11 Best Sights in The Northern Aegean Islands, Greece

Samian sculptures from past millennia were considered among the best in Greece, and examples here show why. The newest wing holds the impressive kouros from Heraion, a colossal statue of a male youth, built as an offering to the goddess Hera and the largest freestanding sculpture surviving from ancient Greece, dating from 580 BC. The work of a Samian artist, this statue was made of the typical Samian gray-and-white-band marble. Pieces of the kouros were discovered in various peculiar locations: its thigh was being used as part of a Hellenistic house wall, and its left forearm was being used as a step for a Roman cistern. The statue is so large (16½ feet tall) that the gallery had to be rebuilt specifically to house it. The museum's older section has a collection of pottery and cast-bronze griffin heads (the symbol of Samos). An exceptional collection of tributary gifts from ancient cities far and wide, including bronzes and ivory miniatures, affirms the importance of the shrine to Hera.

In the quaint 17th-century settlement just above the port, wood-and-plaster houses with pastel facades and red-tile roofs are clustered together, their balconies protruding over narrow cobbled paths. From here you can savor a beautiful view of the gulf.

This tiny but impressive collection shows off local finds, including headless statues, grave markers with epigrams to the dead, and human and animal figurines, in addition to some notably beautiful portrait busts of the Roman emperors Claudius, Caesar, and Augustus.

The early Samians worshipped the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, believing she was born here beneath a bush near the stream Imbrassos. Several temples were built on the site in her honor, the earliest dating back to the 8th century BC. Polycrates rebuilt the To Hraio, or Temple of Hera, around 540 BC, making it four times larger than the Parthenon and the largest Greek temple ever conceived, with two rows of columns (155 in all). The temple was damaged by fire in 525 BC and never completed, owing to Polycrates's untimely death. In the intervening years, masons recycled the stones to create other buildings, including a basilica (foundations remain at the site) to the Virgin Mary. Today you can only imagine the To Hraio's massive glory; of its forest of columns only one remains standing, slightly askew and only half its original height, amid acres of marble remnants in marshy ground thick with poppies.

At the ancient celebrations to honor Hera, the faithful approached from the sea along the Sacred Road, which is still visible at the site's northeast corner. Nearby are replicas of a 6th-century BC sculpture depicting an aristocratic family; its chiseled signature reads "Genelaos made me." The kouros from Heraion was found here, and is now in the Archaeological Museum in Samos Town. Hours may be shortened in winter.

At the eastern corner of Pythagorio lie the crumbling ruins of the Kastro, probably built on top of the ruins of the Acropolis. Revolutionary hero Lykourgou Logotheti built this 19th-century edifice; his statue is next door, in the courtyard of the church built to honor the victory. He held back the Turks on Transfiguration Day, and a sign on the church announces in Greek: "Christ saved Samos 6 August 1824." On some nights the villagers light votive candles in the church cemetery, a moving sight with the ghostly silhouette of the fortress and the moonlit sea in the background. Nearby are some fragments of the wall that the ruler Polycrates built in the 6th century BC.

Calm, turquoise waters wash onto this beach of sand and pebbles that is shaded by pine trees. Time here provides a quiet escape from the beaches near the more populated centers, and getting here involves riding into a pleasurable final stretch through some of the loveliest forested parts in eastern Samos. Tavernas on the beach dish out light summer salads, fresh seafood, and heartier magirefta (cooked dish) of the day, like pastitsio (a rich pasta bake). Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; sunrise; swimming; walking.

Enter this spacious cave and descend 95 steps to the tiny church of Panagia Spiliani (Virgin of the Grotto). Half-church, half-cavern, this most unique landmark is also called Kaliarmenissa ("for good travels"), as it houses an antique icon of the Virgin Mary that, according to legend, was stolen from Samos, carried to a far-off land, and fell from a boat and broke into pieces, all of which washed ashore on Samos. A pool in the grotto, once the sanctuary of a Roman cult, is considered to contain miracle-working water.

One of the island's more popular beaches is pristine and sandy, protected from the wind by cliffs. There are two tavernas here, and the beach can get extremely busy during high season. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming.

Samos is famous for its (internationally awarded) wines, particularly its delectable vin doux liqueur and other sweet wines such as Nectar and Anthemis, and more recently its dry whites such as Phyllas, made with organic muscat grapes. All wines produced on Samos are by law made by the Union of Vinicultural Cooperatives, who created this museum on the winery's grounds in tribute to the island's wine-making past and present, and it's the best place to dive into the island's wine culture. Start by looking at the photo exhibition of local wine-making over the last century and proceed to see the large and small tools used in production, as well as early-20th-century casks, and finally the French oak barrels used today. Then proceed to the main hall to indulge in a wine tasting of the union's wines, which are also sold at the museum shop.

Considered by Herodotus as the world's Eighth Wonder, this famed underground aqueduct was completed in 524 BC with archaic tools and without measuring instruments. The ruler Polycrates, not a man who liked to leave himself vulnerable, ordered the construction of the tunnel to ensure that Samos's water supply could never be cut off during an attack. Efpalinos of Megara, a hydraulics engineer, set perhaps 1,000 slaves into two teams, one digging on each side of Mt. Kastri. Fifteen years later, they met in the middle with just a tiny difference in the elevation between the two halves. The tunnel is about 3,340 feet long, and it remained in use as an aqueduct for almost 1,000 years. More than a mile of (long-gone) ceramic water pipe once filled the space, which was later used as a hiding place during pirate raids. Today the tunnel is exclusively a tourist attraction, and though some spaces are tight and slippery, you can walk part of the length—also a wonderful way to enjoy natural coolness on swelteringly hot days. Though the tunnel has been closed for necessary engineering work, a partial opening is set for 2018. At some point, with ongoing work, it will be possible to traverse the tunnel in its entirety. On a hillside above the tunnel entrance are the scant remains of a Greek and Roman theater, and a wooden platform over the shell is occasionally used for performances.