Greece - Korina Miller [320]
Hotel Mantalena ( 22840 61206; www.hotelmantalena.gr; s/d/tr €50/65/75; ) The Mantalena has bright, clean rooms and is located a short distance to the north of the main harbour quay. There’s a pleasant terrace and the building is set back from the harbour road. You get a decent breakfast for €6.
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EATING & DRINKING
The waterfront and main street of Antiparos have several cafes and tavernas serving Greek staples and fish dishes. You’ll also find supermarkets and a bakery in the main street.
Yannis Place ( 22840 61469; mains €5-8) Halfway up the main street is this bright place with a little streetside terrace, ideal for people watching. Breakfast is €6 to €8, and it does omelettes, toasties, crêpes and pastas, as well as smoothies and ice cream for post-midday, and cocktails for the evening gear change.
Maki’s ( 22840 61616; dishes €5.50-12) Seafood is the speciality at this harbour-front taverna. It’s generally excellent, from the prawn souvlaki with calamari to lobster (by the kilo when available).
Yam Bar Restaurant and Cocktail Bar (dishes €6-9; 8pm-4am mid-Jun–mid-Sep) You can enjoy salads and cold plates of chicken or pasta at this relaxing spot with views of the sea. Sounds are a general mix that includes Latin, house and occasional jazz. It’s signposted left off the top end of Market St.
Soul Sugar is along to the right from the top of the main street. It plays funk, disco and house into the small hours, and serves great cocktails.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
In summer, frequent excursion boats depart for Antiparos from Parikia. There is also a half-hourly car ferry that runs from Pounta on the west coast of Paros to Antiparos (one way €1, per scooter €1.80, per car €6, 10 minutes); the first ferry departs from Pounta about 7.15am and the last boat returning to Pounta leaves Antiparos at about 12.30am.
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GETTING AROUND
The only bus service on Antiparos runs, in summer, to the cave in the centre of the island (Click here; €5). The bus continues to Soros and Agios Georgios.
Cars, scooters and bicycles can be hired from Aggelos ( 22840 61626/61027), the first office as you come from the ferry quay. Cars start at €42 per day in high season, scooters are €15 per day and bicycles are €5 per day.
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NAXOS ΝΑΞΟΣ
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It was on Naxos that an ungrateful Theseus is said to have abandoned Ariadne after she helped him escape the Cretan labyrinth. In keeping with even mythic soap opera, she didn’t pine long, and was soon entwined with Dionysos, the god of wine and ecstasy and the island’s favourite deity. Naxian wine has long been considered a fine antidote for a broken heart.
The island was a cultural centre of classical Greece and of Byzantium. Venetian and Frankish influences have also left their mark.
Naxos is more fertile than most of the other islands and produces olives, grapes, figs, citrus fruit, corn and potatoes. Mt Zeus (1004m; also known as Mt Zas or Zefs) is the Cyclades’ highest peak and is the central focus of the island’s mountainous interior, in which you find enchanting villages such as Halki and Apiranthos. There are numerous fine beaches and the island is a great place to explore on foot, as many old paths between villages, churches and other sights still survive. There are walking guides and maps available from local bookshops.
Getting There & Away
Like Paros, Naxos is something of a ferry hub of the Cyclades, with a similar number of conventional and fast ferries making regular calls to and from Piraeus, and weekly links to and from the mainland ports of Thessaloniki and Lavrio and eastward to the Dodecanese. There is a daily flight to and from Athens. There are daily connections