Culture
Climb the zig-zag to the Panagia
Take the cobbled path that zig-zags up the rock to the white church of the Panagia, about 15 minutes, and watch the sun set over Chora and the cliffs.
From Pounta square, Chora
Folegandros · Things to do
Things to do in Folegandros
Beaches, trails, festivals, food and wine: the experiences that make this island its own.
Experiences
Our favourite things to do
Ideas for every kind of day, from a lazy swim to a full-day hike.
Culture
Walk the lanes of the Kastro
Go in by the Lotza or the Paraporti and walk Kato Rua and Mesa Rua, the two lanes of the medieval village, to the square of the Pantanassa.
Chora
Beach
Take the little boat to Katergo
Ride the caique 10 minutes from the port, past the sea cave of Georgitsi, to the wildest and clearest beach on the island.
From Karavostasis
Nature
Sail round the island
On set days the beach boats sail right round Folegandros, under the cliffs of Chora and along the north coast where Chrysospilia opens, with swims in coves that have no road.
From Karavostasis, some days in summer
Hike
Walk the island's paths
Old paths run to every corner of Folegandros, from Ano Meria down to Livadaki and the lighthouse of Aspropounta, from Agali along the cliffs to Agios Nikolaos, and from Livadi to Katergo. The municipality maps them online.
All over the island
Culture
See a farmstead at work
Visit the Ecomuseum and then walk the village among the themonies, the stone walls and the lemon trees in their round towers.
Ecomuseum, Ano Meria
Food & wine
Eat matsata
Order the island's hand-made pasta with rooster or goat in tomato sauce, or with soutzoukakia, and grate the hard local cheese over it.
Tavernas across the island
Festival
Easter on Folegandros
Follow the icon of the Panagia from house to house over three days, through Chora, Ano Meria and the port, with treats of Easter food and drink in every house that receives it.
The whole island, Easter Sunday to Tuesday
Festival
Dance at a panigyri
The summer feasts of the saints end in music and dance with violin and lute, with food and drink offered by the islanders: Agia Marina at Agali in July, Agios Panteleimon in July, the Panagia on 15 August, the Cross in Chora in September and Agios Artemios at the port in October.
Agali, Ano Meria, Chora and Karavostasis
Food & wine
Taste the island's cheeses
Try souroto, the fresh goat's and sheep's cheese, xynotyro and anthotyro, and look out for the Agrosourotoxynotyri, the cheese festival held at the village school of Ano Meria.
Ano Meria
Only on Folegandros
What makes Folegandros different
What makes Folegandros different from every other Greek island.
A Kastro on the lip of the cliff
The medieval Kastro of Chora was built to protect the islanders from pirates and has been lived in without a break ever since. Its north side runs along the edge of a cliff some 200 m above the sea; inside, two lanes, Kato Rua and Mesa Rua, run between whitewashed houses with outside staircases, entered by only two gates, the Lotza and the Paraporti.
A cave of ancient names
On the walls and roof of Chrysospilia, a cave 30 m up the north cliffs, some 400 names have been recorded, most of the 4th century BC, written by young men from all over Greece who reached it, it seems, in a coming-of-age rite.
Farmsteads walled against the wind
Ano Meria is a village of themonies, self-sufficient farmsteads with their own oven, cistern, threshing floor and pens, scattered among dry-stone walls. The north wind blows so hard that the island's trees lean south, so every lemon tree grows inside its own round stone wall.
An icon that visits every house
Every Easter the icon of the Panagia leaves its church on the rock and, over three days, is carried on foot to every house on the island: Chora on Sunday, Ano Meria on Monday, and Petousis, Livadi and Karavostasis on Tuesday, where it blesses the boats and, if the sea allows, sails round the bays.
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