Kythnos

Kythnos lies in the north-western Cyclades between Kea and Serifos, a rolling, low-lying island of dry-stone terraces and more than seventy beaches. It is among the closest Cyclades to Athens, served by ferries from both Lavrio in Attica and Piraeus, with the crossing taking roughly one and a half to three hours depending on the route. Ferries arrive at the small west-coast port of Merichas.

The island's best-known sight is the beach of Kolona, a slender golden sandbar that connects the main island to the islet of Agios Loukas, with sea on both sides and calm swimming whichever way the wind blows. It is one of the most distinctive beaches in the Cyclades and a favourite anchorage for sailing boats. Elsewhere the coast is generously supplied with quiet sandy and pebble coves, many still without development.

Kythnos has two main inland towns. The capital, Chora or Messaria, is a whitewashed settlement of narrow lanes brightened with painted motifs on the paving, while Dryopida, further south, is a picturesque village of red-tiled roofs set in a ravine, home to the impressive Katafyki cave, once used as an iron mine. On the north-east coast, the village of Loutra is named for its natural hot springs, whose iron-rich thermal waters have drawn visitors since the nineteenth century and still feed a small spa.

Without dramatic peaks or headline monuments, Kythnos is an island for relaxed, low-key holidays: swimming from uncrowded beaches, wandering the two old villages, soaking in the thermal waters and eating simply in village tavernas. It has a long past of iron and copper mining, and traces of that industry linger in the landscape around Loutra and the north of the island. Its closeness to the mainland makes it an easy first stop on a western Cyclades hop or a quiet retreat in its own right, best enjoyed at an unhurried pace in the shoulder-season months.