RA AGG A is a way of life...

You can’t help but fall in love with it from the very first moment. As soon as you set foot on the island and begin to discover its beauties, Mikra Agglia will become the starting point for your vacation. It’s where you’ll begin and end your day. In a place which instantly soothes your soul, with earthy tones prevailing and nature elements playing a leading role, owners Iphigenia Bakratsa and Giannis Rappas have created a true work of art. Without exaggeration and fanfare, affirming the principle of “less is more,” Mikra Agglia offers a breath of tranquility and aesthetics that we all need in our lives.

“Mikra Agglia is not just another restaurant. In our store, we welcome the world and invite it to experience a way of life. Our way of life,” says Mrs. Bakratsa. She knows what she wants, stands firmly on her feet, is fearless, and has nothing to prove.

Mikra Agglia opens its doors early in the morning for coffee and brunch, and later for Greek cuisinebased meals. Chef Vasilios Lekkos, in charge of the menu, and the Sereal Eaters consulting team, along with Mrs. Bakratsa and Mr. Rappas, have succeeded in serving dishes they can be proud of. Dishes that pay homage to Greek gastronomy, in a comfortable space with carefully selected ingredients from all over Greece on our plate. Dishes that evoke memories and have been created through those very memories. For example, “Kolokythoanthi” (courgette flower) recipe from Metaxia, Mrs. Bakratsa’s grandmother. Or the octopus dish she used to make without oil, using vinegar and wine, which will leave you speechless. And pastitsio, which you will enjoy deconstructed, with beef cheeks instead of minced meat.

However, Mikra Agglia is much more than a restaurant and bar. It is a lifestyle store. A concept store where you will find unique decorative objects, ceramics, clothes, shoes, hats, and jewelry. Each item has been carefully chosen for its character and uniqueness and harmonizes perfectly with the island’s aura. It exudes class and sophistication without being flashy.

Among these are straw bags - let’s not forget that in Hydra, they once had no regular bags or sacks and used baskets to carry their belongings, handmade baskets from Tinos, uniquely painted ceramics from Sifnos and Volos, stunning jewelry from the Elichryso Cooperative in Lefkada, where a group of five young people create unique jewelry using the embroidery and weavings of their grandmothers, wooden decorative items and serving utensils, as well as unique sculptures like the porcelain Tsarouchia (greek traditional shoes) created one by one by sculptor Christina Moralis, hats, and of course, clothes and shoes. Wonderful unique pieces for every dynamic woman seeking comfort and elegance in her appearances. The shoes are mainly leather sandals, and the majority of the clothes are made from Greek fabrics, with linen, silk, and cotton prevailing, designed by Les vacances d’Irina, for whom French Vogue has written rave reviews.

ΠΡΟΦΗΤΗΣ ΗΛΙΆΣ - PROPHET ELIAS

As we are approaching the hill of Profitis Elias, we make some intermediate stops along the way. Not to catch our breaths, but to admire the view. Even the houses have something to add up to the beauty on the scenery. But really, is it possible for someone to come to the island and not visit this place? No way!

As we are on our way to the top, the pathway becomes a cobbled path with steps leading you up to the gate of the Monastery, where the Prophet Elias welcomes you with open arms, looking at you from a mosaic that adorns the gate.

The katholikon of the monastery is a simple basilica with a dome, built according to the Mount Athos model, surrounded by cells or auxiliary buildings and was inaugurated in 1815, on the day of the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin. Today, several old portable icons are preserved, the Pantocrator in the dome, the Platytera and a magnificent wood-carved iconostasis. The monastery has a rich library, which was organized especially in 1870, while in the courtyard of the Monastery of the Prophet Elias there is a cistern with drinking water, a threshing floor and stables. During the Greek War of Independance of 1821, the Monastery was used as a prison, where Theodoros Kolokotronis and other generals were imprisoned for a short term.

ΠΆΡΆΛΙΈΣ - BEACHES

In Hydra, you will find many sandy, pebbled or rocky beaches, which are accessible on foot, by riding a donkey or by sea!

ΥΔΡΟΝΈΤΆ - HYDRONETA

Hydroneta beach is actually a small stone plateau that has been joined within the rocks... Going down 20 steps, you are on a concrete platform where you can spread your towel and enjoy the sun. It is one of the best places to enjoy the sunset during the afternoon.

ΜΙΚΡΟ ΚΆΜΙΝΙ - MIKRO KAMINI

It is a small pebble beach, suitable for small children and water sports.

ΒΛΥΧΟΣ - VLYCHOS

Vlychos is an organized beach with gray pebbles and crystal clear waters while Plakes Vlychou is a large, organized beach with crystal clear waters and small pebbles.

ΣΠΗΛΙΆ - SPILIA

A beach with crystal clear waters, located on the right of the port of Hydra. It is a beautiful complex of stone slabs with stairs and easy access for those who want a quick dip in clear, deep waters.

ΜΠΙΣΤΙ - BISTI

Bisti is one of the most beautiful (and organized) beaches of the island, with its fine pebbles and turquoise waters, situated next to a lush forest.

ΜΆΝΔΡΆΚΙ - MANDRAKI

Another orgnanised beach. It is an enclosed cove with clear blue waters and there is a possibility of doing water sports.

ΆΓΙΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΛΆΟΣ - AGIOS NIKOLAOS

A beach covered in pebbles, with crystal clear waters and verdant slopes taking after the name of the small churgh of Agios Nikolaos.

ΛΙΜΝΙΩΝΙΖΆ - LIMNIONIZA

It is located on the south coast of the island, with pebbles and it is ideal for underwater fishing. You can get there by boat, sea taxi or by riding a donkey.

