The harbour
Crescent-shaped.
dronepicr — CC BY 2.0 · 7777777kz — CC BY 3.0 · Misa.stefanovic.07 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Julien Seguinot from Lille, France — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Misa.stefanovic.07 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Hydra Town is the main town of the island of Hydra, one of the Saronic Islands in the Aegean, off the coast of the Peloponnese, about 68 km south of Piraeus and 74 km southwest of Athens in a straight line. About 1,900 people live there. In ancient times the island was called Hydrea, from the Greek word for water, after its natural springs. The town wraps around a crescent-shaped harbour lined with restaurants, shops and galleries. The island is known for being almost free of cars, so people get around on foot, by donkey and mule, or by water taxi to the beaches. Grey and white stone houses with red roofs climb the bare hillsides around the harbour like an amphitheatre, crowned by old mansions of sea-captain families. Steep stone lanes wind up from the waterfront between whitewashed walls, small chapels and bougainvillea. Visitors arrive by fast ferry from Piraeus, spend the day in the lanes and around the harbour, and walk the coastal path to rocky swimming coves. Many stay a night to see the town quiet after the day-trippers leave.
Crescent-shaped.
Climbing the hill.
Above the town.
Hydra port, Hydra island, Greece
By fast ferry from Piraeus.
On foot or by water taxi.