20 Best Sights in Chios, The Northern Aegean Islands

Among classical pottery and sculpture is a letter carved into a stone tablet from Alexander the Great addressed to the Chiotes and dated 332 BC, along with a collection of other remarkable stone tablets that dictate the local laws and regulations from antiquity. Also on display is some remarkably intact prehistoric pottery from the 14th century BC.

In medieval times and later, wealthy Genoese and Greek merchants built ornate, earth-colored, three-story mansions on this fertile plain of tangerine, lemon, and orange groves south of Chios Town. On narrow lanes behind stone walls adorned with coats of arms, each estate is a world of its own, with multicolored sandstone patterns, arched doorways, and pebble-mosaic courtyards. Some houses have crumbled, but many still stand, surrounded by fragrant citrus groves and reminders of the wealth, power, and eventual downfall of an earlier time. These suburbs of Chios Town are exceptional, but the unmarked lanes can be confusing, so leave time to get lost and to peek behind the walls into another world.

This towering church just off the main square was built in 1694 and is embellished with a lavishly decorated portico.

Famous throughout Greece, this glittering volcanic black-pebbled beach is just next to the attractive seaside village of Emborio, where the waterfront is lined with tavernas serving seafood. The cove comprises three beaches, which are backed by jutting volcanic cliffs and fronted by calm dark-blue water colored by the deeply tinted seabed. Here, perhaps, was an inspiration for the "wine-dark sea" that Homer wrote about. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: solitude; sunrise; swimming; walking.

The 19th-century church that commands the main square of Mesta (and one of two churches of the same name in the town) is one of the wealthiest in Greece; its vernacular baroque is combined with the late-folk-art style of Chios. The church was built on the ruins of the central refuge tower. If the church is closed, ask at the square and someone may come and open it for you.

Almost hidden among the olive groves, the island's most important monastery—with its finest examples of mosaic art—is the 11th-century Nea Moni. Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos ("the Dueler") ordered the monastery built where three monks found an icon of the Virgin Mary in a myrtle bush. The octagonal katholikon (medieval church) is the only surviving example of 11th-century court art—none survives in Constantinople. The monastery has been renovated a number of times: the dome was completely rebuilt following an earthquake in 1881, and a great deal of effort has gone into the restoration and preservation of the mosaics over the years. The distinctive three-part vaulted sanctuary has a double narthex, with no buttresses supporting the dome. This design, a single square space covered by a dome, is rarely seen in Greece. Blazing with color, the church's interior gleams with marble slabs and mosaics of Christ's life, austere yet sumptuous, with azure blue, ruby red, velvet green, and skillful applications of gold. The saints' expressiveness comes from their vigorous poses and severe gazes, with heavy shadows under the eyes. On the iconostasis hangs the icon—a small Virgin and Child facing left. Also inside the grounds are an ancient refectory, a vaulted cistern, a chapel filled with victims' bones from the massacre at Chios, and a large clock still keeping Byzantine time, with the sunrise reckoned as 12 o'clock.

An air of mystery pervades this old Muslim and Jewish neighborhood, full of decaying monuments, fountains, baths, and mosques, within the walls of the Kastro (castle) fortifications, built in the 10th century by the Byzantines and enlarged in the 14th century by the Genoese Giustiniani family. Under Turkish rule, the Greeks lived outside the wall, and the gates closed daily at sundown. A deep dry moat remains on the western side. Note the old wood-and-plaster houses on the narrow backstreets, typically decorated with latticework and jutting balconies. Scattered among the precinct are several stone towers and, inside the old gate, the cells where the Turks jailed then hanged 75 leading Chiotes during the fight for independence in 1822, when Chios joined the rest of Greece in rebellion against occupying Turks. The revolt here on the island failed, and the sultan retaliated: the Turks killed 30,000 Chiotes and enslaved 45,000, an event written about by Victor Hugo and depicted by Eugène Delacroix in The Massacre of Chios. The painting, now in the Louvre, shocked Western Europe and increased support for Greek independence. Copies hang in many places on Chios. In the quarter's Frouriou Square, look for the Turkish cemetery and the large marble tomb (with the fringed hat) of Kara Ali, chief of the Turkish flagship in 1822.

