Skíathos
Chief place: Skíathos
Skíathos, a gently rolling wooded island in the Northern Sporades, lies 4 km/2.5 mi east of the Magnesia peninsula. With its equable climate and beautiful sandy bays, it is a popular holiday island, particularly favored by Greeks. Its main source of income apart from the tourist trade is its 600,000 olive trees.
Skíathos was never a place of any importance in ancient times.
Skíathos, a gently rolling wooded island in the Northern Sporades, lies 4 km/2.5 mi east of the Magnesia peninsula. With its equable climate and beautiful sandy bays, it is a popular holiday island, particularly favored by Greeks. Its main source of income apart from the tourist trade is its 600,000 olive trees.
Skíathos was never a place of any importance in ancient times.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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Herodotus mentions the island in connection with the naval battle off Cape Artemision in 480 B.C., reporting that the men of Skíathos conveyed information about Persian naval movements by means of fire signals.
Airport 4 km/2.5 mi northeast of Skíathos. Daily flights from and to Athens in summer (55 minutes).
Regular boat service from Áyios Konstantínos, most days; from Vólos, two to five times daily (three to three and a half hours); from Kymi (Euboea), three times weekly (five hours). Connections with neighboring islands.
Unfortunately in July of 2007 the island suffered a forest fire, causing temporary evacuations, along with devastation to the island.
Airport 4 km/2.5 mi northeast of Skíathos. Daily flights from and to Athens in summer (55 minutes).
Regular boat service from Áyios Konstantínos, most days; from Vólos, two to five times daily (three to three and a half hours); from Kymi (Euboea), three times weekly (five hours). Connections with neighboring islands.
Unfortunately in July of 2007 the island suffered a forest fire, causing temporary evacuations, along with devastation to the island.
Related Attractions
Abandoned Monasteries
There are pleasant walks from Skíathos to the abandoned monasteries of Áyios Kharalámbos (8km/5mi north), Kekhriá (7km/4.5mi northwest; 18th C. frescoes), Panayía Kounístria (9km/5.5mi west; 17th C.) and Ayía Sofía at Toúrlos.
Evangelistria Monastery
Half way between Skíathos and Kástro is the Evangelistria monastery (18th C.), with a Byzantine chapel, which was a refuge for Greek rebels during the struggle for liberation.
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Skiathos - Town, Greece
The chief place on the island of Skíathos, and indeed its only town, bears the same name (pop. 3,000), on the southeast coast. Founded in 1830, it occupies the site of the ancient city, on two low hill ridges flanking a small sheltered bay. From the church of Áyios Fanoúrios, northwest of the town, there is a fine view. Skíathos was the home of the short-story writer A. Papadiamantis (1851- 1911), whose house is now a museum.
Tsoúngrias
Southeast of Skíathos are nine smaller islands. The largest of these, Tsoúngrias (area 6 sq. km/2.25 sq. mi; some cultivated land), and the islets of Tsoungriáki, Daskalonísi (lighthouse), Myrmingonísi (Ant Island) and Marangós lie off the harbor bay; farther north, off the east coast, are the isolated rocks of Répi, Arkí and Aspronísi; to the south is Prasonísi.
