North Aegean · Cultural identity in art and literature
Lesvos
Lesvos (Lesbos) is the third-largest island in Greece, high in the North Aegean: the home of ouzo and the birthplace of the poet Sappho. Its beaches, forested mountains, villages and petrified forest attract artists and writers rather than crowds. We design private Lesvos itineraries around its food, its geology and its deep literary roots.
Lesvos is a mysterious land that attracts a more alternative crowd of Greek artists and writers, and rewards them richly.
Cultural identity in art and literature
According to Greek mythology, the island was the birthplace of the hero Lesvos. It features in Homer’s Iliad, when Agamemnon offers Achilles seven women from Lesbos skilled in handicrafts to persuade the hero to rejoin the Trojan War, and another famous story connects the island with Orpheus, the great musician, poet and prophet of ancient Greece. Most famously of all, there is the association between Lesvos and the word lesbian: inspired by the erotic poetry of Sappho, born on the island around 2,600 years ago, many languages use the demonym of her birthplace to describe love between women.
Explore Lesvos
Lesvos is the third-largest island in Greece with a very distinct historical and cultural identity. Geographically less accessible from Athens, it draws travellers of a more independent spirit: a character-filled island famous for ouzo and blessed with beautiful beaches, romantic villages and forested mountains. Lesbos, as the island is also known, is famous too for its churches, monasteries and religious character, from the rock church of Petra to Limonos Monastery. It might just be the most laid-back Greek island of them all.
The Petrified Forest
Millions of years ago, intense volcanic eruptions buried a stretch of woodland, preserving trees from their roots to their leaves and seeds. At this unique natural monument you will see hundreds of standing and fallen conifer trunks in reds, yellows and blacks, including some of the tallest petrified trees in Europe: a window into twenty million years of natural history.
Mytilene
The island’s capital is built amphitheatrically across seven hills, the artistic and commercial centre of Lesvos, with historic buildings, interesting monuments and tasty restaurants. The jewel of the town is the Castle of Mytilene, whose origins reach back to the 6th century, and each summer the capital hosts the Festival of Lesvos and the Ouzo Festival.
Limonos Monastery
Outside Kalloni stands the Monastery of Saint Ignatios, known as Limonos and dedicated to the Archangel Michael. Among its treasures is an important library of around 5,000 volumes, with books dating back to the 15th century.
Pairing Lesvos
Lesvos anchors a North Aegean route beautifully alongside Chios and its mastic villages to the south, with Samos completing the arc toward the Dodecanese.
Known first-hand
Our best picks on Lesvos
- Best Bar Parasol
A pretty heavenly bar in Skala Eresou: sunset, chilled music and delicious cocktails under three big umbrellas on the beach, plus tasty Thai and Mexican plates for when you have reached your horiatiki quota for the day.
- Best Beach Skala Eresou
A Blue Flag must-visit backed by a lush green valley, and just one of many: pretty Petra beach in the north, the darker sands of Vatera in the south, and quiet coves in between for soaking in the serenity.
- Best Local Specialty Ouzo
Lesvos is the home of ouzo, and drinking it is a ritual with rules: never from the fridge, a few ice cubes in a small glass, never on an empty stomach. Unless you hate liquorice, in which case, you have been warned.
- Best Sight Petra rock church
Every year hundreds climb the 114 steps up the imposing forty metre rock of Petra, with more than a passing resemblance to Meteora, to kneel before the miraculous icon of Panagia Glykofilousa and take in spectacular views of the village.
- Best Hidden Spot Aspronisi islet
A small piece of paradise less than three kilometres west of Lesvos with crystal-clear snorkelling water, plus the Myrmigi reef on the northwest side; the island is one of the best diving destinations in Greece and its best spots are never busy.
- Best Dining The Women's Cooperative
A seafront restaurant in Petra born of a 1983 initiative to help local women earn their own income and independence, now one of the most popular tables on the island for a home-cooked meal in a beautiful location.
Lesvos has an airport at Mytilene (MJT) with domestic and seasonal international flights, plus ferry connections from Piraeus and the northern Aegean.
Design
Design your experience
Tell us the occasion, the season and who is coming. One of our Epicureans will come back with a first sketch of Lesvos, and will tell you if another island suits your dates better.