Amazing Aegina

Over my two day visit, I discovered that Aegina has something for everyone - beaches with calm, clear water for swimming, waterfront tavernas specializing in fresh seafood, romantic horse and buggy rides, and archaeological sites that were in existence before Athen’s Parthenon.

The crescent shaped harbor is lined with shops selling a multitude of jewelry, clothing, and the island specialty – pistachios that are processed in a variety of ways including delicious pistachio brittle.

Aegina Town is crowded on weekends and in the summer due to the multitude of Athenians who come here to escape the city noise and pollution. This has resulted in a cosmopolitan but crowded harbor area. Luckily I discovered much less touristy spots just a few blocks away where I could find the same goods for less money and eat in an authentic ouzeri.

I enjoyed visits to both of Aegina’s archaeological sites, especially The Temple of Aphaia near the island’s east coast and the small fishing village of Perdika where restaurants hang rows of octopus in the sun to dry.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

The island is small with only three main roads - east to Ag. Marina, south to Marathonas and Perdika, and north to Souvala. Ferries from Athens sail to Aegina Town, Agia Marina, and Souvala. Buses cover all parts of the island and the main bus station is near the harbor in Aegina Town. Although fares are cheap, buses are infrequent so your best bet is a rental car or scooter.

This is a budget hotel and as such, the high ceilinged rooms are a bit worn. Fortunately, most rooms have a small balcony with views of town, the sea or the small but colorful hotel gardens. Since I was here before high season kicked in, I was lucky enough to get a partial waterfront view as well as a view of the lone column at the Temple of Apollo. The best part of the hotel stay was time spent relaxing on the balcony with a glass of ouzo, watching the ferries make their way to the neighboring islands of Poros and Hydra.

Although the hotel is old, it is clean and the rooms have wooden shutters that are great for keeping out the heat. All rooms also have central heating and air conditioning. My room wasn’t overly large but did have a double bed, night table, two easy chairs (one quite scruffy) and a wardrobe rather than a closet. The bathroom was small with toilet, sink, and typical Greek shower consisting of faucets in the wall, a shower hose that you maneuver by hand and a drain in the floor where the water runs away. This means that you invariably get water everywhere but the floor slopes slightly towards the drain so the bathroom dries quickly. Luckily, the water was abundant and hot so showering became just another memorable experience.

The hotel has a small bar off the main entrance and breakfast is served here in high season. I paid 25 euro for a single room, doubles are 40 euro off season. A few rooms, without private bathroom, are a bit cheaper. Discounts are available for stays of one week or more.

The hotel shares a web site with other Aegina island accommodations - here it is - so bookings can be made online.

Fortunately for me, I stumbled across this ouzeri/taverna during an evening stroll. It is located a few blocks up from the waterfront, in a quiet street that is too narrow to allow for cars. It has about a half dozen outside tables as well as indoor dining beside large wooden barrels that were used to hold wine and ouzo in days gone by. The menu featured some standard taverna items like grilled chicken and moussaka as well as house specialties like grilled liver, haddock with garlic sauce, grilled anchovies, and swordfish fillet. What caught my eye were the mezdes platters, one for beer and one for ouzo. I chose the ouzo version which turned out an interesting selection of seafood. My plate was filled, almost to overflowing, with lightly battered kalamari (octopus rings), creamy but salty taramosalata (fish roe spread), small steamed shrimp still in their shells, and tiny sardines and a couple of other types of small fish, all crisply fried in olive oil. Boiled zucchini and tomato were interspersed as a garnish.

I found the sardines and one of the types of fish very strong but otherwise the meal was good and the thick crusty bread that was served with it was perfect for dipping in the taramosalata. A couple from France at the table next to me ordered the beer mezdes which consisted of olives, sausage, chicken, and cheese and said it was very good.

Each mezdes plate was under five euro. Although the mezdes are advertised as ouzo or beer, it doesn’t matter what you drink with them because the alcohol is an additional cost or can be skipped altogether. The full cost of my meal, including mezdes, ouzo, bread, and tip was less than eight euro.

The temple is actually the third one to be built on this site although worship on the sanctuary site goes back to around 1300 BC. Initially archaeologists thought this temple was dedicated to Athena but excavations in 1901 uncovered an inscription that clearly identified Aphaia as the recipient. Aphaia’s legend is quite interesting. A daughter of Zeus, she became the obsession of Minos, who continually hounded her until she jumped into the sea to escape him. She came ashore in Aegina and hid in a cave to make doubly sure that Minos wouldn’t find her. What lends this tale credence is that many terracotta figurines and other objects from the Mycenaean period have been found in a cave on the island. Maybe she kept herself busy while hiding out?

Much of the temple is still standing and unlike the Parthenon, there is no scaffolding to mar the view. A low sanctuary wall encloses the temple as well as foundations of the altar, statue bases and stoa. Outside the walls are pieces of columns and foundations from other buildings although none are labelled.

When I got here not long after the 9am opening I was the only visitor and could wander the site at leisure. Behind the temple,a small museum opens for 15 minutes at 9am, 10am, 11am, noon, and 1pm although the caretaker was kind enough to let me spend more than 15 minutes.

The museum displays are well labelled and there is a lot of information on the current temple, built around 500 BC, as well as the previous temples that were destroyed by fire and/or decay. There is a wooden model of the temple at the height of its popularity as well as a mixture of reconstructed and original statues and pieces of the temple. Reconstructions include Herakles (Hercules) as an archer and Athena with bow and spear. The original torso of a dying warrior is quite spectacular and one of the Doric columns as well as a gable from the temple is a mixture of original pieces and reconstructed parts to put it all together.

For me, The Temple of Aphaia was the archaeological, cultural, and general overall highlight of my trip to Aegina.

The temple is open daily. Admission is 4 euro and includes a pamphlet with site information and a small map. The site is just off the main road and the bus stops almost at the entrance. Return bus fare to Aegina Town is 3 euro. Across from the site is a small cafe that sells cold drinks and souvenirs.

The Temple itself dates from 5th century BC, earlier than the Parthenon in Athens. The site is called Colonna because there is only one remaining column that stands on a low hill near the northern edge of town. At first glance it is pretty disappointing and a good imagination is necessary to picture it in all its Doric glory. The site itself is right at the edge of the coast with colorful wildflowers sprouting among the ruins. A narrow trail circles much of the site with the clear aqua water of the Mediterranean below as well as views of the town harbor in the distance. A small grove of trees at the site provides the only shade as well as a sense of serenity to the place.

The best part of the site is the museum which features artifacts from all over Greece. It consists of three separate rooms as well as a square courtyard that displays a collection of grave stelai. Some of these are from the original collection of Greece’s first museum and many come from a cemetery in Delos.

Inside the museum is a large collection of ceramic pottery, black pottery vases, drinking cups, figurines, urns, storage jars, and vases from many areas in Greece including Corinth and Attica. A few of the more impressive pieces in the musuem are a marble head of a man from the Sancturary of Apollo and fragments from the eastern front section of the Temple of Aphaia. The first two rooms are well labelled but the third seemed to be in a transition phase so it was hard to identify some of the displays.

Adult admission is 3 euro and the site is closed on Mondays. It is about a 10 minute walk from Aegina town harbor. Although the museum is nice, I wouldn’t recommend this as a major point of interest on the island unless you have a keen interest in archaeology and Greek history.