Molyvos

Molyvos, formally Mithymna, rises in tiers of grey and ochre stone houses to a Byzantine castle rebuilt by the Genoese Gattilusi family in the fourteenth century, one of the best-preserved fortresses in the eastern Aegean, whose walls give a view along the coast and across the strait to Anatolia. The lanes below are stepped and vine-covered, with a market street of workshops, and the harbour at the foot of the town is lined with fish tavernas. The town is protected as a traditional settlement, which has kept out concrete and neon. Nearby are the thermal baths at Eftalou on the shore, a long pebble beach, and the road west to Petra, whose church of Panagia Glykofilousa stands on a rock reached by 114 steps.

What you actually see

• The Genoese castle - a well-preserved fortress above the town.
• The stepped lanes - vine-shaded streets of stone houses and workshops.
• The harbour - a small fishing port with tavernas along the quay.
• Eftalou baths - thermal water in a domed bathhouse on the shore.

When to go

Spring and autumn for walking the town and the coast; summer is hot and busiest in August. The castle hosts occasional summer performances.

Honest expectations

The lanes are steep and cobbled, and cars are excluded from most of the town, so parking is at the edges. Beaches nearby are pebble. Some businesses close outside the season, and the island as a whole sees fewer visitors than it once did.

Nearby

Petra and its rock church are five kilometres west; Skala Sykamineas and the north coast lie east.