The Saronic
The Saronic Gulf islands sit between Attica and the Peloponnese. All of them are reachable by ferry or hydrofoil from Piraeus in under three hours. Hydra bans cars; Spetses keeps an aristocratic feel; Aegina is the workhorse weekend escape from Athens.
All Saronic islands
Aegina
Aegina (pronounced "EH-yee-na" in Greek, not "ay-JEE-na") is one of the islands Athenians travel to most, simply because it is so close. It is mainly famous for... its pistachios!
Agistri
The greenest island in the Saronic Gulf. 87% pine forest, turquoise beaches and just three small villages. The perfect escape from Athens for anyone avoiding mass tourism.
Hydra
No cars, no motorbikes: just donkeys and boats. Perfectly preserved neoclassical architecture and international artists.
Poros
Separated from the Peloponnese by a 200-metre channel. A clock tower with a view, pine woods down to the water, and a lemon forest on the far shore. The green escape of the Saronic.
Salamis
The largest island in the Saronic Gulf and the closest one to Athens. Famous for the Battle of Salamis (480 BC), where Themistocles defeated the Persian fleet. Today it is a weekend destination for Athenians.
Spetses
Elegant and cosmopolitan. Horses and carriages at the port, secret beaches and nineteenth-century shipowners' mansions.
What to see in the Saronic islands
Temple of Aphaia
One of the best-preserved Doric temples in Greece. Built in the 5th century BC, it looks out from a hilltop above Agia Marina. Well worth pairing with the beach.
Hydra Town
The island's only town, with a semicircular harbour ringed by the eighteenth century mansions of shipowners. No cars, no motorbikes: donkeys, boats and your own two feet. The most distinctive atmosphere in the Saronic islands.
Lemonodasos, the lemon forest
Thirty thousand lemon trees terraced up the hillside above Galatas, with nineteenth-century watermills and a waterfall at the end of the path. It is across from the island, five minutes by shuttle.
Dapia Harbour
The main harbour of Spetses and the front door of the island: ferries, old cannon batteries, pebble-mosaic terraces, cafes under the mansions and the Poseidonion Grand Hotel presiding over the whole thing.
Megalochori (Milos)
The main village on Agistri, with its traditional stone houses. The highlights are the church of Agios Zoodochos Pigis and the folk museum in the cultural centre. Authentic and quiet.
The Straits of Salamis
The narrow channel between the island and the mainland at Perama, where the Greek fleet destroyed the Persian navy in 480 BC. There is nothing built here to mark it. The water and the shape of the coast are the monument.