Limnos Syros Ferry

Limnos Guide

The Greek island of Limnos, sometimes called Lemnos, is the 8th largest island in Greece and lies in the Aegean Sea. The island's main towns are Myrina on the island's west coast and Moudros on the east coast, on the shores of a large bay in the middle of the island. Myrina is the island's capital and port and is characterised by its pretty, traditional, paved alleys, its old stone mansions, its coastal promenade and its Byzantine Castle which overlooks the town. The castle is located on a steep, rocky, peninsular on a hillside where visitors can often see small deer grazing. The island has many things to do and see including the Petrified Forest near the town of Moudros where it is possible to see fossilised tree trunks, leaves, fruit and palm tree roots that are around 20 million years old. Also worth visiting is the prehistoric settlement of Poliochni which is thought to be the oldest Neolithic city in Europe. There is a rectangular building there that has a double row of stepped seats that resembles a parliamentary architectural structure. It is because of this that it is thought to be the oldest parliament discovered in the world.

There are ferry connections from Myrina to the islands of Agios Efstratios, Lesvos and Samothrace (in the summertime only) and with the mainland to the ports of Piraeus and Lávrio (Athens area) Thessaloniki and Kavála.

Syros Guide

The Greek island of Syros is one of the Cyclades group of islands and is unusual in that the island's architecture is more medieval rather than the more typical Cycladic. The island's capital is Ermoupolis and has some fine examples of Venetian mansions to see. In the Vaporia quarter of the capital visitors will find some lovely large churches and impressive neoclassical buildings, such as the Town Hall and Apollo Theatre in the central square. Also popular with visitors are the island's beaches which are well equipped for tourists and have a good range of facilities.

The island can trace its history back to the 3rd millennium BC where signs of inhabitation have been found in the Halandriani and Kastri parts of the island. Artefacts found indicate that there was some kind of metal workshop on the island which possibly had a trading relationship with Asia Minor. The Samians occupied the island in the 6th century BC and is when many of the island's inhabitants moved to the island. At that time, the important physician and philosopher Pherecydis was born in Syros and some years later he went to Samos and became the teacher of Pythagoras.