Hydra in a day – A timeless seaside escape

Piraeus–Hydra

Piraeus to Hydra. A abbreviated oversea travel and you alteration centuries, images, and habits. You regard astatine the amphitheatrically built settlement—an architectural jewel with a singular humanities heritage. You hide the dependable of cars. You support walking and walking, anxious to research the harbor and its waterfront, the neighborhoods, constrictive alleys, tiny squares, and past Kiafa.

You greet radical bully greeting and bully evening. You peek done the fewer unfastened windows into the interiors of mansions and captains’ houses built successful the precocious 18th and aboriginal 19th centuries, during Hydra’s economical prosperity acknowledgment to its fleet. That was erstwhile the well-traveled Hydriots brought backmost knowledge, experience, wealth, and precious objects from Mediterranean ports.

Thirty mansions and 3 100 captains’ houses from that epoch adorn the town. Built with grey chromatic from Hydra and Dokos, wood and tile roofs, colorful doors and white-trimmed windows, they bask successful the outpouring sun. While austere connected the outside, their high-ceilinged salons and bedrooms were richly decorated—as you’ll spot wrong hotels housed successful erstwhile mansions and successful the museums of Lazaros and Pavlos Kountouriotis. Ceiling frescoes, marble floors with geometric designs, costly carpets, good furniture, antiques, decorative objects, and ornate meal services—all brought from Mediterranean ports—transformed interiors into Renaissance-style Genoese palaces. You tin astir ideate the evening gatherings successful euphony and creation halls attended by Hydra’s “high society.”

A Stroll Around the Harbor and Its Landmarks

A uniquely harmonious colony of multi-level houses—three oregon adjacent 4 stories high—with hidden gardens faces the sea, whispering stories of glory, seamanship, wars, destruction, and triumphs.

Stories of Sophia Loren, who made Hydra celebrated successful the 1950s with the movie Boy connected a Dolphin. Stories of the celebrities who passed done successful the 1960s and ’70s, creating their ain VIP enclave—“the Saint-Tropez of the Saronic Gulf.” Legends specified arsenic John Lennon, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Melina Mercouri, and Jules Dassin. And of course, Hydra’s beloved Leonard Cohen, who owned a location connected the island—still marked connected Google Maps.

Hydra is besides the birthplace of writer Miltos Sachtouris and attracted intellectuals and artists specified arsenic Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, George Seferis, Nikos Engonopoulos, Henry Miller, and Panagiotis Tetsis.

Today, cosmopolitan beingness continues successful a milder form. Exhibition openings, summertime festivals, conferences, weddings, and events capable the harbor with yachts and the cobbled streets with acquainted faces from the worlds of concern and celebrity. Many Greek and overseas entrepreneurs person invested successful Hydra, restoring aged mansions arsenic summertime homes.

Yet connected this November morning, the echoes of summertime person faded. Daily beingness unfolds quietly. Locals sip java on the waterfront, discussing the past play and exchanging news. Some shops and restaurants hole to adjacent for winter, others acceptable up for luncheon and dinner.

Museums and Monuments

At the eastbound borderline of the harbor stands the statue of Admiral Andreas Miaoulis, erected successful 1993. His bones were transferred to Hydra successful 1985 and are buried astatine its base. Nearby basal duplicate Venetian buildings that erstwhile served arsenic a infirmary and gunpowder store; contiguous 1 houses the Melina Mercouri municipal creation and performance hall, the different the larboard authority.

Close by is the awesome Historical Archive–Museum of Hydra, founded successful 1918—among the archetypal successful Greece, alongside the General State Archives. It contains 19th-century paintings, relics of the 1821 War of Independence, accepted Hydra costumes, maps, navigation instruments, elaborate vessel figureheads, and 18,000 humanities documents.

In the halfway of the harbor stands the Monastery and Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, Hydra’s metropolitan church, founded successful the 17th century. Its marble iconostasis and candlelit chandeliers are striking—especially the aureate six-branched chandelier adjacent the Royal Gate, brought from France oregon Spain and adorned with the heads of the French Louis kings.

On the occidental broadside lies the mansion of Pavlos Kountouriotis, built earlier 1821 by Georgios Kountouriotis and aboriginal renovated by his grandson, Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis—future curate of the Navy and President of the Hellenic Republic. Today it operates arsenic a museum.

Further on is the occidental bastion known arsenic the Periptero, wherever visitors intermission beside monolithic cannons to respect the oversea view. In summer, the docks of Spilia and Hydronetta capable with swimmers and diners astatine waterfront restaurants; contiguous they are astir empty.

Kaminia and the Ascent to Kiafa

Walking past the tiny Avlaki beach, I proceed toward Kaminia, a picturesque clump of houses, galore present villas oregon boutique accommodations. Its emblem is the “Red House,” the aged Miaoulis residence built successful 1786, wherever scenes from Boy connected a Dolphin and different films were shot.

Later, I sojourn the Lazaros Kountouriotis Museum, housed successful a magnificent precocious 18th-century mansion and operating arsenic a subdivision of the National Historical Museum. It displays household heirlooms, furniture, paintings, and people creation collections.

Climbing to Kiafa—the island’s archetypal colony dating backmost to the 15th century—I rotation done narrow, maze-like alleys lined with tiny shops and workshops. Churches specified arsenic Saint John the Faster, with 17th-century frescoes, Saint Paraskevi with its panoramic harbor view, and Saint Constantine the Hydriot crown the hill.

Descending again to drawback the past high-speed ferry, I respect Hydra—declared a protected historical tract and scenery of outstanding earthy beauty. Here, uncontrolled operation is forbidden. Each sojourn feels similar entering a clip capsule, preserving the works of its radical and the aura of its singular history—making you forget, completely, the sound of metropolis life.