Danielle van Doorn filmed the video to her inspirational song Fly at Molyvos, Petra and other places on Lesvos island
Scenic backup: Lesvos island plays a co-starring role in Fly, a pop music video released this month (April 2020) by talented young Dutch singer/songwriter Danielle van Doorn.
The beautiful town of Molyvos, the historic Molyvos Castle, Petra village and numerous inland and coastal locations on Lesvos provide scenic backdrops for the 3.5-minute video which van Doorn made as a posthumous birthday gift for Justin G. Valk, who produced the studio recording of the song prior to his death two years ago from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Known professionally as JRedsun, Valk also produced van Doorn’s 2017 single, Leave Me Alone.
We recognized several of the video filming locations since we stayed in Molyvos and visited Petra and other places during our first-ever trip to Lesvos in spring 2019, but I’m sure many more sites shown in the clip will be familiar to regular island visitors.
If you haven’t been to Lesvos before, the video will give you glimpses of some of the pretty town, coast and landscape scenery that await your discovery on this truly wonderful East Aegean isle.
Filmmaker Anthony Venitis compiled drone footage from 30 places in Greece to create his “Proud to be Greek” salute to his country’s vast beauty
If you have had to postpone a trip to Greece because of the Covid-19 pandemic, filmmaker Anthony Venitis has a message — and a special 2-minute video — to share with you.
“Greece, as most countries, is under #lockdown but the time will soon come when our country will come back stronger and more colorful. The time will soon come when we will get to enjoy her beauties once more, together and united,” Venitis says in descriptive notes for an aerial video he has posted to his YouTube channel.
His film features drone video of 30 breathtaking Greek “beauties,” including historic monuments, mountains, beaches, harbours, tavernas, villages, olive groves, coastlines, lighthouses, sunrises and more.
The attractions and destinations with starring roles in the film include: the Acropolis of Athens and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion; lighthouses at Gytheio, Andros, Mykonos and Kea; a shipwreck at Gytheio; scenes from the islands of Santorini, Milos, Lefkada, Andros, Kefalonia, Mykonos, Kalymnos, Aegina and Hydra; scenes from the Pelion and Peloponnese regions; plus Kalavryta, Sparta and Monemvasia. The video concludes with images of a Greek flag on a hilltop at Sparta. (A list of the places shown, along with the exact times they appear in the video, can be found in the descriptive notes on the YouTube page.)
Are you planning to see any of these beauties for yourself when you can eventually take your trip to Greece?
This 9-minute film by fitness and travel buff William Taudien shows Paleochora, Crete from ground level, in the air, and even under water.
Just a few weeks back, I wrote about a new promotional video that tourism authorities on Crete had produced to encourage more travellers to visit the island in winter.
Since then, I’ve been keeping an eye on social media to watch for current photo and video posts, to get a better feel for what the island is like at this time of year. The latest we have ever been to Crete ourselves was in late October and early November 2017, when the tourist season was wrapping up and most hotels and restaurants were either already closed or shutting down. Despite a few days of inclement weather, we had a great time, but we often wondered how visiting in winter would compare. It seems other people are curious, too — in online travel forums, I’ve noticed an uptick in the number of people asking whether winter travel to Crete and other places in Greece would be worthwhile.
This week I got some answers when adventure traveller, fitness buff and vlogger William Taudien published the video I posted above.
William has been living near the Crete city of Chania for the past three months. In late December, he took a daytrip to Paleochora, a small town on the island’s southwest coast which happened to be the last stop on our late autumn holiday two years ago.
After a bumpy 90-minute bus ride through gorgeous mountain scenery, William arrived at Paleochora to sunny skies and comfortable temperatures in the low 20s Celsius — weather similar to what we had experienced. Conditions were ideal for William to film ground-level video while wandering the streets, the seafront on the east side of town, and beautiful big Pachia Ammos beach to the west, which he had all to himself. With his drone, he captured amazing aerial views of the colourful town, the beach, and the spectacular mountain and Libyan Sea surroundings. He even shot some underwater scenes while swimming and snorkeling.
Everything looked pretty much as it had when we spent three days in Paleochora, with one major difference — as William explains in the video, restaurant options are extremely limited in winter, especially if you’re looking for somewhere to have lunch.
