Greece - Korina Miller [503]
Despite its undeniable tourist appeal, hard-working Lesvos makes its livelihood firstly from agriculture. Olive oil is a highly regarded local product, as is ouzo; indeed, the island’s farmers produce around half of the aniseed-flavoured national firewater sold worldwide, and its wines are also well known.
Nature lovers will be richly rewarded here, with endless opportunities for hiking and cycling, while birdwatching is another major draw (over 279 species, ranging from raptors to waders, are seen here). Lesvos also boasts therapeutic hot springs that gush with some of the warmest mineral waters in Europe.
Lesvos’ great cultural legacy stretches from the 7th-century-BC musical composer Terpander and poet Arion to 20th-century figures like Nobel Prize–winning poet Odysseus Elytis and primitive painter Theofilos. The great ancient philosophers Aristotle and Epicurus also led an exceptional philosophical academy here. Most famous, however, is Sappho, one of ancient Greece’s greatest poets. Her sensuous, passionate poetry, apparently created for her female devotees, has fuelled a modern-day cult that draws lesbians from around the world to Skala Eresou, the west Lesvos beach village where she was born (c 630 BC).
The largest of the northeastern Aegean islands, Lesvos is also the one that has the most life year-round, chiefly thanks to its young university population, size and economic importance. It’s the only island in the chain that feels somewhat lively out of high season, though this action is almost entirely to be found in the capital, Mytilini Town.
Getting There & Away
For flights and ferries from Lesvos, Island Hopping.
AIR
The airport is 8km south of Mytilini Town; a taxi costs €8.
Olympic Air ( 22510 28659; www.olympicairlines.com; Kavetsou 44) and Aegean Airlines ( 22510 61120; www.aegeanair.com) have offices in Mytilini Town and the airport, respectively. Mytilini Town travel agents sell tickets too.
BOAT
For information on trips to Turkey, boxed text, Turkish Connections.
In Mytilini Town, ferry ticket offices on Pavlou Kountourioti’s eastern side include Zoumboulis Tours, Samiotis Tours ( 22510 42574; Pavlou Kountourioti 43) and Olive Groove Travel, which also offers Turkey excursions.
Getting Around
BUS
From Mytilini’s long-distance bus station ( 22510 28873; El Venizelou), near Agias Irinis Park, three daily buses serve Skala Eresou (€8.90, 2½ hours) via Eresos; four serve Mithymna (Molyvos; €6.20, 1¾ hours) via Petra (€5.80, 1½ hours); and two reach Sigri (€9.40, 2½ hours). Five daily buses serve Plomari (€4.10, 1¼ hours), five serve Agiasos (€2.60, 45 minutes) and four end at Vatera (€5.60, 1½ hours), the latter via Polyhnitos. Travelling between these smaller places often requires changing in Kalloni, which receives four daily buses from Mytilini (€4.10, one hour). Also, five daily buses go north from Mytilini town to Moni Taxiarhon (€3.80, one hour).
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
Discover Rent-a-Car ( 6936057676; Venezi 3; 7:30am-1am) is a small local outfit, with good new cars and flexible service. Mytilini’s international car-hire chains include Hertz ( 22510 37355; Pavlou Kountourioti 87). For scooters and motorcycles, check along Pavlou Kountourioti.
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MYTILINI TOWN ΜΥΤΙΛΗΝΗ
pop 27,250
Lesvos’ port and major town, Mytilini, is a lively and likeable student town with some great eating and drinking options, plus eclectic churches, grand 19th-century mansions and museums; indeed, the remarkable Teriade Museum, just outside of town, boasts paintings by Picasso, Chagall and Matisse. Mytilini’s laid-back attitude to life may reflect long-term leftist tendencies, but it also derives from the locals’ love of food, drink and the arts,