Island Naxos, Greece
Cats in Naxos
The biggest of the Cyclades, with a Venetian castle on the hill above the harbour, a marble doorway to nowhere on the islet, and cats on every step of the old town between them. Less famous than Santorini, better fed, and the cats are the same.
Where to find cats in Naxos: Naxos Town, the Chora, on the west coast of Naxos in the Cyclades: the harbour, the old market lanes of the Bourgos, and the Venetian Kastro on the hill. When: Morning in the lanes and sunset at the Portara. May, June, September and October; August is full. Why here: The Cyclades without the crowds, and a hill town built for cats by Venetians.
The short version
- Where
- Naxos Town, the Chora, on the west coast of Naxos in the Cyclades: the harbour, the old market lanes of the Bourgos, and the Venetian Kastro on the hill
- When
- Morning in the lanes and sunset at the Portara. May, June, September and October; August is full
- How long
- Half a day for the Chora. A week for the island, which has villages, mountains and the best beaches in the Cyclades
- What it costs
- Free. The Kastro museums ask a small fee. The tavernas on the harbour are the budget
- Why here
- The Cyclades without the crowds, and a hill town built for cats by Venetians
What to bring
- Shoes for stepsThe Chora climbs from the harbour to the Kastro in whitewashed steps and arches. The cats are on the steps.
- The morningThe lanes of the Bourgos are cool and empty until the ferries come in. The cats are out; the shops are opening.
- Fish skin from the tavernaThe harbour tavernas feed the cats. Your contribution is from the plate.
- A hire car for the islandNaxos is big: mountain villages, a marble quarry with a half-carved statue lying in it, and beaches down the west coast. The cats are in the villages too.
Why there are cats everywhere
The Venetians built a castle on the hill, the islanders built a town around it, and the cats have had the steps ever since.
Naxos is the largest and greenest of the Cyclades, an island of mountains, marble, potatoes and beaches that was Venetian for three centuries and still has the castle to show for it. The Kastro sits on the hill above the harbour, a walled quarter of tall houses with coats of arms over the doors, Catholic churches and a couple of small museums. Around and below it, the Bourgos, the old Greek market town, is a maze of whitewashed lanes, arches, steps and tiny squares that runs down to the harbour and the tavernas.
The cats live in the Bourgos. It is a Cycladic town with the Cycladic supply of steps, walls, doorways and shade, and the island鈥檚 tavernas and households feed the cats as they do everywhere in Greece. What makes Naxos better for it than Santorini or Mykonos is the ratio: fewer people, more locals, and a town that is still lived in rather than rented out. The cats are calm, well fed and on every landing, and the photographs on this page were taken in the lanes over a few years by people who were simply walking through.
At the end of the harbour, on an islet joined by a causeway, is the Portara, the marble doorway of a temple of Apollo that was begun in the sixth century BC and never finished. Everyone goes at sunset. The cats stay on the harbour, where the tavernas are, and are right to.
The walk
From the harbour up through the Bourgos lanes to the Kastro, back down the other side, and out along the causeway to the Portara for sunset. Two hours, more with the museums.
- From PiraeusFerry to Naxos240 minFast boats in under four hours, slow ones in six. The slow boat is cheaper and the deck is the point.
- From Athens airportFly to Naxos45 minSmall planes, a small airport, a short taxi to the Chora.
- From Santorini or MykonosFerry to Naxos120 minNaxos sits between them. Island-hopping puts it in the middle of any route.
The harbour
The ferry quay and the taverna front. Cats under the tables and on the sea wall. Start here in the morning with a coffee and head into the lanes behind the waterfront.
Harbour side. Tavernas, sea wall, and a supervisor.Tomisti, CC BY-SA 4.0 The Bourgos
The old market quarter: whitewashed lanes, arches over the alleys, steps, and cats on every landing. The photographs on this page are from here. Get lost; it is small and every lane goes up.
A Bourgos lane. Whitewash, steps, and the resident.Tsui, CC BY-SA 4.0 The Kastro
Through the gate at the top into the Venetian quarter: tall houses, coats of arms, the Catholic cathedral and the archaeological museum in the old Jesuit school. Cats on the museum steps and in the quiet squares.
Near the Kastro gate. The Venetians left; the cats have the coats of arms.Tsui, CC BY-SA 4.0 The Portara
Back down and along the causeway to the islet with the great marble doorway of the unfinished temple of Apollo. Sunset here is the island鈥檚 evening ritual. Cats on the causeway rocks, waiting for the tavernas to reopen.
An orange cat, on the way to the sunset it will ignore.Tsui, CC BY-SA 4.0
Same numbers as the list. Worth keeping open on your phone.
The cats you will meet
Cycladic cats: short-coated, ginger and tabby and white, fed by tavernas and households, calm in a town that is still lived in, and on every step of the Bourgos. Sociable at the harbour, asleep in the lanes, and neutered in fair numbers by the island鈥檚 volunteers.
Lane cats
On the steps and under the arches of the Bourgos.
The residents. Every landing has one.
Harbour cats
Under the taverna tables on the front.
Fish skin. They know the menu.
Kastro cats
On the museum steps and in the Venetian squares.
Quieter, and the squares are quieter still.
Everybody says Naxos is the poor relation of Santorini.
Actually Naxos is bigger, greener, cheaper, less crowded, has better beaches and a hill town that is still a town. The cats are the same cats, with fewer hands on them. It is the better island for this page.
How not to be the annoying one
- The Bourgos is homes. Photograph the lane, not the doorway.
- Feed from the taverna plate, not from a bag in the lanes.
- The Kastro is a quiet quarter with residents. Keep it that way.
- The Portara at sunset is a crowd. The cats are not there; do not look for them.
- Hire a car and see the villages. Filoti and Apeiranthos have cats and no ferries.
