Naxos is the largest and greenest island of the Cyclades and is famous for its long sandy beaches, beautiful scenary, rich agriculture and windsurfing. You can get here by daily ferry and highspeed from Pireaus or by air. There are also ferries from Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, Ios and in the summer from Crete.
This is the doorway to the temple of Apollo, sort of the symbol of Naxos. The doorway is all that is left of the temple which was never finished. People say that if you stand in the middle and make a wish, it will come true. They also say that this is the center of the world. There is another belief that when Istanbul (Constantinopole) is returned to Greece the door will magically apear. The doorway sits on what was an island outside the town, but it's now connected by a causeway and you can walk to it.
Naxos is famous for it's beautiful beaches. Some people say that Naxos has the most beautiful beaches in Greece. This beach is called Agios Prokopios. I think these beaches were nice because they were clean, the water wasn't too cold, and the sea was a pretty blue color. The next beach after Agios Prokopios was Agia Anna.
This is the causeway that connects what used to be the island where the temple of Apollo was. On one side there are big waves that crash over the causeway and on Grotto beach when the wind is coming from the North. On the other side of the causeway the water is very calm and old people and children swim there.
The town of Naxos surrounds a castle that was built by the Venetians. You can walk around inside it and there are a couple museums, a catholic cathedral and a place where they have concerts in the summer. There are houses within the castle walls too. To get to the castle you have to go through little winding streets with houses and shops. There are also many restaurants, cafes and shops along the road in the harbor.
Once again we stayed in a really nice hotel with a swimming pool. This one was called the Porto Naxos. The hotel is on the outskirts of town but only about a ten minute walk from the center, and five minutes from St. George beach which was really shallow and full of kids.
