The vine-roofed street
Wisteria shading the main street between the shops.
**A stone town climbing a hill beneath a castle, its lanes shaded by wisteria** โ at the northern tip of Lesbos, and unquestionably the loveliest thing on the island. Its official name is **Mithymna**, but everyone calls it **Molyvos**. Its houses are of **grey and red stone** rather than white plaster โ which makes it look entirely unlike the Cyclades: an **Ottoman-Aegean** town of wooden balconies and arched doorways. โ Its streets are **stone-paved and very steep**, and all of them climb to a **Genoese castle** on the summit. โ Its best-known feature is the **main street roofed by wisteria** โ a green tunnel over the paving between the shops. โ Below it lies a **small harbour** of fishing boats and waterside tavernas. โ And the Turkish coast is very close on the horizon.
Wisteria shading the main street between the shops.
A summit fort over the town, the sea and the Turkish coast.
Fishing boats and waterside tavernas below the town.
Mithymna, 81108 Lesbos, Greece
**Because it is not a Cycladic island: its architecture, size and climate all belong closer to Anatolia.** โ **The architecture**: Lesbos's houses are of **exposed stone** โ grey, red and brown โ **with covered wooden balconies**, arched doors and tiled roofs, **an Ottoman-Aegean manner** found all along the facing Anatolian coast. **No white plaster and no blue domes** โ that is Cycladic architecture, an entirely different region. โ **The size**: Lesbos is **Greece's third-largest island** โ big enough for towns, plains, mountains and two enormous inland gulfs, **so it does not feel like an island**. โ **The economy**: **olives**, not tourism โ some **eleven million olive trees**, with **soap and ouzo** as historic industries. **So the island lives off itself** and does not entirely convert in summer. โ **What that means for a visitor**: lower prices, genuine villages, **and far lighter crowds** โ โ **but also long distances**: the island is large, driving end to end takes two hours, **and a car is essential**.
**The island is very large โ one base is not enough, so choose by priority or split your stay.** โ **Molyvos (north)**: **the most beautiful by far** โ stone town, castle, harbour, nearby beaches and hot springs; **best if you want the place itself**. โ But it is **far** from the west and south (an hour and a half to the Petrified Forest). โ **Mytilene (east)**: the capital, airport and port โ **the best logistically**: transport, museums, restaurants and the widest choice of rooms; โ **but it is a working city**, not a pretty destination. โ **Plomari / Agiasos (south)**: ouzo, mountain and traditional villages โ **best for authenticity**. โ **Skala Eresou (west)**: a long sandy beach with the Petrified Forest nearby โ **best for a beach and quiet**; โ **very isolated** from the rest of the island. โ **The practical advice**: **for four days or more, split your stay** โ two nights in Molyvos and two in the west or south; **otherwise you will spend your holiday in the car**. โ **A car is essential** in any case.
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