8 Best Shopping in Naxos, The Cyclades

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.

The workshop of Nassos Papakonstantinou, on Old Town's main square, sells one-of-a-kind pieces both sculptural and delicate. His father was a wood-carver; Nassos has inherited his talent. The shop has no sign—that is Nassos's style.

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.

Anglo-Australian expat artist Tim Elkington's small craft and art shop in the Old Town showcases Greek and other expat artists who are inspired by the beauty and culture of Greece. Elkington is a painter, but also sells traditional and modern pottery, cards, ceramics, drawings, jewelry, and clothing that have a connection to Greece.

A large selection of their famous kitro (citron liqueur), as well as Naxos wines, thyme honey, and preserves, can be found at Promponas Wines and Liquors, near the Naxos Town waterfront. It has been around since 1915, and free glasses of kitro are offered.

Techni translates to "art" in Greek and that's what the shop showcases—locally and traditionally inspired handmade arts and crafts. The collections include jewelry in traditional designs, as well as embroidery and knitted items created by women in Greece's mountain villages. Handmade carpets and linens are also for sale. The family that runs Techni comes from a long line of goldsmiths and embroiderers.