A hilltop view of Andros Town and Chora beach
Cool sights and scenes in Andros Town
Below is a series of slideshows with sights and scenes we encountered while wandering around Andros Town. The photos switch automatically, but you can pause, advance or back up simply by moving your cursor over the pictures and clicking on the control buttons that will appear.
~ The town’s unique location and layout
Many Greek island towns and villages are breathtaking to see since they’re built atop cliffs or mountain peaks or beside beautiful bays. Andros Town is no exception. It’s visually striking, too, thanks to the unique natural geography of its seaside location. Much of Chora straddles a thin, long peninsula that pierces into the sea, creating beach-lined bays and scenic seafronts on both sides. The town looks impressive when viewed from the three nearby beaches, but it looks even more striking when seen from nearby hilltops and mountainsides. For visitors, the town’s layout across a long, slender spine of rock provides a tremendous variety of vantage points to observe the surrounding hills, valleys, beaches and bays.
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~ The historic Plakoura shipping harbour
Andros Town has a long and rich maritime history, and during the early 20th Century was one of the most important shipping centers in the Mediterranean. The bays aren’t bustling with commercial boats and cargo ships any more, but history buffs can walk around the former harbour area at Plakoura, on the north side of town, and will see remnants of wharves and cargo hoists at various points along the peninsula’s seashore. The town also has a maritime museum and a nautical museum where visitors can learn more about the historical importance of the Andros shipping industry.
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~ the Venetian Kastro
Just off the eastern tip of Andros Town is a steep, rocky islet topped with the ruins of a Kastro (castle fortress) that was built in the early 1200s, when the Venetians controlled the island. Some of the Kastro’s towers and barracks, as well as a Venetian coat of arms, remained in place for hundreds of years, but most were destroyed by a German bombing campaign during World War II. Visitors can explore the ruins and islet — and take in the one-of-a-kind views of Andros Town and the surrounding sea — if they’re willing to climb across the Kamara, a steeply arched stone footbridge that links the Kastro to Andros Town.
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~ fascinating local architecture
During its heyday as a major maritime center, Andros Town was home to wealthy shipping magnates and numerous sea captains, for whom elegant mansions and houses were built, many in stately Neoclassical design. Numerous mansions remain, some in meticulous condition, with others in urgent need of repairs and fresh paint. But they still exude elegance and convey a strong impression of an important era in the island’s history. Some newer buildings feature contemporary architecture, though one standout structure — the former Xenia Hotel, designed by acclaimed Greek architect Ares Konstantinides and built in the late 1950s — is now a crumbling seaside eyesore. When opened, the Xenia was an attractive example of Modern Greek architecture, but for a variety of reasons the hotel just didn’t work out and fell into a state of disrepair after shutting down sometime before 1999. After years of vandalism and damage by the elements, there’s not much more than a concrete shell left. (Click here to see some photos of the Xenia, and read more about its rise and fall, in an article from Monumenta, the website of an organization for the protection of natural and architecture heritage in Greece and Cyprus.) Of course, there are plenty of traditional Andros buildings, too — white structures with red tiled roofs, dovecoats, and stone tower houses. Lots to see for anyone interested in architecture and design.
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~ cliff jumping right in town
If jumping into the sea from a cliff is on your bucket list of things to do during a trip to Greece, you’ll be able to do that without having to leave Andros Town. Just a stone’s throw from the towering statue of the Unknown Sailor at Riva Square is a 5-meter-tall coastal cliff from which you can hurl yourself into the gorgeous turquoise waters below. We watched a group of local kids having a blast leaping into the sea from the clifftop ledge, challenging each other to see who could perform the most impressive jumps. Looked like a lot of fun, though they did admit the water temperature was cold. This is also a good spot to view the big bay on the north side of town, as well as the surrounding hills and mountains.
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~ three beaches
Although there are considerably better beaches elsewhere on the island, Andros Town visitors have their choice of three decent strands all within short walking distance of the town center. The largest is Paraporti, an unorganized sandy crescent on the south side of town. Chora beach is on the opposite side of the peninsula, while Nimborio is just a five-minute walk from there. Some beach chairs and umbrellas were available on both Chora and Nimborio when we were on Andros at the end of May.
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~ scenic streets, lanes and squares
Like any Greek island town, Chora has scores of streets, lanes and alleys that are fun to explore. The main street of Andros Town is Empeirikou, which runs from Ierou Lochou Square at the top end of town all the way to Kairis Square. Much of the street is closed to vehicles, so pedestrians can stroll to shops and restaurants at their leisure. At Kairis Square, visitors can walk through an arched passage that leads into the streets of the original Chora settlement, where there are numerous side streets to wander. The town boasts a number of museums and cultural institutions, too.
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~ picturesque churches and chapels
Also like typical Greek towns, Chora boasts numerous churches of all sizes — from quaint tiny chapels to huge cathedral-sized churches with impressive public squares out front.
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