Skopelos · Glossa & the north-west · Γλώσσα
Glossa, the village on the tongue of the island
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.
The island's second village, high on the 'tongue' of the north-west, looking across to Skiathos
The story of Glossa
Glossa and its neighbour Klima were once communities of their own, farming villages of olives, almonds and plums on the fertile north-west of the island. In 1960 the village had more than 1,800 people. Today it has fewer than a thousand, with the hamlets of Atheato and Loutraki, and still feels like a place where people live all year.
The Folklore Museum of Glossa, in a two-storey village house, keeps the costumes and the household things of the old village. The women's agrotourism association of the village, Glossiotissa, keeps the old recipes of the island alive.
Where to stay
Where you'll wake up in Glossa
Atheato
Watch the sun sink behind Skiathos from a stone villa above Glossa
OLEA Skopelos Villas · Villas · €€€€
Where to eat
Tables we love in Glossa
Glossa · Glossa & the north-west
Good to know
Before you go to Glossa
Getting there
Take the boat to Glossa (Loutraki) from Skiathos or Volos and a taxi up the hill, or drive or take the bus along the coast road from Skopelos town in about 45 minutes.
When to go
Late afternoon, for the walk round the lanes and the sunset over Skiathos from a balcony.
More of Skopelos
Villages you'll want to see next
Skopelos town & Palouki
Skopelos town
White houses and slate roofs climbing a bay to a Venetian castle, with a church at every turn
Glossa & the north-west
Agios Ioannis sto Kastri
The white chapel on a rock above the sea, the wedding chapel of Mamma Mia!
Skopelos town & Palouki
The monasteries of Palouki
Evangelistria, Metamorfosi, Prodromos and Agia Varvara on the green mountain across the bay
Fall for more of Skopelos
Every stay we recommend across Skopelos, from village guesthouses to rooms on the sea.
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