Tinos

About Tinos

By the ULTIMATE Athens City Guide Editorial Team

An island of faith and craftsmanship: Greece’s most important place of pilgrimage, villages of marble carvers, hundreds of decorated dovecotes, wind-sculpted boulders and some of the best food in the Cyclades.

The back story

Tinos was held by Venice for centuries, longer than any other island in the Cyclades, until the Ottomans took it in 1715, and Catholic and Orthodox villages still stand side by side across its hills.

In 1823, during the War of Independence, a nun named Pelagia had a vision that led to the discovery of an ancient icon of the Annunciation buried in a field. The church of Panagia Evangelistria was built on the spot, and the icon, believed to work miracles, made Tinos the most important place of pilgrimage in Greece. Every year, and above all on 15 August, the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin, thousands of pilgrims climb from the harbour to the church, some on their knees along a carpeted path.

The town below has a lively harbour, good tavernas and a market street full of local produce.

Tinos town

The great church stands at the top of a wide avenue leading up from the port, built of white marble, with an icon hung with offerings of silver and gold, and museums of religious art and local painting around its courtyard. The town below has a lively harbour, good tavernas and a market street full of local produce.

Villages and marble

Tinos has more than 40 villages, many of them beautiful. Pyrgos is the home of marble carving, the birthplace of the sculptor Yannoulis Chalepas, with a museum of marble crafts and a school of fine arts, and everywhere you will see carved marble fanlights, fountains and doorways. The island is also famous for its dovecotes, around a thousand stone towers decorated with geometric patterns, especially around Tarambados. At Volax, the village is surrounded by giant granite boulders, and the Venetian fortress of Exomvourgo crowns a rocky peak above the island.

Food and beaches

Tinian food draws on local cheese, artichokes, capers, sun-dried tomatoes and wild herbs, and the island has some excellent tavernas and wineries. Its beaches, such as Kolymbithra, Agios Romanos and Livada, are mostly uncrowded, though the island can be windy.

Getting there

Tinos has no airport; the nearest is on Mykonos, a short ferry ride away. Ferries from Piraeus take about three and a half to five hours, and from Rafina, near Athens airport, about two hours by fast ferry. Avoid arriving around 15 August unless you have booked well ahead.

Tinos at a glance

Ferry times are typical and change with the season, the boat and the number of stops; check current timetables with the ferry companies or Ferryhopper before you travel.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Tinos before you go.