Although he had an enjoyable trip to Paleochora on that particular day, William told me in an email that “It seems like the weather is a bit unstable in the winter.” In fact, right after his daytrip, the weather changed rapidly when a massive storm system that meteorologists named Zenobia swept across Greece, lashing the country with gale-force winds, heavy rains, and snowfalls in some regions. Zenobia pounded Greece for the final four days of 2019, and weather conditions remained unsettled into the first week of the new year.
But conditions improved, and sunshine and mild temperatures returned. In his email, William told me he took another daytrip a few days ago, this time to explore the village of Hora Sfakion on Crete’s southern coast. And, once again, he went swimming. “It was really sunny and nice,” he said.
Now, as I look out my window at gloomy grey skies and the temperature below the freezing mark here in Toronto, I keep daydreaming about paying a winter visit to Chania, and taking daytrips to places like Paleochora and Hora Sfakion if the weather is decent. Definitely something to keep in mind for next winter!
A new tourism video aims to show travellers that whether they prefer to spend their holidays taking a leisurely look at local history, culture, food and wine, or keeping a faster pace with outdoor sports activities, beach fun and lively nightlife — or maybe a mix of both — there’s an extensive range of exciting activities and fascinating attractions awaiting them in Heraklion
A newly-released tourism video is inviting visitors to “discover the other part of yourself” in Heraklion (often spelled Irakleio), the biggest city on Crete, in 2020.
Notes posted on the video’s YouTube page say the nearly 3-minute-long film “presents a vivid city with unique images in every corner, in every step. With flavors, sounds and aromas you’ll never forget!”
“Stroll around Heraklion, in its market and beaches, visit its archaeological sites, its monuments and its museums. Enjoy the authentic Cretan lifestyle and gastronomy. Feel how living like a true local here in Heraklion, really is! Discover all 5+1 civilizations that make Heraklion truly unique, so full of experiences that you will wholeheartedly enjoy all year round,” say the release notes.
Produced by the Heraklion Municipality Tourism Department, the film was published on January 7.
“We are waiting for you, here in the heart of the most important island in the Mediterranean, ‘where Crete begins’!” the video release notes say, quoting the city’s official tourism slogan.
Should you be interested in finding yourself in Heraklion this year, I’ve collected website links to a fistful of recent Greek magazines that spotlight things to see and do in Heraklion and its surrounding area. The articles are packed with superb photos and useful information about major monuments and attractions, events, and alluring places to enjoy either traditional or contemporary Cretan food and drink.
♦ The Greece Is | Crete 2019 special issue includes an insightful article about Knossos Palace (at page 72), a map highlighting top attractions to check out in the region beyond Heraklion city limits (pages 144-5), and recommendations for things to see and do during a 2-day city break in Heraklion (page 146).
In Knossos Uncovered, writer John Leonard recounts a visit to the Palace of Knossos, which he notes is “Greece’s most popular, best-known archaeological destination after the Athens Acropolis.”
A highlights map indicates “at a glance” places to explore in the municipal region beyond the city of Heraklion/Irakleio
Heraklion is an ideal city break destination, and the Greece Is feature 48 hours in Irakleio is an excellent guide to help plan a short visit.
♦ The just-published White Issue of Fly, the on-board magazine of Sky Express airline, includes a 7-page spread spotlighting key attractions, events and places near Heraklion, including the Natural History Museum, CretAquarium, Knossos Palace, the Messara Plain and Archanes village. The quick-read article is iIlustrated with beautiful photos by Perikles Merakos.
This photo feature from Sky Express airline’s Flymagazine highlights several noteworthy attractions in and near Heraklion
♦ Issue 77 of Blue Magazine, the on-board publication of Aegean Airlines, includes a 13-page “guide to the good life in one of Greece’s most vibrant cities.” It spotlights two of Heraklion’s micro-breweries, various coffee shops where visitors can experience traditional Cretan cafe culture, restaurants offering either authentic island food or contemporary “creative” Cretan cuisine, as well as cocktail bars and lounges. The guide also describes the new Heraklion Cultural and Conference Center and an emerging “hot spot” district of the city that’s rapidly gaining popularity for its food and beverage offerings.
A Bluemagazine guide lists places to visit for coffee, cocktails, locally-brewed beer, traditional Cretan food and modern creative cuisine
♦ Heraklion gets feature coverage in two articles in the Summer 2019/Spring 2020 issue of Minoan Wave, the on-board magazine for the Minoan Lines ferry company. In one, writer Olga Charami joins local resident Spiros Staridas, who has published a cultural map of Heraklion, for a fascinating tour of historically significant city sights most visitors would overlook (including segments of ancient city walls preserved inside two fashion clothing shops). The other is a short 3-page piece suggesting specific places visitors should consider dropping by for pastries, coffee, raki or cocktails, and either traditional Cretan cooking or contemporary Mediterranean cuisine.
