Explore the beauty of Hydra. If there is a holiday retreat where rustic meets chic, it is Hydra, one of Greece’s Saronic Islands. Put on the map in the 1950s and by artists, celebrities and musicians and a perennial favorite for locals, the island is a place to see and be seen, with the harbor putting on a veritable show of taste and fashion with each catamaran’s arrival from Piraeus. People-watching has become an unofficial pastime, along with sipping a cappuccino at the cafes centered on the crescent-shaped port. Energized by your brew and ready to explore, head out by foot and in fact, by foot is the only way to conduct your discovery. Other than a few city-operated vehicles, no cars, scooters or motorcycles are allowed on the island. Walking along the steep, stone streets, some of the best-preserved anywhere, you will surely appreciate a sense of stepping back in time and an intimate look at the 18th- and 19th-century mansions, or archontika. Be sure to yield to the primary mode of transportation, the donkey, and any temptation you may have to wander into a gallery or quiet back lane.
Today, pass through the Corinth Canal. Rulers of ancient times wanted to construct a canal connecting the Gulf of Corinth to the Saronic Gulf, but lack of engineering expertise and fear of Poseidon’s wrath kept the project stalled. It wasn’t until 1893 that a deep cut through the narrow isthmus was finally completed. Today, the four-mile-long canal only ignites wonder, with steep rock walls rising 300 feet above sea level at a near-vertical angle and width of a mere 70 feet allowing ships of only a limited size to pass through.
