Cyclades · Greece's most delicious island
Sifnos
Sifnos is where Greece goes to eat: the island of Nicholas Tselementes, who wrote the first Greek cookbook, and of chickpea stew and lamb slow-baked in terracotta. Add it to a wider Cyclades journey or give it a whole unhurried stay.
On most Greek islands, souvlaki and moussaka are the taverna staples. On Sifnos you are more likely to find revithada, the baked chickpea stew; revithokeftedes, chickpea fritters with marjoram and mint; and mastello, lamb slow-roasted with red wine and dill. The island owes its reputation to the Sifniot Nicholas Tselementes, Greece’s most famous chef, who wrote the country’s very first cookbook in 1910, and to a tradition of baking in terracotta casseroles produced here for centuries.
An island named for its hollows
The name Sifnos is traced by some to Sifnus, son of the Attic hero Sounios, and by others to an old word meaning empty or hollow, pointing to the tunnels left by centuries of mining. Archaeology puts the first settlers here in the second half of the third millennium BC, known from tombs and village foundations along the coast. Pelasgians, Carians, Leleges and Phoenicians followed one another, and mythology adds that Minos, king of Crete, installed his own sons as kings across the Cyclades.
Explore Sifnos
Apollonia
The capital is really a gathering of villages that grew together: whitewashed buildings, narrow alleys and an easy evening rhythm that never tips into noise.
Kastro and the Seven Martyrs
The medieval village of Kastro rings its rock above the sea, and below it the chapel of the Seven Martyrs stands alone on its islet. It is the image most people carry home from Sifnos.
Sifnos under sail
Pairing Sifnos
Sailing around the island is the way to reach its hidden beaches with the Aegean breeze doing the work. It slots naturally into the routes we run under sail, often paired with Milos or Mykonos.
Known first-hand
Our best picks on Sifnos
- Best Activity The beaches
Swim, swim and swim some more. Glifo, Apokofto, Cheronissos, Kamares and Platys Gialos are our favourites, idyllic places to cool off under the Greek sun.
- Best Daytrip Apollonia to Vathy on foot
Sifnos holds over 100 kilometres of way-marked trails, one of the largest networks in the Aegean. Our favourite walk crosses the island from Apollonia to Vathy; shorter paths reach Kastro, Chrysopigi and the monastery of Agios Symeon.
- Best Dining Omega 3
From outside, a simple beach shack with a sensational view; in truth, one of the most famous fish restaurants in the Cyclades. An ever-changing menu far from taverna fare, worth ordering blind.
- Best Hidden Spot Seven Martyrs at sunrise
The little chapel of the Seven Martyrs floats on an outcrop of rock below Kastro, the most photographed corner of the island. Come at first light, when it belongs to you and the sea.
- Best Sight Artemonas
The island's prettiest village, postcard streets and all. Finish at Theodorou's, the family sweet shop dazzling the sweet-toothed since 1933: nougat wafers, amygdalota and bourekia still made in copper pots over a wood fire.
- Best After Dark Botzi
A multi-level terrace of jazz, soul and funk, excellent cocktails and the hospitality of Yango, the owner, since 1993. The feel of a small Mykonos with none of the congestion.
No airport: the ferry from Piraeus runs the western Cyclades line, and Milos is next door.
Design
Design your experience
Tell us the occasion, the season and who is coming. One of our Epicureans will come back with a first sketch of Sifnos, and will tell you if another island suits your dates better.