Naxos Island has over 40 villages to visit and most of them have their own authentic character and distinct style. Naxos Town (or Hora) is the capital and port and it is a lively and busy town with over 8,000 inhabitants. Ferries from here connect Naxos with the mainland and the islands of Santorini, Mykonos, Paros and many other Cycladic islands.

Most of the villages in Naxos Island are in the middle and the north of the island, traditionally built inland to be away from pirate attacks from the sea!

There are many routes to choose from to explore the island, and for adventure lovers there are also walking or cycling tours to discover olive groves, forests, caves, ravines.

Potamia is a group of three picturesque villages in a fertile valley of orange trees and grapevines with a stream flowing down the valley.  Melanes is close to Potamia and it is the place to see the huge 5th Century BC statue of Kouros and the ruined monastry of Kalamitsia

Halki in Tragea, once the administrative centre, is a stylish and cultural centre of artisans with galleries and workshops to visit and the start of hiking paths through the olive groves to several notable Byzantine churches. Filoti is the largest village, surrounded by olive groves and settled on the flank of Zas mountain with a Venetian tower at its centre and a large church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Sagri with its ancient Temple of Demetra, Byzantine Churches, Venetian castles is one of the interesting places in Naxos.

Apeiranthos or T’Aperathou is a large village high on the slops of Mount Zas at 650m altitude where the locals still speak their own dialect of Greek. As well as local products and crafts, the village has 3 small museums.  Further to the north, Koronos is a village of tiny houses and lanes stepping down the valley, one of the most attractive villages on Naxos Island and formerly home to the emery workers who worked in the nearby mines. Keramoti is a tiny village full of walnut trees and surrounded by mountains, with the winter waterfall of Routsouna a short hike away.

Galini and Eggares are traditional, quiet and peaceful agricultural villages, in the verdant northeast valley leading to Amiti beach, and with great local tavernas.

Apollonas is a small seaside village on the north coast where you can visit the huge Kouros statue from the fifth century BC and Moutsouna on the east coast still has the heritage of its history as the emery port.