Naxos Island

Naxos lies in the wine-dark Aegean Sea, the largest island in the Greek Cyclades. It has lofty mountains, fertile valleys and endless beaches.The island has had permanent settlements for 5,000 years. Today the island population is about 20,000. Most live in Naxos Town or in the island interior. There are few ocean-side settlements because for hundreds of years the area was plagued by pirates and hidden communities had a better chance of survival. So far, Naxos has avoided the modern plague of tourists that have descended on other Cycladic Islands such as Santorini and Mykonos. Here you can step back in time and catch glimpses of island life through the millennium.