Located 78 nautical miles from Athens in the Aegean Sea, Syros is poised to become the next “it” place to visit in Greece.
I recently spent three weeks exploring the island and came up with the top reasons you should start planning your own visit!
History
The island is only 84 square kilometers and about 20,000 people living on it (the largest population of all the Cyclades Islands), but it still feels almost like a village.
Syros has an interesting and varied history. The island was even mentioned in Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ as Syrie.
The island was once one of the most important commercial shipping centers in all of Greece and acted as the portal to Turkey and Egypt. During that time, the island was very prosperous. You can still see evidence of this is the impressive neoclassical architecture of the town hall, one of the largest in all of Greece.
Syros is covered in hills, and Catholic churches sit on several of them. Catholicism was the island’s primary religion during the Latin period.
It was fascinating to tour several of the churches and learn about Catholicism’s long-standing influence over the island.
The beaches
No visit to a Greek island would be complete without some time spent on the beach.
Syros has several amazing beaches, and because it’s not yet as touristic as other places in Greece, they weren’t nearly as crowded!
The people
Syros is actively courting tourism; they genuinely want to share their island with visitors. Unlike other Greek islands that are overrun with tourists, Syros still feels a bit undiscovered, especially when you venture outside of Ermoupolis.
What does this mean for you? You’ll find friendly shop owners excited to open their businesses to you. You’ll encounter restauranteurs glad to go over their menus with you.
And occasionally, you might even encounter fisherman modeling the days catch for you:
The Scenery
Syros is unintentionally littered with Instagram moments just waiting to happen.
All over the island, as you wander the narrow, winding streets, you’ll find picture-perfect scenes.
If you want even more shots of the gorgeous scenery Syros has to offer check out World Travel Bug’s post that is loaded with incredible shots of the island!
The Colors
I remarked several times about the colors during my time on Syros. The colors are just different in Greece, specifically on Syros.
The aquamarine shades of the ocean are more vivid.
The bright colors of the flowers set against the whitewashed buildings are more intense.
The Cats
I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest animal lover in the world. However, the cats of Syros are gorgeous and seriously photogenic.
Rumor (legend?) has it that as Syros was a port town, ships were frequently coming in and out, as they tend to do in port towns.
With the ships came rats. Lots of rats.
To combat the rat problem, snakes were brought in (But why? I’m unsure — this is how rumors and legends go) and became quite the problem themselves.
So to fight the now combined rat/snake issue, cats were introduced.
Why weren’t the cats brought in before the snakes? Who knows. But, the cats are here to stay, and I didn’t see one rat or snake the entire time I was on the island, so it must be working.
The cats even have their own hashtag on Instagram:
The Food
Of course, it wouldn’t be one of my posts if I didn’t talk about the food. I had tried Greek food before, but as I’m sure you know, having a country’s food when you’re actually there is an entirely different experience.
Being an island in the middle of the ocean, as islands are known to be, Syros has an amazing selection of seafood.
For a complete list of the best Syros restaurants click here
There are also Greek dishes unique to or specialties of Syros, such as this delicious fennel pie known as marathopites:
The Sunsets
Nearly every day of the trip, we made sure to find our way to the beach or a beachside restaurant to watch the sunset over the ocean.
We were never disappointed as we watched the sky turn brilliant shades of orange, red and yellow before finally disappearing.
Have I convinced you to visit Syros, Greece yet? Let me know in the comments section below!
Travel writer and owner of the blog. My work has been featured on Fodors, Eater.com, International Living, and Great Escape Publishing, among many others. My story? Nearly six years ago, I left my job at an Oklahoma City law firm and embarked on a journey around the world. At the time, I thought I would only be gone for 6 months, but the more I traveled, the longer my bucket list became. Flashpacker describes how I travel. Rather than traveling as the normal world wise backpacker and staying in hostel dorms, I prefer a more comfortable experience, and typically stay in private rooms, take Ubers instead of taxis, and now use a suitcase instead of a backpack. Foodie, on the other hand, describes one of the key reasons why I travel. I love to pick a central “base camp” and then explore the surrounding area, really immersing myself in the culture and interacting with the people, and enjoying and exploring the food of an area is an essential part of this experience.
Rawhi
Friday 4th of August 2023
How do u tell if a cat is stray or just lives nearby?
Nathan
Thursday 10th of August 2023
generally if they have collars and look well fed they belong to someone and if they have no collars and look less cared for they are strays.
Andrea
Monday 27th of July 2020
Hi,
I am going to Syros for a few days and was thinking of dropping Tinos entirely and adding more time in Siros. What do you think? I love walking, hiking, eating, culture, a day or 2 at the beach but walking to places and chilling is more my thing. Seaside restaurants as well are on my list and my fav food in the whole world octopus. I don't like to rush just to check things off my list (I spent 8 days in Athens and 8 in Ios which some people do in 2). But I only stayed 4 in Naxos and I'm in Mykonos now and wished I had skipped it (2nd time here and it's changed in 10 years!! ).. I say all this to give you and idea of what Iike. Will 2 weeks be to much in Siros?
Thanks Andrea
Nathan
Wednesday 29th of July 2020
Hello! I love Syros but I think two weeks might be a bit too much time. I would stay maybe one week maximum. It's not a large island so one week should give you plenty of time to see and do all that you want to do! Enjoy your trip, I can't wait to get back there myself!
Tammy Thomas
Thursday 18th of June 2020
Hi Nathan, thank you for the posts. Is Syros easy to get to from Athens via ferry?
Nathan
Sunday 21st of June 2020
Tammy- yes! We went by ferry from Athens. We went first class and the voyage was very enjoyable. I wish I could remember the name of the company but it was a press trip so the organizers handled the details but it was a nice journey. We have coffees, juices and pastries and enjoyed the stunning scenery en route.
Sonia
Sunday 7th of January 2018
hello, can I ask you when you went to Syros? I normally have my Greek holidays at the end of June (I visit a different island every year) however this year it looks like I will have to go in the middle of July and I am worried about the crowds as I don't like Mykonos-type of places. Thank you :)
Nathan
Monday 8th of January 2018
Sonia- I was in Syros at the beginning of October! While I'm sure it will be more crowded than it was in October I don't see Syros being overly crowded. It's still a bit off the radar. I hope you go and enjoy the island as much as we all did!
Anita Hendrieka
Wednesday 13th of December 2017
Love the photo of the fisherman and his catch! Syros is somewhere I have heard a lot about lately. Seems like a great place to relax and unwind. Those sunsets look incredible!