Syros Deep Travel Guide – Maximise Your Greek Island Experience
Stavroula Soulopoulou heads to Syros, a Greek island in the Cyclades where she goes on a deep exploration of Ermoupolis, Ano Syros, and Galissas. Enjoy this One Planet Journey travel guide covering food, beaches, sights, churches, and hidden gems, including an interview with the founder of Hermoupolis Heritage. Expert insights into the local culture to get the most out of your Syros experience.
Back to Syros – A Greek Island Full of Culture
I visited Syros years ago and now I’m back, excited to see how much I remember. New images create an intentional puzzle of a Greek island with a heart that combines nature and culture. I come with a mindset set for immersive and meaningful exploration. My aim is to let you understand the pulse of the island and the soul that permeates its communities. This form of deep travel is the best way to maximise your experience and memories.
Frequent crossings connect Syros to Piraeus, the port for Athens, with the journey lasting about 3-4 hours depending on whether you take the high-speed or the normal ferry. Upon arrival, I look for ‘the abandoned merchant ships that lay idle in Syros’ harbour, as described in Tomas Tranströmer’s poem Syros, but instead, I face a lively Ermoupolis (or Hermoupolis); the principal port and capital of Syros and the rest of Cyclades.
Ermoupolis, named after the Olympian deity Hermes, God of trade among other things, hints to the city’s past as a major trading hub and shipbuilding centre in the 19th century, then nicknamed the Manchester of Greece.
Thankfully, I am not heading to Lazaretto, the now-abandoned stone building complex at the southern part of the port that used to be a quarantine hospital. Instead, I search for the bus station (KTEL). Before we depart, a nearby mural by the crewNs team catches my attention. It’s like they captured the entire history of Syros on the wall of the Neorion shipyards area. The dry docks, Hermes, Markos Vamvakaris – the ‘patriarch’ of Rebetiko music – and the historic mediaeval settlement and tourist hotspot of Ano Syros.
Syros Villages
Galissas
This time, I chose Galissas as my August base, a seaside village with a Blue Flag beach (sustainability certification), only about 20 minutes away from Ermoupolis.
Staying in Galissas is all about being close to the beach, which is organised, has a lifeguard on duty, an AED, and access for people with disabilities, including those with vision impairments.
There are cafés that operate all day and into the night, like the Green Dollars café/bar, that seem to attract mostly non-Greek tourists with its music and darts. The mini-market Red Frog attracts a mixed crowd of Greeks and international tourists who drink coffee and eat delicious cheese, spinach, and cream pies. There is even a farm-to-fork restaurant, if you want to splurge.
On the left side of the beach, there is a walled pier with stairs that help you get into the water. It provides ample protection from the waves on windy days and gives me a sense that the ocean is a swimming pool. Do not make the mistake, though, of going in and leaving your flip-flops on the pier’s ‘floor’; the sea will take them, as I found out.
Agia Pakou – The Saint Who Listens
Galissas is famous for its sunset, and tourists from all over Syros flock to watch it, to bathe in the light and warmth of its reddish hues. The best spot is over a hill where a small Catholic chapel, Agia Pakou, overlooks infinity. It’s named after a Saint who Listens to us (a pun in Greek), and I find it weirdly moving.
The path to the top is gentle enough, but has many stairs. Expect it to take 20 minutes, but you have to be there before 7.30pm to catch the sunset. It goes fast in August. Far beneath us on the left, the beach of Armeos comes into a view, a spot preferred by nudists. Inside the chapel, I’m struck by seeing Catholic and Orthodox Christian elements side-by-side – the statues beside the candelabra. I can’t linger, as I need to head down before night falls.
Ano Syros
My next destination is Ano Syros, sometimes referred to as the Catholics’ hill between the two peaks that overlook Ermoupolis. This historical co-existence of Catholics and Orthodox Christians gives Syros its unique characteristics. People have inhabited Ano Syros for centuries and it remains preserved. You can only traverse it on foot or by donkey, which helps.
Nowadays, authorities promote it as a potential top destination for digital nomads, hoping to advance its development while considering the whole of Syros a new hotspot for remote workers.
It is noon, and from the Agora stop at the Central Market of Ermoupolis, I get on the mini-bus that shuttles visitors to Ano Syros. It’s free during summer and takes about 30 minutes.
Braziliana
Walking up and down the mediaeval alleys is tiring but beautiful; each corner has a small surprise and a view that gets better as I ascend. I search for Piatsa, the narrow, horizontal central street with all the shops, cafés, bars, and tavernas. Noon is not a great idea to come, as most of them are closed. During the afternoon and evenings, the entire area comes to life. Luckily, I follow the music and find one spot that is open; Braziliana.
This place, with colours that pop, has the ultimate summer aura, and the most exquisite balcony view of Ermoupolis, the port, and the shipyards. Inside, it also functions as an art exhibition.
