Escape with Us to the Cyclades

The Soul of Naxos: One Island, Four Villages, One Long Meal

Naxos does not give itself away at the port. The island that matters is inland and uphill, in marble-paved villages where the same families have been making cheese, wine and citron for generations. This private tour puts the guidebook down and goes from village to village with a local guide, eating a different course of one meal in each of them.

Where It Begins

The day opens at the Kouros, the colossal unfinished archaic statue that lay in a garden for centuries before local farmers came across it. He is still there, flat on his back, enormous and unfinished, and he sets the tone for everything that follows: an island that has been quietly getting on with its own life for three thousand years.

Starters in a Village Nobody Visits

The first stop is a small village off the usual route, where homemade starters come to the table. Local pie, tiganites, the Greek donuts fried and drizzled on the spot, a spread of Naxian honeys to taste, and herbal drinks made from what grows on the hillsides.

The Main Course at Apeiranthos

The road then climbs past the marble quarries, with the whole island opening up below, to Apeiranthos. This is the most striking village on Naxos, built in marble, medieval in layout, and still speaking its own dialect. Here comes the main course, a Naxian dish of meat with the island's famous potatoes, a seasonal salad, and cheese paired with wine.

Dessert and Citron at Chalki

Chalki was the island's capital, and it holds a distillery more than a century old where kitron, the citrus liqueur unique to Naxos, is still produced. You taste it where it is made, and dessert is galaktoboureko, the custard pie, prepared locally. From there the road runs back down to the coast.