Σκόπελος · The green island of the Sporades: pine forest to the sea, a town of slate roofs and the Mamma Mia! chapel
Climb the lanes of a town of white houses and slate roofs to a Venetian castle, swim in pine-fringed coves of sand and white pebbles, eat a spiral cheese pie and climb the steps to the chapel of Mamma Mia! on its rock.
Greetings from Skopelos
Skopelos
We came in on the fast boat and the whole town rose up the hill in white and grey, a church on every corner and a castle on top. This morning we drove along the coast through the pines to a cove of white pebbles where the water was the green of glass. We ate fish with our feet nearly in the sea at Agnontas, and this evening we climbed the steps to the little chapel on its rock, where they filmed the wedding in Mamma Mia!, and watched the sun go down.
Hour by hour
A cheese pie for breakfast, the coast road through the pines, a swim in a cove, fish by the water and sunset at the Mamma Mia! chapel.
Start in Skopelos town with coffee and a hot Skopelos cheese pie, twisted into a spiral and fried while you wait.
Drive 4 km south to the bay of the Cretan prince, swim, then walk over the headland of his tomb to wild Velanio.
Lunch at a taverna with its tables at the water's edge, with squid caught in the bay that morning.
Follow the coast road through the pines to Milia and Kastani for a long swim in the clearest water on the island.
Drive on past Glossa to Agios Ioannis sto Kastri and climb the steps cut into the rock as the sun drops over the sea.
End on a balcony in Glossa with slow-cooked pork and prunes, and the lights of Skiathos across the water.
Where to stay
Skopelos town
Thea Home Hotel · Boutique hotel · €€
Skopelos town
Fasolaki Eco Residences · Eco apartments · €€
Panormos
Adrina Beach Hotel · Beach hotel · €€€
Only on Skopelos
What makes Skopelos different from every other Greek island.
In September 2007 the film crew came to Skopelos, and the wedding procession of Mamma Mia! was shot at Agios Ioannis sto Kastri, a white chapel on a rock above the sea, with about a hundred steps cut into the stone. Kastani beach, on the west coast, was the film's main location.
Close to four-fifths of Skopelos is covered in forest, most of it Aleppo pine, which comes right down to the beaches. The islanders once used the timber to build their ships. The air smells of resin, and the pine honey is the island's best.
Plums grow all over the island and are dried into prunes, cooked with pork and made into sweets. The Skopelos cheese pie is not baked but fried: a thin sheet of pastry rolled around goat's cheese, twisted into a spiral about 15 cm across.
Skopelos has more than 360 churches and chapels, most of them built by families and opened only on their saint's day, from the 11th-century basilica in the Kastro to whitewashed chapels in the fields.
“…on my way home to Peparethos, rich in grapes and wine.”
Towns & villages
White houses and slate roofs climbing a bay to a Venetian castle, with a church at every turn
Skopelos town, the Chora, is one of the most beautiful island towns in Greece. It climbs the hillside at the back of a wide bay on the north-east coast, an amphitheatre of white houses with grey slate and red tiled roofs, wooden balconies and painted doors, up to the walls of a Venetian castle at the top. Dozens of churches are scattered through the lanes, from the little Panagitsa tou Pyrgou on its rock at the harbour mouth to the 11th-century basilica of Agios Athanasios inside the Kastro. Below, the long waterfront is lined with cafes, tavernas and the boats. Protected as a traditional settlement since 1978, it is the island's port, capital and the best base for a first visit.
The island's second village, high on the 'tongue' of the north-west, looking across to Skiathos
Glossa, 'the tongue', is the second village of Skopelos, spread over a green hillside at 200–300 m on the north-western tip of the island, about 25 km from Skopelos town by road. It is quieter and more lived-in than the Chora: stone and white houses with tiled roofs, steep lanes, a square with plane trees and cafes, and views over the pines and olive groves to Skiathos and the mainland. Below it lies its harbour, Loutraki. Glossa is the village of the Mamma Mia! chapel of Agios Ioannis sto Kastri, a short drive away on the north coast, and of the painter Alexandros Sideris, whose gallery is here.
Things to do
Culture
Climb the steps cut into the rock to the white chapel of the film's wedding, then swim in the coves below.
Agios Ioannis sto Kastri, near Glossa
Beach
Follow the coast road through the pines and stop at a different cove every day: white pebbles at Milia, sand at Kastani, turquoise water at Hovolo.
Panormos, Milia, Kastani and Hovolo
Hike
Take the old stone paths up the mountain to Evangelistria, Metamorfosi and Prodromos, with the town below you.
Palouki, across the bay from town
Good to know
Skopelos is an island of about 96 km² in the Northern Sporades, between Skiathos and Alonissos, off the coast of Pelion. It is one of the greenest islands in the Aegean: almost all of it is covered in Aleppo pine, with olive groves, plum and almond orchards and a coast of coves where the trees come right down to the water. Its capital, Skopelos town, climbs a bay on the north-east coast in white houses with grey slate roofs, and the island has more than 360 churches and chapels. In antiquity it was Peparethos, famous for its wine and said to have been founded by Staphylos, son of Dionysus and Ariadne. Since 2008 it has also been the island of Mamma Mia!.
When to go
May, June and September are ideal, warm and green, with quiet beaches. July and August are hot and busy, and the boats fill up. The fast boats stop in bad weather, so leave a spare day before your flight.
Getting around
Hire a car or scooter for a few days: one road runs from town along the south and west coasts to Glossa, and the beaches are off it. Buses run along it several times a day.
How long
Four to seven days lets you see the town and its monasteries, try a different beach each day, go up to Glossa and the chapel, and take a boat into the Marine Park. Pair it with Skiathos or Alonissos.
Getting there
No airport: fly to Skiathos and take the boat, 20 minutes to Glossa or about an hour to Skopelos town, or sail from Volos in 2–4 hours.
Flights & ferries
A Cretan prince who brought the vine, an ancient wine praised by Sophocles, a Venetian castle, Barbarossa's raid of 1538, the ships of 1821, union with Greece in 1830, the earthquake of 1965 and, in 2007, a film crew.
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