Spetses

The celebrations of the Panaghia Armata are the highlight of the summer season on Spetses, attracting as many as 40,000 visitors, and culminating in the re-enectment of an 1822 naval battle between the Greek forces and the Turkish Armada. The show includes an attack on the Turkish flagship with a Greek fire-boat, which sets off a fascinating show of fireworks in the harbour of Spetses Town. The week-long celebrations culminate on the second weekend of September each year, and also include concerts and other cultural events. A special mass is held in the church of Panaghia Armata in the Old Harbour, as well as at Aghios Nikolaos, the metropolis of the island.

Easter is also a very popular time for visiting the island. Holy Week traditions are lovingly passed on from generation to generation, with the highlights being the Good Friday mass, where funeral processions from all parishes converge on Spetses Town for a final open-air mass, and the Saturday midnight celebrations of the Resurrection with fireworks before everyone returns home for the traditional feast that marks end of a 40-day fast.

Accommodation during the Easter and Armata weekends can be impossible to find, unless booked well in advance.

A walk to the Old Harbor is considered a must for visitors to the island. The coastal road is closed to vehicles in the evenings during summer season, making it a pleasant outing all the way from Spetses Town, past some of the most spectacular mansions, and on to the marina with all the luxury yachts and cruisers of the wealthier holidaying Athenians, all the way to the little churche of the Panaghia Armata and the Lighhouse--one of the first to be built in Greece, in 1837, and still in use. At a leisurely pace the walk from the new Dapia harbor at the town center to the Old Harbor shouldn't take more half an hour each way. Cafes, bars and restaurants abound in the Old Harbor.

The island's most popular beaches are Aghioi Anargyroi and Aghia Paraskevi, on the west side of the island. A bus and tourist boats run daily from Spetses Town during the summer season. An acceptable, if somewhat touristy, self-service restaurant operates in-season at Aghioi Anargyroi. The Bekiris Cave at Aghioi Anargyroi, complete with its own sandy beach, is a must-see. Access is overland from the northern edge of the Aghioi Anargyroi beach, or else you can swim inside through a very low opening. The cave served as a hideout for women and children during Turkish attacks on the island.

The very picturesque Zogeria Beach, on the north edge of the island, is also served by tourist boats from the island and boasts a restaurant, serving its specialty of chicken in tomato sauce with spaghetti or chips.

Other beaches on the island, such as Xylokeriza, Ligoneri and Vrellos are only accessible by private transport motorbikes or bicycles or with very expensive sea taxis.

The town beach at Aghios Mamas is rather dirty and crowded, but could suffice in a pinch. It's better to continue south to the tiny beach beneath Aghios Nikolaos, or even further to Aghia Marina.

There are also series of beaches beginning past the Spetses Hotel about a twenty minute walk along the main island road west of the main Dapia harbor, of which the most pleasant is Kaiki Beach so called from the beached hulk marking it across from Anargyrios College hence also called College Beach. This beach is typically developed: a bar, a rather basic rest room, a little changing shack, and sun beds under Polynesian style umbrellas for rent. Right next to it is a public beach with fewer facilities, but the water isn't there isn't as good for swimming and that part of the beach tends to be littered. The water at all the beaches on this northern stretch of the island can be too rough for pleasant swimming when the wind is up.

Other interesting sights to visit:

Chancellary

The Chancellary is the first building one comes upon on disembarking at Spetses Town port. It was the meeting place of town elders before the War of Independence. In the first year of Independence it functioned as the Town Hall. The ground floor is now a shop and cafe.

Aghioi Pantes

The Aghioi Pantes nunnery, a half-hour walk from Spetses Town, commading spectacular views over the beach of Aghia Marina and the neighbouring privately-owned island of Spetsopoula. On a clear day the views stretch out to the island of Hydra and the Mountain of Parnon on the Peleponnese.

Prophet Elia

The tiny church Prophet Elia on the mountaintop of Spetses. It's a steep climb from Spetses Town, but the view from the top is fascinating. The dirt road continues down the other side of the island to the beach of Aghioi Anargyroi.