The article Heraklion: Hidden Charm takes readers on “an alternative walk” through the city’s historic center to discover “often-overlooked gems.”
The short but sweet article Heraklion: Unfailingly Flavorful tells visitors where to taste delicious pastries and desserts; raki, cocktails and other beverages; and their choice of either traditional or modern Cretan cuisine.
My Sifnos by Nikos Panou is my favourite video of 2019; it makes me smile and feel good every time I watch it. Panou deftly captures the essence of an amazing Greek holiday experience — the pure joy, wonder and exhilaration of exploring a beautiful destination (in this case, Sifnos island) and discovering the delights of its people, food, culture and atmosphere.
You know that December is drawing to a close when you see just about every media outlet — TV and radio shows, newspapers, magazines and websites — presenting lists and rankings of “the best” and the “top moments/ memories/ things/ whatever” of the year. Seeing “best of 2019” features everywhere I looked inspired me to compile one myself this week while I was organizing the many hundreds of bookmarks I had accumulated on my web browser this year.
Rather than move links for my favourite videos into folders where I probably would forget all about them, I’m posting them here for my readers to enjoy (and to give me an easier way to find them for repeat viewing or future reference).
In Greece Story –The Best Places in Greece? Pawel Worsztynowicz captures striking aerial scenes from 28 beautiful places in Greece, including Athens, Sounion, Crete, Corfu, Meteora, Halkidiki, the Peloponnese, Skiathos, Skopelos, Symi, Santorini, Thirasia, Ios, Kos, Eubea, Rhodes and Zakynthos. (Notes accompanying the video on YouTube provide a chronological list of locations shown.) Pawel compiled the film following nearly a year of travels across Greece, so you can just imagine the stories he can tell about the places he visited.
Out of the countless clips I have seen in the past 12 months, I have selected just over two dozen to highlight in this post. I liked these best of all either because they show sights and scenes familiar to me from our own past vacations, or because they depict destinations on my travel bucket list. All were released or published sometime during 2019, and none run longer than 10 minutes.
I have organized the clips into alphabetic order starting with the videos of Amorgos island, below, and continuing on page 2. Included are films of:
♦ Andros
♦ Athens
♦ Corfu
♦ Crete
♦ Donoussa
♦ Hydra
♦ Ikaria
♦ Ios
♦ Karpathos
♦ Kavala
♦ Lesvos
♦ Meteora
♦ Milos
♦ Monemvasia
♦ Mykonos
♦ Patmos
♦ Samos
♦ Santorini
♦ Skopelos
♦ Syros
♦ Vatheia in the Peloponnese
I love The Island‘s dramatic cinematography, which superbly captures the mountain, coast and village scenery on Amorgos. This film by Igor Popović also contains excellent views of the incredible Chozoviotissa Monastery, built against the face of a cliff high above the sea.
I thoroughly enjoyed Amazing Amorgos, Greece, a delightful and entertaining aerial film in which Joerg Daiber captures the island’s magnificent sights and scenery using time lapse and tilt shift photography techniques.
This film by I Viaggi Di Michele is narrated in Italian; however, you don’t need to speak or understand the language to enjoy the beautiful Andros scenery. Sights and locations shown in the 11.5-minute video include Chora, the Tis Grias castle, Tis Grias to Pidima and Achla beaches, the Tourlitis lighthouse, Korthi Bay, Batsi village, the Monastery of Zoodochos Pigi and the Panachrantos Monastery, and the Pithara waterfalls.
If there are any videos from 2019 that you enjoyed, but don’t see featured in this post, feel free to post their links in the comments section so other readers and I can check them out.
This photo gallery video profiles Conde Nast Traveller magazine’s 23 choices for best Greek islands to visit in 2020
Thinking of taking a holiday on a Greek island in 2020, but aren’t sure where to go? To help you decide, the U.K.’s Conde Nast Traveller magazine has compiled a list of what it believes are the 23 best islands to visit (out of more than 200 possible choices).
Skiathos is described as the smallest but most popular of the Sporades islands, and as a favourite with families for its “baby powder-soft sandy beaches and laid-back vibe.”