*By sea taxi you can also visit the small beaches of Kawithi and Nisiza, covered with pebbles and sand, but you can also reach the beaches on the north side of the island.

ΜΩΛΟΣ - MOLOS

Πρόκειται για μια ήσυχη παραλία για χαλαρωτικό μπάνιο, με γαλαζοπράσινα νερά και ψιλό, άσπρο βότσαλο, παραδομένη στην «αγκαλιά» καταπράσινων πεύκων. Σήμα κατατεθέν της το εντυπωσιακό καρνάγιο της ιστορικής οικογένειας Τσαμαδού, σχεδόν πάνω στο κύμα, που σήμερα έχει μετατραπεί σε αρχοντική κατοικία. Για να την προσεγγίσετε χρειάζεται περίπου 25 λεπτά περπάτημα από την παραλία του Παλαμίδα, ενώ με θαλάσσιο ταξί η πρόσβαση πραγματοποιείται πολύ πιο εύκολα. Αξίζει να αναφερθεί ότι την περίοδο της Επανάστασης η περιοχή λειτουργούσε ως ναύσταθμος των πλοίων της επαναστατημένης Ύδρας.

It is a quiet beach for those who enjoy a relaxing swim, with turquoise waters and fine, white pebbles, surrendered to the “embrace” of green pine trees. Its trademark is the impressive boatyard of the historic Tsamadou family, almost on the sea, which nowadays has been turned into a mansion. To access the location you will need about a 25 minute walk from the beach of Palamida, otherwhise the access is much easier by sea taxi. It is worth mentioning that during the Greek War of Independance the area functioned as a naval base for the ships of the revolted Hydra.

Tsamados Mansion

The building is situated on the edge of the port and houses the oldest Naval School in the world. The Merchant Marine Academy keeps alive the naval tradition of Hydra.

Lazaros Koundouriotis Mansion

The historical house of Lazaros Koundouriotis, operates today as a branch of the National Historical Museum. Built in a P-Shape, painted with natural ocher and furnished, with the “most important room” situated on the northeast side, it demonstrates to us the room where Lazaros Koundouriotis spent most of his time and also other interesting rooms, such as the iconostasis next to the entrance and the one for hookah smoking.

It is a four-storey mansion in Italian style, built by Manolis Tombazis and his wife Xanthi Sachini and which has been owned by to the School of Fine Arts since 1936 and functions as its annex. Today its rooms operate as hostels for budding artists who come to fight with the colors and magical volumes of Hydra. The roofs and wooden doors in the interior are new and the living room upstairs with the Maltese stones on the floor is considered its most authentic room. The four corners and the central rosette of the ceiling have been preserved and are intact. Its covered loggias are unique.

Mansion Of Francis Voulgaris

This is one of the most important Mansions of 1800, which now houses Villa Hydrea. It has oriental elements, such as the wood-carved ceilings in Ottoman Rococo style. The marble fountain in the ballroom with the loft for musicians and the oil paintings of nautical themes also stand out. The Mansion is framed by large wooden windows overlooking the entire port, as well as beautiful terraces.

Museum Of Modern History

Behind the Mansions of Voulgaris and Tombazis and among the pine trees stands the Mansion built by Georgios Kountouriotis, one of the largest shipowners of Hydra and an active politician during the Greek War of Independence. It was later inherited by his grandson Pavlos Kountouriotis, who was an admiral during the Balkan Wars and first President of the Hellenic Republic. Each of its windows, if opened, perfectly frames the landscape, as a work of art that sometimes depicts the sea and sometimes the picturesque settlement. Today it functions as a Museum of the modern history of Hydra.

In 2007 the painter, academic and teacher Panagiotis Tetsis (Hydra, 1925 - Athens, 2016) donated the house of his grandparents in Hydra to the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece in order for a museum to be created that will house the studio and his works, after his death. And that’s exactly what happened. This house is a typical example of traditional architecture in Hydra of the 19th century - beginning of the 20th, and it was in fact used for the professional activities of the family, housing a candle factory and a grocery store-tavern on the ground floor. The will of the painter and donor was the maintenance and promotion of the house as a whole, both the family home, and the the grocery store on the ground floor and the wine cellar in the basement, which are kept intact to this day, as well as the painter’s studio and his works in the upper floor. Today, after the documentation of the house and its contents, the works of the artist and the objects of the house are presented in a way that the special character of the whole emerges. The Tetsis House can be visited by anyone who requests it, in collaboration with the staff of the Historical House of Lazaros Koundouriotis, the branch of the National Historical Museum in Hydra, which has been operating as a museum since 2001.

Rafalia Pharmacy

Rafalia Pharmacy is over a century old and is one of the most famous pharmacies in the world, as it still operates as usual to this day. It started operating in 1890 with its founder Mr. Evangelos Rafalias. The baton then passed to Kyriaki Giannoukakou - Rafalia (1914-2011) - who was one of the first female pharmacists in the middle of the last century. Her son, Evangelos, took over the reins in 1978 and continued the family tradition.

- MΟΥΣΈΙΟ

HISTORICAL ARCHIVES - MUSEUM OF HYDRA

It includes exhibits from the Balkan Wars, World War I and World War II, a gallery of paintings and relics from the years of the Greek War of Independence, as well as an archive of rare books and manuscripts.

Ecclesiastical And Byzantine Museum

Clothing, heirlooms and icons mainly from the 18th century are on display on the waterfront of the area of the old cells of the Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin.

22980-52205

22980-52279

22983 - 20200/22980 - 52210 & 53003

22980-53150

USEFUL TIPS

AR 22980-52205

R AU R 22980-52279

A 22983 - 20200/22980 - 52210 & 53003

S A 22980-53150