Lesvos

Lesvos is a big island with a big personality. The ferry from the mainland comes to Mytilene, the largest town in the Aegean, whose maze of narrow lanes is best walked over a first day — the old town of Varia with its olive presses, the harbourfront cafés, the fish market by the port. Beyond the town begin the endless olive groves that cover the island — Lesvos has more than ten million olive trees, and in autumn the hills are silver with them. Worth visiting are the Petrified Forest, a geological park where ancient trees lie turned to stone; Agiasos, the mountain village with its great church and its lane of craft shops; and the gulf of Kalloni to the west, where the island's ouzo is distilled and the evening light over the salt flats is extraordinary. A carafe of ouzo in the courtyard of a harbour taverna makes a fine evening. Lesvos is a place of contrasts — green and bare, wealthy and poor, ancient and modern — and it rewards those who give it time.

Lesvos has one of the oldest and richest histories of any Greek island. In the Archaic age it was the home of the lyric poet Sappho and the poet Alcaeus, and of the philosopher Aristotle, who spent three years on the island studying its natural life. The island was a member of the Delian League and later a possession of Rome and Byzantium. In the Middle Ages it was ruled by the Gattilusi family of Genoa, who built the great castle of Mytilene and left the island its distinctive towers, and in 1462 it fell to the Ottomans, who held it for nearly 400 years. Under the Ottomans, Lesvos flourished as a centre of trade and the olive oil trade made its towns wealthy; Mytilene and the villages of the island retain the grand houses, the mansions, and the courtyards of that era. The island was joined to Greece in 1912. In the 19th century the island was also famous for the painter Theophilos, whose naive masterpieces decorate the houses of Varia, and in the modern era Lesvos has been a centre of ouzo production and of the olive oil trade. Its long, layered history is written in its castles, its mansions, its churches, and its deeply independent character.

Lesvos has long beaches of sand and pebbles around its huge coastline. The east coast, near Mytilene, has the family beaches of the town. The south coast is lined with long, open beaches — including the beautiful sweep of Vatera, nearly eight kilometres of sand, the longest beach of the Aegean. Around the gulf of Kalloni the beaches are shallow and warm, perfect for children. And the west, around Sigri and Eressos, has wild, quiet beaches — Eressos, with its long golden strand, is one of the most beautiful of the island. The water is clear and the beaches are spacious; even in August you can find a long stretch to yourself. Bring a mask for the rocky points, and expect the wind that shapes the island's climate.

Lesvos food is the cooking of a rich, fertile island, and it is famous throughout Greece. The island produces superb olive oil — much of Greece's finest oil comes from Lesvos — and its cheeses, especially the tangy ladotyri made with olive oil, and the fresh myzithra. The island is the home of ouzo, and the distilleries of Plomari and Mytilene make some of the best in Greece. The table of Lesvos is full of flavour: sardines grilled at the harbour, the small fish of the Aegean, wild greens, and the famous 'sousamada' and the sweets of Agiasos. For a proper Lesvos meal, find a taverna by the water, order the grilled fish and a plate of the local cheese, and finish with ouzo and meze as the boats come home. And try the island's special 'melopita' — a honey pie that is one of the great desserts of Greece.

May, June, and September are the ideal months on Lesvos: warm, green, and uncrowded, with the sea perfect and the island at its best. July and August are the main season, especially on the beaches of the south and west. Spring is lovely, when the olive groves are in blossom and the mountains are green. Autumn is beautiful too, and is the season of the olive harvest, when the island is at its most authentic. Whenever you come, give Lesvos at least a few days — it is a large island with a great deal to see, and it repays those who slow down and explore.

Lesvos is reached by ferry from Piraeus and from the mainland port of Ayvalık in Turkey. Flights from Athens and Thessaloniki arrive at the island's airport near Mytilene.

The island is large, so a car is almost essential — the sights are spread across the island. Do not miss the Petrified Forest in the west, the village of Agiasos in the mountains, and the ouzo of Plomari in the south. Swim at Vatera and Eressos, walk the old town of Mytilene, and take at least one evening by the harbour with ouzo and meze. Lesvos is not an island to rush.