I order homemade ginger lemonade and a fennel pie (Marathopita), a local speciality.
Cats, Churches, and Exhibitions
I continue my scenic stroll under the sun and the midday heat, and quickly come to a realisation. Cats, the most queenlike of all creatures, have conquered and now rule Ano Syros, despite its fortifications to withstand pirate invasions. They are everywhere, both in the flesh and on fridge magnets. It is no coincidence that Emmanuel Rhoides, the influential 19th century Greek writer, himself from Syros, wrote a short story titled “Story of A Cat”.
At about 6pm, the digital exhibition Markos Vamvakaris Experiences at Piatsa opens its doors. It is a relatively new, interactive, and immersive experience with an audio guide and a ticket that also covers a visit to the nearby permanent exhibition of Markos Vamvakaris Memorabilia (since 1995).
Next, I ascend to the hilltop and St. George’s Catholic Cathedral, counting two ‘Little Free Libraries’, part of a worldwide project, also adopted in Syros.
Inside St. George, I see the exhibition The Organs of Greece, which presents for the first time the documentation of all 18 organs enriching Greek churches. This exhibition is part of the International Organ Festival in Syros, organised for the 8th time, showcasing the pipe organ housed in the Cathedral.
Something unusual on the Cathedral floor catches my attention. It is a floor installation by the Swiss artist Werner Widmer, presented at the Organ Festival as part of his Katapavsis series. As an inspiration, he has used a type of biscuit traditionally served with coffee at funeral banquets. It makes me ponder silence and prayer, music, and meaningful travel all at once.
Syros Hermoupolis Heritage: The Textile Museum, Ermoupolis
A friend told me there is a place steeped in the life of workers and industrial history, where songs and silent prayers drown by the sound of looms. This is the Hermoupolis Textile Museum (open year round), where I booked a tour with the non-profit Hermoupolis Heritage.
‘HerHer’, as the organisation is sometimes fondly referred to, sees grand stories in the old and abandoned, and turns them into new experiences. You can book your tickets online but at least 24 hours in advance: there are tours in Greek, English, and French, and three different lunch options.
The old Zisimatos Bros textile factory, the only one that remains, stopped working in 1986. Now restored, it offers visitors the ability to trace the workers’ lives, and the history of Syros’ textile industry. The tour is based on oral and written memories of 40 workers. My tour guide waits outside the factory entrance, eager to start our immersive experience.
The hosts treat us to Mastiha liqueur and traditional Syros lokum in front of an oversized photo of workers smiling in the same spot. All women and girls, starting as early as 8 years old; child labour widely practised. Women did not have many other options in those times.
We cross the door and find ourselves in a place that feels like a secret garden, a wonderful hidden treasure. Café Aman opened its doors this summer (Thursdays to Sundays, after 9pm), in the open-air space of the museum.
Touring the textile museum
The tour engages our senses as we follow the authentic ‘thread of life’: the old diesel engine in the painting area, the yarns still hanging as if they wait for the sewing machines to function again.
I notice the stickers and the emotional handwritten messages on the looms, a secret language beneath the sound of the machines, like the one we practised as children on our school desks.
I’m fascinated to learn that patterns like the Jacquard encoded textile – named after the inventor – served as an early influence in the history of computer programming, a kind of algorithm.
Hermoupolis Heritage Interview
Behind both Hermoupolis Heritage and the revival of the textile factory that ‘dressed the decades’ – is Dimitris Stavrakopoulos, born in Ermoupolis and raised in Vaporia, one of its most beautiful neighbourhoods.
Dimitris received an honorary award during the Tourism Awards 2022 (Boussias Communications) in recognition of the work to preserve Syros’ cultural heritage.
In August 2024, I had a sit-down with Dimitris. Here are snippets of our conversation, translated from Greek.
S.S. What is your relationship with the local community, as Hermoupolis Heritage and as a Museum?
D.S. Our priority is to attract the residents with various events during winter so they get to know their hometown better and immerse themselves in history and culture. It allows them to become ambassadors to the international guests. We believe it all begins with us, setting an example through a good life. Tourism is based on this process. We try to move towards that vision, developing more of the world’s love for this place and passing on the knowledge to the visitors.
S.S. What is Hermoupolis Heritage’s relationship to sustainability?
D.S. Our operation centres around sustainability as it mainly invests in and rescues what is old. Our basic philosophy and vision is a circular economy through our Rescue-Restoration-Promotion-Awareness mantra.
In the case of the museum, we first did the rescue of this space in 2013. Afterwards, we rented it and prevented it from being turned into a Bouzoukia (nightclub). We managed to keep the machinery. Then, restoration began, turning it into a museum we can share with the rest of the world and learn the history of the individuals who used to work here. Then comes promotion and awareness; mobilising more people to take on similar initiatives.
