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Naxos – My Favourite Greek Island

Naxos Greece – My Favourite Greek Island

Why Naxos Greece is my favorite Greek Island?

Chora Naxos, Greece is part of the Cyclades Group, is everything I was looking forward to in a Greek Island. It is a wonderful blend of Greek tradition, with influences from the Venetian and Mycenaean civilizations. All this can be found within a small city that has all the modern facilities that you need, yet still has the feel of a lovely laid-back seaside town.

Across the road from the picturesque marina, you will find about 500 meters of casual dining restaurants and bars, all offering excellent food at reasonable prices. Overlooking it all are bars and accommodation.

Naxos yoghurt served with fresh fruits
Naxos yoghurt served with fresh fruit and local honey.jpg

Food in Naxos Island

Naxos island prides itself on its food, and with good reason. In fact, I’d like to declare that Naxos yoghurt is the best on earth. They serve it with breakfast, lunch and dinner, on savoury dishes and as a dessert. That was almost enough to satisfy me, but I think I will never again find yoghurt that is as beautiful as Naxos yoghurt. If you ever come to Naxos try it with fruit and honey for breakfast. Delicious. While on the subject of food, the local cakes and ice-cream are also amazing on Naxos.

Seafood so fresh in Naxos Greece
Seafood so fresh it’s just hanging out waiting for dinner time..jpg

Seafood….So fresh!

But when it comes to freshness I think the seafood was the winner. You can’t get fresher than octopi that is just hanging around waiting for dinner. This photo was taken outside the restaurant (Meze Meze) that seemed the most popular along the waterfront, and our meal there confirmed it was popular for very good reasons…fabulous food and outstanding customer service.

Fishing is a major industry on Naxos Greece
Fishing is a major industry on Naxos.jpg

An ancient layer of Naxos

Explore behind the tourist shops and accommodation and you’ll discover another layer of Naxos. An ancient Venetian castle towers above the town, and built right next to it is an old Ursuline Convent that was the centre of learning in this part of Greece for many years up until just after 1945. From there you look down on the whole city. As you wander up and down the narrow lanes leading to the Castle, and within the Castle, you find a collection of very special shops. We visited a contemporary art gallery and an antique shop selling beautiful jewelry and enhanced by the historian who gave us the history of Naxos and Paros as we browsed around the shop.

The Arch of Apollo in Naxos Town
The Arch of Apollo in Naxos Town at sunset.jpg

A temple to Apollo was planned on the small island of Palatia, now connected to Chora Naxos. The Temple was never finished and only the Portara has stood the test of time, but it is a dominating element in Naxos and is a very popular venue as the sun sets.

Windmill in Naxos
Windmill in Naxos

Interesting travels by car…rugged, picturesque and some very narrow streets

A hired car took us all over Naxos, which is rugged and quite barren in many areas. We were told that it used to be forested with cedar trees but we certainly saw no evidence of that. Everywhere was very rocky and the only animals we saw were herds of mountain goats. However, there was a stark charm in that ruggedness, with picturesque villages of white buildings nestled into the side of hills.

Cocktails at Sunset, Naxos Town
Cocktails at Sunset, Naxos Town, Naxos, Cyclades Islands, Greece.

Stunning sunsets and authentic Greek island life

The sunsets from Naxos were stunning every day we were there and could be enjoyed from many vantage points including the Portara and the Flamingo Bar.

You can catch a ferry from Naxos that goes to Paros, Delos and Mykonos as a full day trip which is very worthwhile and interesting.

Inland Naxos Island
Inland Naxos is so rugged, yet beautiful in its ruggedness.jpg

Naxos may be less glamorous than nearby Mykonos but its charm is authentic, its people are genuinely welcoming and the food is amazing.

Viator

Make sure to check out our other Greek Island vacation

Visiting Relaxed Paros, Cyclades Islands, Greece
Walking in the Footsteps of Ancient Civilisations in Delos, Greece

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Jenni Proctor

Hi, I'm Jenni Proctor from Boomers Next Step. Remember when the formula for success in life was simply to strive for good marks at school, gain qualifications, get a great job, work hard and save for your retirement? Yes, I believed it too! For years my husband David and I wanted to develop a business that we could operate anywhere in the world, but both of us were educated to be employees.  We had entrepreneurial dreams and ideas, but still had employee mindsets. 14 years ago I took the giant leap!  I left my job in Education to start a business as a Career Counsellor and Coach, helping mature adults transition from one career path to another, and particularly from employment to entrepreneurship.  I had studied long and hard to gain new qualifications but sadly I hadn’t learnt how to market my new business. About 12 years ago we realized that we were not tracking well towards having the sort of retirement we wanted. We’d saved; we’d invested; and like so many other people we’d also lost some money along the way. It didn’t help that my business was not bringing in as much as I had been earning as an employee. Our dreams of extensive travel and helping our family were being replaced by a growing concern that we would outlive our savings. It seemed that a traditional retirement would not allow us to maintain the lifestyle we wanted. I love helping people plan the next phase of their lives, but we realized that was not going to be enough.  We needed a way to create an income stream that would pay for the travel and other lifestyle luxuries we wanted, that would provide mental stimulation, and would interest us both.

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