviously not left his phone number...
If all this scares you, remember it is also possible to take the bus or a taxi.
Well, you have finally found a place to park your car,, so you can "attack" the city, a bit pretentious word since it has only about 5000 inhabitants in the winter (around 80,000 souls at the height of August...
), but since it is the only town on the island, it deserves this name.
Skiathos Town is built like an amphitheater around a sheltered bay, southeast of the island.
Facing the harbor, in the other part of the bay, is the peninsula of Punta: small hills covered with pine and olive trees, dotted with white villas half-hidden in the vegetation, accessible by a road through the shipyards.
Lovely old buildings, white walls, red roofs, blue shutters, which usually belonged to wealthy sailors, line the harbor.
Most have been restored and are beautifully illuminated at night.
The crowd of tourists flows mainly in two areas: the port and Papadiamantis Street which is perpendicular to it.
Restaurants, shops, bars and nightclubs abound in these two areas.
The port is divided into two parts by the little peninsula Bourtzi, on top of which still remain some ruins of the castle built by the brothers Ghizi in the Venetian era.
The Bourtzi is a very nice place and invites you to a stroll among the majestic and fragrant pine bordering the paved driveway leading to the top.
The night view of the city lights, the taverns of the old harbor and the boats is charming.
The Bourtzi is a haven of peace where romantic couples of young lovers love smooch on public benches...
At the top, at the end of the paved driveway you will find a bar with a large terrace, where I recommend you to go and have a drink before dinner.
Behind the bar, a former elementary school converted into a cultural center offers theater performances and concerts throughout the summer.
Descend by the driveway which is located at the rear: it is lined with impressive cactus.
At the right of the Bourtzi (the sea in front of you), on the terraces of the traditional taverns, pizzerias, cafés of the old port, the waiters are trying to attract some clients.
Many are tourist traps, some are worth a visit.
The old port, where cars are forbidden, has kept a picturesque charm thanks to the colorful fishing boats, called "Matoula", "Dimitris" or "Maria", swaying gently along the quay on crystal clear waters.
At a short distance from the Bourtzi, near the quay where the Flying Cats accost, every summer some impressive yachts drop anchor under the admiring glaze of the holidaymakers.
The rumor runs fast and the names of some celebrities circulate all over the island, wrongly or rightly...
Each year, American actors, pop stars or Greek TV presenters, ship owners or singers, which photos adorn the restaurants that have had the honor of a brief visit, just feed the local tabloids.
This summer, David Hasselhof, Tommy Hilfiger, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russel and Philip Green have chosen Skiathos to spend a few hours or days.
After your drink at the Bourtzi and your stroll in the old harbour, you can walk along the marina where private yachts alternate with sailboats and rental boats.
At the end of it, you will find some very nice restaurants, where you can eat traditional "mezedes" accompanied with a small bottle of ouzo or "tsipouro" and admire the Aegean Sea, almost with your feet in the water...
Woaw, it's now past midnight and you have noticed that the human flood passing by has considerably increased.
Time to go to the "Skiathos nightlife strip" with all the nightclubs and bars, which begin to live after midnight and where a motley crowd squeezes up until the wee hours of the morning.
Let's end our touristic tour with Papadiamantis Street.
It goes through the town, perpendicularly to the sea and ends in front of the commercial port.
This is the place for shopping: souvenir shops, clothing stores, fake (many) or authentic (few), jewellery stores and some restaurants, with tables interspersed among the almost ceaseless procession of tourists who walk Papadiamantis Street until closing time of shops (about midnight in summer).
If a if a sudden need for culture takes hold of you, follow the signs for the Papadiamantis Museum.
Alexander Papadiamantis, one of the most famous Greek writers of the 19th century, was born in Skiathos and came back to the island to endi his life in a small and simple house, now open to the public.
You can visit it.
The house is tiny, but it will give the opportunity to learn more about Greek culture and literature.
Papadiamantis's books have been translated into many languages and through his work, you will discover another facet of Skiathos, far away from the touristic and glamourous atmosphere of the island.
Source...