This translates into less consumption, instead rescuing the existing cultural elements and turning them into tourist products; to inspire others to do the same or at least support us so we can continue saving other items.
S.S. How does coming here facilitate a deeper form of travel experience?
D.S. Hermoupolis Heritage created this museum to be both experiential and sustainable. We are trying to connect with travellers who are not only interested in drinking coffee and going to the beach but also in visiting an island with a history of 5,000 years and three civilisations: Protocycladic, Medieval, and Neoclassical. We want people who come here to learn something and experience it all. Hermoupolis Heritage strives to offer the world such experiences that will make them, for example, buy a house here. Our purpose is to have not only visitors on the island but lovers who return and become part of Syros.
S.S. Who are the different ethnicities visiting the Museum?
D.S. There are a variety of people: Germans, English, Americans, French. This is a recent development, after the pandemic, because until then, we mostly had domestic tourism.
S.S. What about your future plans?
D.S. Although the museum looks complete, we have 2-3 more years to realise our full vision. We have already received the donation for the Kovaios Pharmacy, which dates back to 1837. If it works again, with the little bottles, the prescriptions, etc, it will be the oldest in Greece. Now we have to turn it into a destination, following the same pattern as with the museum.
Plus, we continue collecting items like looms and other artefacts that we either buy ourselves or receive from donations, to create the Museum of the City of Hermes. We envision it as a place that will have a collection from the life of an aristocrat and a worker. We gather vehicles, clothes, furniture of an aristocratic residence, and then the same for the worker. Two different lives which we want to showcase to children so they can see how it all changed over the last 50 years. A way of life that no longer exists.
A Day in Syros’ Capital: Ermoupolis
It’s time to spend some money shopping, eating, and walking around the capital of ‘the Lady of Cyclades’, renowned for its neoclassical architecture.
I sit down for a morning coffee at Revans, a traditional coffeehouse with a modern twist, inside the Old Market, surrounded by greengrocers, fish shops, and bakeries. The street connects the port with Miaouli Square, the centrepiece of Ermoupolis. It’s embellished with palm trees and a marble music platform with relief representations of the god Apollo and the Muses.
The open-air cinema, Pallas, is around the corner from the Square.
I climb the many stairs of the City Hall, designed by Ernst Ziller, which is open for visitors on weekday mornings. Inside, I am reminded of the Animasyros International Animation Festival, held annually in Ermoupolis, Syros, since 2008, often in September.
I continue walking uphill, making a stop at The Curious Cat, where I buy earrings that remind me of Frida Kahlo and, naturally, the bag with a cat chasing a butterfly.
The Apollon Theatre on Vardaka Street, part of Syros’ cultural heritage, is called a miniature of La Scala in Milan or La Piccola Scala. It has four tiers of boxes and an elaborate ceiling fresco. It hosts various events and festivals, and in the third floor foyer, there is an exhibition of theatre memorabilia.
I take a stroll around Vaporia Quartet, the aristocratic shipowners’ neighbourhood. Here you can find the all-day café/bar/restaurant Sta Vaporia with the most amazing view of ‘Little Venice’ of Ermoupolis.
It overlooks the concrete bathing platform of Asteria, and a little further is Ciel bar-restaurant, a popular spot for tourist selfies and TikTok videos.
Sea and Sky
Next, I recommend you visit the Holy Cathedral of Agios Nikolaos, or as it is often called ‘the rich’, to distinguish it from the ‘poor’ Church of Agios Nikolaos in Ano Syros. This Orthodox church honours Saint Nicholas, who is Ermoupolis’ and the seafarer’s patron saint. Its striking blue dome seems to match both sea and sky, and the lavish interior sports a marble temple and throne. The colourful stained glass playing with the sunlight reminds me once again of the interaction between Orthodox and Catholic traditions in Syros.
With excitement, I set out for the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. I imagine how the curator must have felt in 1983 when he realised he had a painting by Doménikos Theotokópoulos (El Greco) in front of him. I lean forward, searching for his initials like another doubting Thomas. On the Icon of the Dormition of the Virgin (circa 1567), I find them.
As I head back to the base in Galissas, I reflect on my imminent departure from Syros in only two days. Phrases from the Hermoupolis Heritage manifesto echo in my mind, like a song of wisdom for both travel and life: “We are impressed by the journey and that makes us patient and optimistic”; and the one that sums up this deep travel guide; “Slowness is revolution”.
Have you been to Syros? Which Greek island is your favourite? Let us know in the comment section! Subscribe to our newsletter and benefit from travel guides, sustainable tourism and luxury travel tips, insightful interviews, and inspirational places to visit. One Planet Journey – The World’s First Deep Travel Magazine.