Pyrgi
The painted village
Whole house fronts scratched with grey-and-white geometric patterns, and a Byzantine church of the Holy Apostles off the square.
MastichochoriaUnusualVillage
Chios, Greece
Ideal: 3–4 daysBest: May–Jun, Sep–OctPrice: Moderate
In 60 seconds
Chios in 60 seconds
Chios is a large island off the Turkish coast that most foreign travellers have never heard of, and it is one of the most fascinating in Greece. Its south is the only place on Earth where the mastic tree weeps its fragrant resin, and the mastic villages built to protect that harvest — the mastichochoria — are like nowhere else: Mesta is a medieval fortress-village of vaulted lanes, and in Pyrgi every house is etched with black-and-white geometric patterns called xysta. In the hills above the town, the 11th-century monastery of Nea Moni has gold mosaics that make it a UNESCO site. The north is wild and mountainous, the beaches of the south black-pebbled at Mavra Volia. Taste mastic in liqueur, gum and sweets, and in Chios town walk the Kastro. Three to four days with a car.
IslandVillagesUNESCO
Best for
- Food
- Hidden gems
- History
Known for
- Mastic
- Pyrgi's xysta
- Mesta
- Nea Moni
Skip if
You want nightlife and an island of famous beaches — Chios is a working island of villages and history, not a resort.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Chios fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Mesta
A medieval fortress-village
Houses joined into a defensive wall, arched lanes and a maze designed to confuse pirates.
MastichochoriaMedievalVillage
Nea Moni
Inexpensive11th-century monastery · UNESCO
Gold-ground mosaics of the 1040s among the finest of their age; opening hours are irregular, so check before driving up.
Central ChiosMosaicsUNESCO
Chios Mastic Museum
InexpensiveThe story of mastic, among the groves
How mastic is cut, gathered and cleaned, in a modern museum surrounded by mastic trees.
PyrgiMasticMuseum
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Mavra Volia
A beach of black volcanic pebbles
Smooth black pebbles and clear water below a volcanic headland.
EmporiosBeachSwimming
Orientation
Neighbourhoods
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Kastro, Chios town
The old walled quarter
A Byzantine and Genoese fortress with old houses and a mosque inside the walls, by the harbour.
Stay
Where to stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Chios town
ModerateHarbour hotels
The practical base, with ferries and restaurants on the waterfront.
FerriesRestaurants
Kampos
ExpensiveMansions in citrus orchards
Old merchants' houses behind high walls, among orange and mandarin groves south of town.
GardensQuiet
Practical
Know before you go
- Getting in
- Flights from Athens take under an hour; ferries run from Piraeus overnight and from Çeşme in Turkey.
- Getting around
- Hire a car — buses are limited and the villages far apart.
- Mastic season
- The trees are scored in summer and the resin gathered in August and September; it is cleaned through the winter.
- Taste locally
- Mastic liqueur and gum, mastic ice cream, kopanisti cheese, mandarins from Kampos and souma spirit.
Context
History in 5 minutes
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
- 1040s
Emperor Constantine IX endows Nea Moni and its mosaics.
- 1346–1566
The Genoese rule Chios and grow rich on the mastic trade.
- 1822
Ottoman forces massacre and enslave much of the island's population — the scene painted by Delacroix.
- 2014
The know-how of cultivating mastic is inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage.
Further out
Nearby escapes
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Lesvos
Ouzo, olives and Molyvos
Lesvos has its own guide.
3 hrs by ferryIsland