Kythira

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View out to sea from harbour in Kythira.

©Region of Attica/Lonely Planet

Overview

Poised between the Aegean and Ionian Seas, the gloriously time-forgotten island of Kythira lies just 12km off the southern tip of the Peloponnese’s Lakonian Peninsula. Despite its distinctly Cycladic sugar-cube architecture, both historic and modern, Kythira is officially regarded as belonging to the Ionian Islands.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Kastro

Kythira

Crowning the rocky headland that soars at the southern end of Hora, this tumble-down 14th-century fortress was built by Kythira’s first Venetian governor…
Katouni Bridge

Kythira

Supported by 13 arches and measuring 110m long, the largest stone bridge in Greece spans a shallow ravine on what's now a minor road, east of Livadi…
Archaeological Museum of Kythira

Kythira

Hora’s impressive archaeological museum, beside the main road at the northern end of town, traces the history of ‘this small island’ in two rooms. Among…
Museum of Byzantine & Post-Byzantine Art

Kythira

This one-room gallery, in a tiny chapel alongside the Church of the Analipsi, displays icons, mosaics and frescoes rescued from ruined churches all over…
Coat of Arms Collection

Kythira

Housed in a standalone former powder magazine (a store for explosives), this small exhibition displays and explains the coats of arms of Kythira's leading…