4 Best Shopping in The Cyclades, Greece

Katherina sells her masterful ceramics and Alexander sells his sensitive jewelry—all with fish or olive motifs. A couple of doors away is their impressive little art gallery.

Visit this little jam shop to sample natural jams and Greek fruit preserves, known as spoon sweets, handmade by Yannis Mandenakis; Mandenakis prides himself on only using three ingredients: fruit, sugar, and lemon. You may even catch him working his magic as he mixes, cans, and packages his in-season products right through the screened kitchen door in the shop.

Maria Maraki has been looming for decades, and if you're lucky, you may find her sitting at the wheel of her traditional silk and cotton weaving loom behind the shop window. Her creations—cotton table runners, curtains, placemats, and table covers—decorate every corner and wall of the shop. Maraki draws inspiration for her colorful designs from Greek history and her own imagination, but if she's in the shop, ask her to explain her designs.

When he's not shooting for the acclaimed Greek film director Theodoros Angelopoulos, photographer Dimitris Gavalas is busy at his own gallery, which he decided to build in his father's hometown of Chalki. His work includes landscapes, panoramics, and conceptual photography.