A walk around Karpathos Town.

Although ideally situated above the town beach, Calypso is also very close to the town. Turning left at our main entrance, passing the mini golf on the left, a 50m walk brings you to the town’s bus station from where you can take a bus to many of the villages and beaches of the island. Immediately after the station you will find the commercial centre of Pigadia with banks, Post Office etc, as well as bakeries selling fresh produce and many other stores. Continuing along this road you will see the Church of Agios Apostolis; one of the two main churches in the town. Carrying on down to the bottom of the hill we come to a crossroads. Turning right brings us to the town’s taxi station. Walking straight on leads to the ancient Acropolis and later on to the famous church of Larniotissa, whereas a left turn takes us into the heart of the town with many restaurants, cafeterias and also the main shopping centre. This is about a 10 minute walk from Calypso.

Turning right from the ‘seaside’ entrance to Calypso, there are two roads, both of which lead in to the town. From the first road we pass two small cafes which are ideal for a coffee or breakfast in the morning. Bearing left from the second café takes us to a children’s playground and green space which is situated in front of the famous “eparcheio” built by the Italians in the 1920's and containing the town’s museum. Bearing right from the café leads us past the Karpathos Health Centre and ultimately in to the main shopping area; a long street packed with interesting little shops where you are guaranteed to find unusual souvenirs.

The second road runs along the coast. Walking down from the City Hall, we pass a memorial to a fallen Greek Air Force pilot and at the bottom of the hill there is a fish market and the marina. About 50m further on we come to the Amphitheatre which stages many plays and concerts during the summer months and immediately afterwards you will see many cafes and restaurants lining the coast road. A perfect situation for your evening meal, right alongside the sea. At the end of this road lies Karpathos’s harbour, which is jam packed with fishing boats and larger vessels which offer excursions every day to many of the island’s amazing beaches and also to the mysterious village of Olympos in the north of the island. The harbour also sees the arrival of the ferries from Piraeus, Crete and Rhodes several times a week.

A walk away from the town

Turning right at Calypso’s main entrance we find the largest supermarket in Karpathos right next door. Carrying on away from the town there are hotels and restaurants including the famous Pelagos restaurant with live music every night. This road runs parallel with the Town beach before veering left and ultimately taking us to the old capital of Karpathos, Aperi and on to the other villages of the south of the island.

Turning left from the lower entrance to Calypso there is a very quiet road which passes several beach hotels and ends about 200m further on at the 5* Alimounda Mare hotel.

The walk down to the beach takes just a couple of minutes. The main beach of Pigadia is 4km long.  There are sunbeds and umbrellas which can be rented all the way along, but also clear stretches if you prefer. There are many small tavernas for a drink and lunch, including Seaside, Limanaki, Dolphins and the very well-known Zoriana’s Place.