Hydra - Town Attractions Ídra Khóra
The chief town on the island of Hydra is also called Hydra. The town climbs picturesquely up the slopes of the hills around its sheltered harbor on the north coast. It is a favorite resort of artists, particularly painters, and intellectuals, who give the town its special stamp and atmosphere. On the quay is the old monastic church of the Panayía (17th C.), with a beautiful cloister. Above the town to the west are the ruins of a medieval castle, and lower down are fortifications built during the war of liberation.
Ídra Khóra - Harbor
On both sides of the harbor are the imposing mansions of early 19th century shipowners and merchants, including the houses of Admiral Iakovos Tombazis (now occupied by an outstation of the Athens Academy of Art) and Dimitrios Voulgaris. One such mansion houses a training school for the merchant navy. The plain white and sometimes color-washed houses of the town on the slopes above the harbor are rather Cycladic in type.
