"through the ancient gate" a Naxos Island Travel Page by mindcrime

Ok, there are some other Cyclades islands that are very famous like Santorini and Mykonos. But there are some others that are as great as those without the big crowds. Naxos is the biggest island (428 km²) of Cyclades (with 18.000 inhabitants) but it doesn’t have international flight connections so that keeps package tourism away. It’s really worth a visit here. Big sandy beaches, impressive mountains, a dozen of beautiful villages, nice nature, friendly locals, tasty foods and archeological sights. If you go before summer you can barely see any tourist, only the local life. I like to visit the island in May, the water is still cold but everything else is cool! :)

-the incredible Portara at Hora, a marble gate that was supposed to lead to the uncompleted temple of Apollo.
-the venetian castle (15th century) that holds a museum and other sights
-the temple of Dimitra at Sagri
-Hora, the capital of Naxos is attractive, lying there at the foothill of the castle
-the archeological museum
-many old churches
-eat excellent food, basically at the villages with local products (great cheeses and potates!)
-visit many of the villages, Moutsouna, Filoti, Apiranthos etc
-the museum of Apiranthos
-buy local products for souvenirs (Citron, cheeses etc)
-visit Apollon for the Kouros statue
-many beaches to choose, clean waters, golden sand, what more do u want?

Naxos is between Santorini, Ios, Paros and Mykonos and it’s easily accessible by boat from all these islands within an hour or from Piraeus in 6 hours.
In Naxos town you can walk easily walk around but you need a taxi or a bus to visit other beaches or the villages. If you rent a car things will be much more comfortable for you.