22 Best Sights in Lesvos, The Northern Aegean Islands

The enormous five-domed post-baroque church of Agios Therapon, completed in 1935, was designed by architect Argyris Adalis, an islander who studied under Ernst Ziller, the prolific architect of so many of the municipal buildings in Athens. The church is dedicated to Saint Therapon, whose name means "healer," and it's been visited by many people who came to Lesvos to recuperate from illness. It has an ornate interior, a frescoed dome, and there's a Byzantine museum in the courtyard that's filled with religious icons.

A 13th-century Byzantine-Genoese fortified castle is a magnetic presence when seen from below, and a drive or walk to the hilltop landmark affords a hypnotic view down the tiers of red-tile roofs to the glittering sea. At dawn the sky begins to light up from behind the mountains of Asia Minor, casting silver streaks through the placid water as weary night fishermen come in. Wisteria vines shelter the lanes that descend from the castle and pass numerous Turkish fountains, some still in use.

Conifer trees fossilized by volcanic ash up to 20 million years ago stand stark on a hillside above Sigri. If you're expecting a thick woods, you might be taken aback by this seemingly barren site that at first appears as a collection of stumps leaning every which way among shrubs and rock. But a walk along well-organized trails reveals delicate colors and a haunting, strange beauty. You can also study the specimens at Ipsilou, a large monastery on the highest peak in this wild, moonscape-like volcanic landscape, overlooking western Lesvos and Asia Minor across the Aegean.

Ancient Eresos crowned a hillside overlooking the sea, and sections of the pre-classical walls, medieval castle ruins, and the AD 5th-century church, Ayios Andreas, remain from the storied and long-inhabited site. The church has a mosaic floor and a tiny adjacent museum housing local finds from tombs in the ancient cemetery.

This vestige of ancient Mytilini is within a pine grove and freely accessible. One of the largest theaters in ancient Greece is from the Hellenistic period and seated an estimated audience of 10,000. Pompey admired it so much that he copied it for his theater in Rome. Though the marbles are gone, the shape, carved into the mountain, remains beautifully intact.

Superseding the previous neoclassical mansion that housed the old museum, Mytilini's new archaeological museum contains finds from prehistoric Thermi, mosaics from Hellenistic houses, and reliefs of comic scenes from the 3rd-century Roman house of Menander, as well as temporary exhibits.

The old village of Eresos, separated from the coast by a large plain, was developed to protect its inhabitants from pirate raids. Along the mulberry tree–lined road leading from the beach you might encounter a villager wearing a traditional head scarf (mandila), plodding by on her donkey. This village of two-story, 19th-century stone and shingle houses is filled with superb architectural details. Note the huge wooden doors decorated with nails and elaborate door knockers, loophole windows in thick stone walls, elegant pediments topping imposing mansions, and fountains spilling under Gothic arches.

Stroll the main bazaar street, Ermou, which goes from the port on the north side of town to the port on the south side. Walk past the fish market on the southern end, where men haul in their sardines, mullet, and octopus. Narrow lanes are filled with antiques shops and grand old mansions.

This stunning 16th-century complex outside of Molyvos houses 40 chapels and an impressive collection of precious objects. Founded by St. Ignatios Agalianos on the ruins of an older Byzantine monastery, Leimonos earned its name from the "flowering meadow of souls" surrounding it. The intimate St. Ignatios church is filled with colorful frescoes and is patrolled by peacocks. A folk-art museum with historic and religious works is accompanied by a treasury of 450 Byzantine manuscripts. Women are not allowed inside the main church.

Discover how trees in the nearby Petrified Forest became so in this museum whose exhibits are scrupulously labeled and clearly laid out. There are also unique fossils of animals like the Deinotherium, an early ancestor of the elephant, and vegetation preserved on volcanic rock that resembles delicate Zen art.

This walled compound in the village center was founded in the 12th century to house an icon of the Virgin Mary, believed to be the work of St. Luke, and it remains a popular place of pilgrimage. Built into the foundation are shops whose revenues support the church, as they have through the ages. The church museum has a little Bible from AD 500, with legible, elegant calligraphy.

Moria's Roman aqueduct dates back to the 2nd century, and the 17 arches that remain demonstrate how magnificent the structure was in its heyday. Constructed from gray Lesviot marble, the aqueduct stretched 26 km (16 miles) from Olympos mountain at Tsingos to Mytilini. It was in Lesvos that Julius Caesar first made his mark. Sent to Bythinia to drum up a fleet, he hung around so long at King Nicodemus's court that he was rumored to be having an affair with the king, but he finally distinguished himself by saving a soldier's life.

The 4-km-long (2½-mile-long) town beach at Skala Eresou is a wide stretch of dark sand lined with tamarisk trees. A small island is within swimming distance, and northerly winds lure windsurfers along with the swimmers and sunbathers. There are many rooms to rent within walking distance of the beach, and in the section that skirts the town, many appealing bars and cafés front the sands. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; snorkeling; sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

The black icon of Archangel Michael is in the 17th-century monastery dedicated to the island's patron saint, Taxiarchis Michail. The gruesome legend has it that the icon was carved by a monk who used mud and the blood of his comrades, slain in an Ottoman attack, to darken it. Believers used to make a wish and press a coin to the archangel's forehead; if it stuck, the wish would be granted. Owing to wear and tear on the icon, the practice is now forbidden.

The home of Stratis Eleftheriadis, better known by his French name, Teriade, houses a luminous collection of French art, much of which appeared in his highly influential Paris publications Minotaure and Verve. Among the works on display are lithographs done for the publisher/collector/critic by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Rouault, Giacometti, and Miró. The house is set among the olive trees of Varia and is also home to the Museum of Theophilos.

Sitting amid olive groves this museum houses a large number of the eponymous artist's "naive," precise neo-Hellenic works, detailing the everyday life of local folk such as fishermen and farmers, and polytheical fantasies of another age. Theophilos lived in poverty but painted airplanes and cities he had never seen. He painted in bakeries for bread, and in cafés for ouzo, and walked around in ancient dress. For a time, he lived inside a tree that can be seen in the hamlet of Karini.