Villa Platanias
A great merit of Villa Platanias is the location. The region of Platanias is located on the south-west side of the island Skiathos, 9km away from the town of Skiathos. It is in the central point between the old town of Skiathos and the most beautiful beaches on the west side of the island. It is accessible via any kind of vehicle or public transport.
Villa Platanias is surrounded by six acres of forested area near a river. The ground floor of the house is 94 m2 of which 74m2 is living space. The Villa is located in an elevated, forested area with rich nature and situated only 1.4km away from the beach of Agia Paraskevi.
Within the region of Platanias, there are a lot of restaurants with a vast variety of cuisines and bars to enjoy your refreshing summer cocktails. Last but not least, the surroundings of Villa Platanias offer an ideal hiking experience for nature lovers.
Agia Paraskevi
The beach of Agia Paraskevi, named after the local small church, located in the area of Platanias. It is a small, stone-built church with a large courtyard, located in the settlement of the same name, right next to the bus stop number 15. Every year on the 27th of July in the courtyard of the church there is a big celebration with dances, a lot of traditional food and local wine. If you find yourself in Skiathos on that day, don’t miss it! Agia Paraskevi is a long beach with golden sand, in the same bay as Vromolimnos and Kolios. Only 8km south-west from the old town of Skiathos and 1.4km from Villa Platanias. The picturesque valley of Platanias has a stream that runs almost all year. In the area of the beach and in the village of Platanias there are luxury hotels, some taverns, cafes, grill restaurants and mini markets. The beach is well organized and offers various water sports. The beach of Agia Paraskevi has been awarded with the Blue Flag for its services to visitors, its good organization and the purity of its waters. For those who love hiking, there is an alley that is initially asphalted, and then continues as a dirt road to the monastery and the beach of Kehrya. The route is about 1.5-2 hours walk.
Attractions
The geography of Skiathos is distinguished by its lush forested areas and crystal waters offering an abundance of natural beauty. Despite its small size, Skiathos with its many beaches and wooded landscape is a popular tourist destination. It has over 60, mostly sandy, beaches scattered around the 44 km (27 mi) coastline with the most well-known to be: Koukounaries, Lalaria, Vromolimnos, Tsougria Island, Agia Paraskevi, Mandraki and the Port of Xerxes. In front of the entrance of the port, small islands are spreaded. The main ones are: Mikros Tsougrias (85 acres), Big Tsougrias (1.225 acres), Maragos (85 acres), Arkos (450 acres), Aspronisos (190 acres). In the old town of Skiathos, it is worth visiting the perfectly preserved house of Alexandros Papadiamantis who was born on the island and returned there in the last period of his life. A renowned figure for the entire nation of Greece but also worldwide for works such as the serialized novels “The Gypsy Girl”, “The Emigrant”, and “The Merchants of Nations”. An example of Papadiamantis’ deep and even-handed feeling for humanity is his acknowledged masterpiece, the novella “The Murderess”. He is one of the most important Greek authors and is regarded as the “the saint of Greek letters”. In the port of the city there is also the area of Bourtzi, a small peninsula surrounded by trees, bushes and the sea.
The Skiathos island has two small lakes, Agios Georgios with an area of 120 acres and Strofilia with an area of 95 acres, near Koukounaries beach. The most forested part of the island is the eastern side and it is ecologically protected because it is recognized by the entire Greece as a rare ecological habitat requiring great measures of protection. On the island there are many old churches and monasteries. There are nine churches located within the Castle of Skiathos (Christ, Agios Nikolaos, Agia Marina, Panagia Prekla, Agios Vasilios, Panagia Megalomata, Agia Kyriaki, Agioi Apostoloi and Agios Dimitrios). In the city of Skiathos there are the churches of Agios Nikolaos, the Birth of the Virgin Mary, the Three Hierarchs and the Holy Trinity. In various parts of the island there are scattered more than twenty churches. Seven monasteries are listed. These monasteries are: the Annunciation outside the Castle, St. John the Hidden (Paschalians), the Virgin Mary of Kounistra, the Virgin Mary of Kehria, St. John the Hidden (Virgin), the Evangelistria and St. Charalambos.
History
Skiathos has been inhabited since prehistoric times, probably by Pelasgus and later probably also by Cretans. From ancient times until now, the island has always been called Skiathos, rumors had it that it may have been derived from the name the Shadow of Athos. Later on the city of Skiathos was a constant ally of the Athenians, both in the 1st and 2nd Athenian Alliance. For the Byzantine period we don’t have much information. It is well known, however, that the island suffered greatly from pirate raids. The phenomenon of piracy continued both during the short Venetian and Turkish occupations. Skiathos made a significant contribution with its navy to the Greek Revolution of 1821 and was part of the first Greek state.