Greece is one of the most popular travel and holiday destinations for tourists worldwide. Places like Thassos, the Olympic Riviera, or Halkidiki have become true Balkan tourist territories for Romanians, Bulgarians, and Serbians. Once you arrive, you hear the homeland’s language spoken at every turn. Other Greek islands are very popular for international wanderers: Lefkada, Corfu, Zakynthos, Rhodos, Crete… and then the cosmopolitan Santorini and Mykonos are invaded by hoards of tourists in high season.
But what do we do if we want to get to a quieter Greece? Or what do we do if we’ve visited pretty much everything that’s very ‘commercial’ and want new places, perhaps not so exploited and taken over by the on-the-beaten path tourists? I wrote here about a foray into northern Greece, which is related to the country’s superb mountainous area.
But below, I’ve selected 10 lesser-known Greek islands, showing their main sights, best beaches, best hotels and restaurants, and how to get there. The selection includes examples from several archipelagos because, as we know, the diversity of Greece’s islands makes them all the more beautiful and… magnetic. You will therefore have a preview as a travel suggestion. For each island, please click on the link.
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Lemnos (or Limnos, as it is also called) is an island in the northern Aegean Sea, between the Halkidiki peninsula and the coast of Turkey (or between Thassos and Lesbos, depending on how you want to look at it), which could be defined as somewhat atypical compared to other Greek islands. The unique landscape of Lemnos, with its green hills and vineyards, bays upon bays, and dozens of beautiful beaches, sand dunes, and other bizarre geological formations, invites visitors to explore its alluring nature, traditional villages, and archaeological sites that bear witness to a civilization with a centuries-old history.
Looking into mythology, Lemnos is the home of the Amazons and Hephaestus, the god of fire and volcanoes. It was here that Hephaestus had his blacksmith’s workshop, and one of the towns on Lemnos, Ifestia, was named in his honor. Legend has it that Hephaestus came to Lemnos after being thrown off Mount Olympus by his parents, Hera and Zeus, who couldn’t bear to have such an ugly child. Hephaestus fell on the island, broke his leg, and was left lame, but the locals nursed him back to health and taught him the art of blacksmithing.
Read the article about Lemnos Island: sights, beaches, hotels, restaurants, how to get there