The fresco-embellished 12th-century church Ayioi Apostoli is a very small replica of the katholikon, or major church, at the Nea Moni Monastery. Cretan artist Antonios Domestichos created the 17th-century frescoes that completely cover the interior, and they have a distinct folk-art leaning.

This remote spot, at the end of a well-marked road that leads southeast toward the coast from Mesta, is one of the best beaches on Chios. The clear waters lap against the sand and pebbles that make up this small stretch of coast. A canteen looks down upon the unspoiled beach. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; solitude; sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

In the small mastic village of Armolia, 5 km (3 miles) north of Pirgi, pottery is a specialty. In fact, the Greek word armolousis ("man from Armola") is synonymous with potter. To the west, above the village, there is an impressive Byzantine castle that was built in 1446, and to the east is the wonderful 18th-century baroque-styled Vrettou Monastry.

The capital is home to over half the island's population, and the heart of Chios life is this sprawling district behind the port. In the morning, merchants hawk everything from local mastic gum and fresh dark bread to kitchen utensils, but most stalls close in the afternoon.

The only intact mosque in this part of the Aegean, complete with a slender minaret, dates from the 19th century and houses the Byzantine Museum. The museum seems to be perpetually under renovation, but the porch and courtyard are littered with richly inscribed Jewish, Turkish, and Armenian gravestones, including one depicting St. George slaying the dragon. Also on display are column capitals unearthed across the island and some delightful 18th-century Byzantine murals in which three sleeping girls await the miracle of St. Nicholas.

Livanos, Karas, Chandris, Onassis: many of the world-famous shipping families were based or born on Chios. Exquisite ship models and portraits of vessels that have belonged to Chios owners over time celebrate the sea-based heritage of the island. One exhibit highlights the Liberty ships and others constructed during World War II that contributed to Greece's booming postwar shipping industry.

The Kambos district is famed as one of the most superlatively fertile orchard regions of Greece—orange and lemon groves set behind stone walls are given the status of museums and landmarks. It is only fitting that the owners of the Perleas Mansion hotel have opened this beautifully fragrant estate to showcase the history of citrus products on the island and entice visitors with a shop and delightful café selling citrus-inspired sweets. The estate buildings are gorgeous, centered on a farm where English-language placards explain the layout and workings of a historic citrus estate, and beautiful stone barns and houses are set with hunter-green window shutters. The fragrant grounds are replete with a folkloric-painted watermill, grazing animals, and an exceedingly picturesque arbor. Call in advance to check visiting hours as they can vary, sometimes dramatically.

This rocky outcropping, where Homer is said to have taught his pupils, stands just above the port of Vrontados, 4 km (2½ miles) north of Chios Town. Archaeologists think an ancient altar to Cybele once stood on the rock; you can sit on it and muse about how the blind storyteller might have spoken here of the fall of Troy in The Iliad.

A 15th-century palace of the Genoese, who ruled Chios until the Turks drove them out in 1566, is one of the most venerable landmarks on the island, with a loggia and external staircase. Inside are some glorious Byzantine murals of the prophets from the 13th century, as well as icons and sculptures.

This popular and often-crowded beach fronts a shallow bay, and its golden brown sands and warm waters make it a good spot for young families. Many tavernas and hotels geared to package tours line the overbuilt shoreline, and in summer there's transportation to and from town. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets; water sports; parking (no fee). Best for: snorkeling; sunrise; swimming.

The second floor above the impressive Korais Library, Greece's third largest, houses artifacts celebrating life on Chios. Meticulously designed costumes, embroideries, pastoral wood carvings, furniture from a village home, and rare books and prints are the legacy of Philip Argenti (1891–1974), a Renaissance man who studied at Oxford, was a diplomat and scholar, and for many years chronicled island history from his estate in the Kambos District.

Some of the best beaches on the island are in the vicinity, including Limia, with calm, turquoise waters. Amenities: none. Best for: snorkeling; solitude; sunset; swimming.