Sifnos

Sifnos sits in the Cyclades between Serifos and Milos, about 130 km from the port of Piraeus. The island covers roughly 74 square kilometres, stretching 15 km in length and 7.5 km in width, with some 70 km of coastline. The 2021 census counted 2,777 permanent residents.

Sifnos has been inhabited since at least 4000 BCE, and its ancient wealth came from gold, silver and lead mines worked from the 3rd millennium BCE onward — riches substantial enough to fund the Siphnian Treasury at Delphi in the 6th century BCE. The Genoese Gozzadini family ruled the island from around 1440 until 1617, followed by centuries of Ottoman rule. Kastro, perched on a clifftop, served as the island's capital until 1836 and still preserves its medieval townscape, while Apollonia — home to 918 of the island's residents in 2021 — has since become the administrative and cultural centre, alongside the larger village of Artemonas nearby. Thanks to clay-rich soil and a long dry season, Sifnos has also become known as one of the Aegean's centres of traditional pottery.

The island's main port, Kamares, links Sifnos by ferry to Piraeus and its Cycladic neighbours, and its position between Serifos and Milos makes it a natural stop along a wider itinerary — one reason Sifnos is worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet in Greece.