“Lefkada’s main town, flattened by an earthquake in the 1950s, won’t take your breath away, but those famous cliff-backed beaches, Egremni and Porto Katsiki, sure will,” the article says of its second-place selection.
Meanwhile, “Paxos packs a big punch … for its electric blue sea and three dinky harbour towns, each one so pretty it’s impossible to pick a favourite,” Howard writes.
Her Top 23 round-up includes a scenic photo from each destination, two or three paragraphs of text describing highlight features and what each island is considered “best” for, and suggested accommodations.
Besides Lefkada and Paxos, the ranking includes:
♦ four other major Ionian islands: Kefalonia, Corfu, Ithaca and Zakynthos;
♦ the Cyclades islands of Milos, Serifos, Amorgos, Mykonos, Santorini, Folegandros, Syros, Naxos, Tinos and Sifnos;
♦ the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes, Symi, Astypalia and Patmos;
♦ Hydra;
♦ Chios;
♦ Crete.
The online article concludes with a gallery of 16 photos showing scenes from some of the islands. Curiously, there is a picture from Andros, even though that island didn’t win a spot in the Top 23.
A much bigger blooper is the photo that purports to illustrate top choice Skiathos. The magazine’s photo editors mistakenly chose a picture of Elia beach on Mykonos instead of the Skiathos strand with the same name. Another photo boo-boo is a picture captioned as Petra beach on Patmos; the posted image actually shows Grikos beach.
Below are videos I’ve selected to give some additional photographic insight into the islands that ranked in Conde Nast’s Top 3:
Meet Skiathos: Something for Everyone is a 6-minute film produced by Ionian & Aegean Island Holidays Ltd., the Greek National Tourism Organisation, and Ellie Patrikios
Lefkada island 4K is a 4.5-minute video published by bikisek1979
Discover Paxos is a 2-minute clip from Agni Travel
Couldn’t make it to Mykonos to party this year? The music video Mama Bonita by Kristo Featuring Eva, released September 14, was shot primarily on the island and is chalk full of Mykonos town, beach, sea, villa and hotel scenery.
DJ Giannis Papasilekas will play at El Burro on Thursday November 5 and Friday November 6
Taverna Kandavlos will present live musical entertainment on the afternoon of Sunday November 1
Beginning with the weekend of October 24 & 25, El Burro will present music entertainment by DJ Giannis Papasilekas every Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. Because of limited indoor table seating availability, reservations will be required for these events.
Going to Mykonos after the middle of September? Some Covid-related restrictions that could impact your vacation are still in effect on the island.
From September 15 until further notice from the government, bars and restaurants must continue to close at midnight every day, and cannot reopen before 7 a.m. However, businesses can offer food and beverage takeaway and delivery service beyond the midnight closing time.
In addition, there is a limit on the number of people allowed to participate in any public or social event. No more than 50 people can attend public or social gatherings, regardless of whether they take place in a public or private location. These include ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms and funerals, banquet-type receptions and festivities, and other events geared to large groups.
The special measures are part of the Greek government’s efforts to control and limit the spread of coronavirus, as new cases of Covid-19 continue to rise in many parts of the country.
Stringent restrictions were implemented on Mykonos on August 19 after the island experienced an increase in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus around the middle of that month.
The rules took effect on Friday August 21, and stipulated that:
♦ Masks had to be worn indoors AND outdoors;
♦ Live parties, trade fairs, public markets, parades and processions could not take place;
♦ There was a ban on any kind of gathering of more than 9 people, for any reason, whether in public or in private
♦ in restaurant dining areas, a maximum of 4 people would be allowed to sit at the same table (a maximum of 6 in the case of immediate members of families)
In addition, the existing requirement that bars and restaurants close from midnight to 7 a.m. every day was extended until August 31. (The midnight shutdown originally was supposed to end on August 23.)
The government has since extended all of the above restrictions to September 15 as it strives to fend off an expected second wave of the coronavirus after cases spiked in a number of destinations in Greece.
Police on Mykonos had been enforcing the mask rule by issuing €150 tickets to some people who didn’t comply; however, mask wearing was not required for people sunbathing or swimming at beaches and pools. Government officials also inspected businesses on the island to ensure they were complying with the coronavirus safety measures.
