Andros is the second largest island of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, home of Greek shipping magnates and a favourite travel destination, due to its proximity to the Greek mainland.
Andros Town or Chora is the most charming and authentic of all Andros destinations. With a marble-paved main street, cool even in the summer months, Chora is full of neoclassical mansions belonging to old ship-owning families, some with large courtyards opening up to panoramic views of the sea. There are delightful traditional coffee shops and tavernas tucked in the narrow alleys and a flight of steps leads to a sandy beach.
Delightful whitewashed houses huddle together in the maze of streets that form the medieval city. Shipping magnate Goulandris’s Museum of Contemporary Art in Chora frequently hosts interesting exhibitions. The Archaeological Museum, endowed by Goulandris as well, is home to the amazing 2nd-century BC sculpture of Hermes Psychopompos.
In contrast to Chora’s quiet charms, Batsi is a bustling tourist resort with a sandy bay lined with restaurants, hotels and bars. Other villages outside Chora are the lovely Stenies, Messaria, Menites, Apikia (where there is a mineral water source), Kaparia and Aidonia. A remnant from the time when Andros was ruled by the Venetians is the Castle of the Old Woman, north of the Bay of Korthion.
