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Ios
is a beautiful island located
between Naxos and Santorini, in Greece Cyclades Islands. It is world
known for its lively nightlife and attracts for that reason thousands
of nightlife addicted. Ios is one of the islands of Greece that has a
great variety of bars and night clubs. But, the island of Greece has
much more to offer: Its unique village is of great charm and many
quiet long sandy beaches with crystal waters can be found even in
August.
(Area 108 sq. km.
Distance from Piraeus 107 nautical miles).
 The
coastline of this predominantly mountainous island with its countless
chapels, its olive trees, its vineyards and its limpid air, is adorned
with small, attractive coves. Those features combine with the
crystal-clear sea, the superb sandy beaches and the good range of
amenities to make Ios a magnet for tourists.
Locally called Nios,
this is an island whose history goes back to prehistoric times.
According to Herodotus, the "poet of poets", the "god-like" Homer was
buried at Plakotos, in the north of the island. Pausanias tells us
that there was an inscription at Delphi confirming the poet's
interment 37 on los, which was the homeland of his mother, Cymene.
Above the pretty harbour' of Rooms, where fishingboats and yachts bob
at anchor, stands the capital of lons or Hora. The town stands on the
site of the ancient city of the same name and is a typical Cyclonic
settlement, with whitewashed house, narrow alleys and chapels. Among
the churches, those of St Catherine, St John the Baptist and Sts
Cosmos and Damien stand out.
The whole beautiful
image is rounded off with the bulk of the medieval castle and the row
of windmills, which top the town.
The sites' of Ions
include a Hellenistic tower and the remains of an ancient aqueduct
at Agia Theodoti, traces of an ancient temple at Psathi, a ruinous
Venetian castle at the spot known as Paleokastro, and the Hellenistic
tower at Plakotos which we have already mentioned. The Archaeological
and Forkloric Museum in Hora and the Museum of Modern Art (Drot-Gaiti)
at Kolitsani are also worth a visit.
Lovers of the sea
will be enraptured by the superb beaches of Ions, some them busy (such
as Milopotas, near Hora); and others no less attractive but much
quieter (Agia Theodoti, Psathi, Kalamas, Plakes, Tzamaria, Kolitsani
and Manganari).
The authentic
Cyclonic beauty of Ios, in combination with the island's rapid
development for tourism, has had the effect of attracting
ever-increasing numbers of visitors.
How to get there
By Ferry from
Piraeus
Information:
Piraeus Port Authority, tel.: 2104593000.
Useful Telephone
Numbers
Police: 22860
91.222
Municipal Offices: 2286091.505
Ios Port Authority: 22860 91.264
Information Bureau: 22860 91.028.
Things to buy
Handicrafts,
Embroideries, Jewellery, Knitted Goods, Rugs, , Wine. |