The government’s strict enforcement of some measures made international headlines on Tuesday September 1, when officials with the General Secretariat of Civil Protection conducted surprise inspections on two of the island’s best-known beach clubs, Nammos and Scorpios, and tested their employees for coronavirus. Following the inspection, the government ordered the two clubs to cease operations until September 4. According to media reports, the Scorpios staff all tested negative for the virus, so the club was allowed to re-open on September 4. At Nammos, on the other hand, two employees tested positive, and authorities ordered the club to stay closed for an additional 10 days. The club hired lawyers to appeal that decision, but ultimately decided to close early for the season and shuttered the premises on September 7, saying the club will reopen at the end of April in 2021.
Since then, at least three other beach clubs — Lohan Beach House, Solymar and Pinky Beach — have closed for the season, and a number of restaurants and bars have also shut for the winter, including Adelon Sunset Bar, Busulas, Bakalo, Catari and Fokos Taverna. More restaurants as well as hotels are expected to close unusually early this year because tourist traffic is down tremendously this September — normally a busy month.
If you do travel to the island toward the end of this month, expect a quiet low-season atmosphere without the typical September buzz.
To see listings of events that have already taken place this month, including closing parties, check page 2 of this post.
This 2-minute promotional video by Incredible Crete features enticing views of Cretan food and wine, and wonderful winter scenery
If you think Crete is a place worth visiting only in summer to experience its exquisite beaches, historic archaeological sites, outdoor activities, food, wine and culture, the island’s regional tourism authority wants you to think again — and to consider paying Crete a winter visit.
Incredible Crete, the island’s official tourism agency, recently released a promotional video entitled Crete: Sense the authentic winter! in a bid to boost off-season travel to Greece’s largest island.
Crete is one of the most popular islands in Greece, but many people mistakenly believe it’s a summertime destination “open” only from April to October. While it’s true that winter isn’t suitable for beach fun like swimming, sunbathing and water sports, and the Samaria Gorge (one of the island’s top outdoor tourist attractions) is closed to hikers for weather and safety reasons, that doesn’t mean Crete completely shuts down for the season.
On the contrary, Crete is a veritable winter wonderland.
Chania and Heraklion are superb city-break destinations year-round, while many of the island’s museums, historic and archaeological sites remain open, albeit on reduced hours of operation. Plenty of tavernas and restaurants continue serving renowned Cretan cuisine and wine, while outdoor activities are available, including scenic walks and trekking, and adventure snow sports in some areas. And of course there’s one thing that doesn’t disappear just because it’s winter: Crete’s gorgeous natural scenery — from mountains and valleys to coastlines and beaches — is beautiful to behold 365 days a year.
The Koules Fortress and the Venetian Harbour at Heraklion are seen in a photo from the municipality of Heraklion website. Below is a picture we shot at Chania’s harbourfront during a late October trip to Crete.
As the Sense the authentic winter video demonstrates, Crete can overwhelm your senses even in winter, and that’s why tourism officials are hoping to encourage more travellers to give the island a look during the off-season.
Should you be interested in exploring Crete during the winter, you’ll find information about activities, accommodations and attractions in these online resources:
♦ Incredible Crete, the island’s official tourism website, is packed with an extensive array of information and photos to help travellers plan island visits;
♦ The Crete in Winter page of CreteTravel.com describes places to visit, and includes links to accommodations;
♦ The official website for the city of Heraklion is loaded with information about the city, including news and event listings, maps, photos and videos, and offers a special Visitor section with details about museums and attractions.
Additionally, a simple web search for “winter travel to Crete,” or similar topics will yield scores of additional sites and articles, including websites for specific accommodations that are open year-round on the island.
Below are more winter photos of Crete, followed by a video of breathtaking mountain and valley scenery in the Lasithi region in early winter of 2019.
The snowy Psiloritis mountains provide an impressive winter backdrop to this photo of the Heraklion harbourfront. The image is from the Facebook page Festivalaki: Cretan festival of Arts & Culture.
The harbourfront of Rethymno is captured in a winter photo by Theofilis Papadopoulos. The image was shared on the Festivalaki page on Facebook.
Another photo from the Festivalaki Facebook page, this time showing Chania’s historic harbourfront with a snow-capped mountain backdrop
From the Incredible Crete site, a photo of winter trekkers visiting old mountaintop windmills
Also from Incredible Crete, an image of adventure climbers on the Spathi peak of the Dikti Mountains
Stunning winter views of the Lasithi region are shown in this clip of photos and videos by Renos Drone Works
Zameer Pactyan published this video of Mount Psiloritis and the White Mountains on January 4 2020. Breathtaking panoramic views of the mountains can be seen starting from the 45 second mark in the film.
