Syros
Photo: Greece Field Guide
The Verdict
The Cyclades' working capital: a neoclassical port town with year-round life, a Catholic hill village above it, and beaches you can reach by bus.
Why go
Ermoupoli is the only Cycladic town that looks like a small European city rather than a village: arcaded streets, a marble-paved square, a genuine theatre, and a harbour that works in January as well as July. Above it, Ano Syros is Catholic, Venetian-founded and steep, and the two together are a two-day education in how these islands were actually run. Add Galissas and Kini for swimming and Syros stops being a ferry stopover and becomes the island that explains the rest.
Understand the place
The administrative capital of the Cyclades — a nineteenth-century port town of marble squares and pastel houses, with Ano Syros above it and sandy beaches a bus ride away.
Where to swim
Beaches
Galissas Beach
A wide south-facing sandy bay on the west coast of Syros, shallow and organised, fifteen minutes by bus from Ermoupoli.
“The best sandy beach on Syros for swimming, and the one the town buses actually reach.”
Kini Beach
A broad sandy beach on the west coast of Syros with fishing boats at one end, tavernas behind and the sun setting over the water.
“A long sandy beach facing west, quieter than Galissas, with the sunset straight down the bay.”
The old world
History & archaeology
Towns & villages
Ermoupoli
The capital of Syros and of the Cyclades — a neoclassical port town of marble paving and pastel facades, built on twin hills in the 1820s.
“The only Cycladic town that feels like a city, and a pleasant one: marble squares, arcades, a theatre, and a harbour that works all year.”
Ano Syros
The hilltop village above Ermoupoli, founded by Venetians in the thirteenth century and Catholic ever since, with stepped lanes and a cathedral at the summit.
“A Catholic, Venetian-founded village on a hill above the port — steep, lived-in, and the opposite of a Cycladic postcard, in a good way.”
Vaporia
The old shipowners' quarter of Ermoupoli — pastel neoclassical mansions on the slope between Ano Syros and the sea.
“Two streets of captains' mansions hanging over the water, and the best place in the Cyclades to swim at dawn inside a town.”
Easy to combine with
Logically reachable by transport. Confirm current ferry/flight schedules before booking.
Nearby
Sources
Booking links
Commercial links: we may earn a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you.
Plan this trip
Greece Field Guide helps you decide. When you're ready to arrange it, take your saved places to an itinerary.