Kythira floats between the Peloponnese and Crete, neither quite Ionian nor Cycladic, inhabited by a singular personality that centuries have patiently shaped. It is the island of Aphrodite, born from the foam at its shores, but also the island the tourist circuits forgot, the one that few travellers reach. Those who do come back changed, touched by a charm that is hard to name.
Why Kythira has fascinated since Antiquity
Mythology tells us that Aphrodite was born from the foam of the sea, carried by the winds to the coasts of Kythira. The Phoenicians built the first temple dedicated to the goddess of love here, long before the Greeks took up the cult. This position between three seas (Ionian, Aegean, Cretan) made the island a coveted crossroads: Venetians, Ottomans, and British followed one another, each leaving their mark. More than three hundred Byzantine chapels dot this modest island, nestled in ravines or perched on ridgelines, small sentinels of stone and faith.
The expression "embarking for Kythira," meaning to set off on a romantic journey, was born from this mythological aura. The painter Antoine Watteau made it the subject of his masterpiece, The Embarkation for Cythera, displayed in the Louvre. Baudelaire dedicated a poem to it in Les Fleurs du mal, Victor Hugo evoked "Kythira of charming nests, Kythira of green myrtles," and Verlaine, Debussy, and Ravel drew inspiration from it in turn. Few islands in the world can claim to have nourished the imagination of artists so richly. Today, it is this aura that makes Kythira so singular: one does not come here simply for the beaches, but for the emotion of a place laden with meaning.
The villages of Kythira: Chora, Paleochora, Avlemonas
Chora, the capital, is perched on a cliff that drops straight into the Cretan Sea. The Venetian kastro crowns the rock, its walls embracing a maze of silent lanes bordered by white and blue houses. You climb by a paved path, between bougainvillea and dozing cats, and emerge onto a dizzying panorama. Below, the sea glitters. In the distance, on a clear day, you can make out Crete. The handful of cafes set at the edge of the void serve a slowly prepared Greek coffee, in the suspended atmosphere that is Kythira's signature.
Paleochora, the former Byzantine capital, must be earned. You have to venture into a wooded ravine to find it. Founded in the 12th century, the city was destroyed by the pirate Barbarossa in 1537 and never rebuilt. Today, its ruins emerge from the wild vegetation: stone walls overtaken by ivy, chapels whose frescoes gently fade, a deep silence broken only by the wind. It is one of the most moving sites in Greece, a place where the past can almost be touched.
Avlemonas, on the eastern coast, is a small fishing village that time seems to have forgotten. Its colourful houses border a tiny harbour where a few boats rock gently. It was here, in what Xenophon called the "Phoenician bay," that the first navigators landed three thousand years ago. Today, people come for the late-afternoon light, for fish grilled with your feet nearly in the water, and for that quality of silence that only small, unspoiled islands can offer.
The most beautiful beaches of Kythira
Kythira does not have the crowded beaches of tourist islands. It offers something else: coves that must be earned, shores you often have entirely to yourself.
- Kaladi: reached by steps carved into the rock, it reveals sea caves and intensely blue waters. It is probably the island's most beautiful beach.
- Melidoni: tiny and hidden, reached by a short path through the maquis. You are almost always alone here.
- Komponada: wild, windswept, magnificent in its rawness. For lovers of untamed landscapes.
- Diakofti: the island's port. The white sand beach contrasts with the rusted hulk of the cargo ship Nordland, grounded a few metres from shore, a poetic and slightly melancholic image that sums up the spirit of Kythira well.
Kythira on foot: trails between gorges and chapels
The gorges and paths of the island lend themselves naturally to exploration on foot. Kythira has a network of ancient trails that link villages to one another, through landscapes of pine, olive, and fragrant maquis. You walk unhurried, passing isolated chapels, stone wells, and panoramas over the three seas that surround the island. It is a contemplative walk, free of time pressure, where every stop becomes a discovery.
Among the most memorable walks: the descent towards the Mylopotamos waterfalls through a wooded gorge and its restored old mills, the ridge path between Chora and Kapsali facing the turquoise bay, or the crossing through olive groves towards the cave of Agia Sophia and its centuries-old icons. Allow two to three hours per walk, on trails accessible to everyone.
Flavours of Kythira: thyme honey, olive oil, and village tavernas
Kythira's thyme honey is among the finest in Greece. The bees visit hillsides covered in wild thyme, savory, and oregano, producing a golden, intense, slightly balsamic honey. The olive oil, pressed in the island's last mills, has the fruity sweetness of small, carefully tended productions.
In Kythira's tavernas, there is often no menu: they bring you whatever is ready, depending on the season and the cook's mood. Fresh cheeses, wild herbs sauteed in olive oil, fish grilled over coals. The art of living in its simplest, truest form.
When to visit Kythira and how to get there
The island is best enjoyed in spring (April to June) or in autumn (September to October). In spring, the hillsides are covered in wildflowers, the thyme perfumes the paths, and the temperatures invite leisurely strolling. In autumn, the light takes on that golden softness particular to the end of the season, the sea remains warm for swimming, and the tavernas welcome travellers with redoubled generosity. Even in summer, Kythira remains surprisingly peaceful: the island has around 4,000 permanent residents and no hotel complexes or cruise ships.
Kythira is reached by sea from Neapoli in the Peloponnese (a one-hour crossing) or from Piraeus. In summer, flights connect Athens to the island in forty-five minutes. On the island, distances remain modest: about fifty kilometres from north to south. This relative difficulty of access is not an obstacle; it is a filter, one that preserves Kythira from the crowds and keeps its authenticity intact.
Our trip to Kythira
Kelifos invites you to discover this confidential island in complete serenity:
- Wonderful Kythira: 10 days of self-guided travel with a rental car, charming accommodations, and carefully selected walks. From Avlemonas to Chora, from Mylopotamos to Agia Pelagia, you explore the island at your own pace with nothing to organise.
Travellers charmed by Kythira often extend the adventure towards the Ionian Islands and their olive groves, Crete and its millennia-old heritage, or the Peloponnese and its wild trails.
Solène Roux
Responsable Éditoriale
