Things to do
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Agia Marina
A tiny islet with a white chapel, a short swim off a beach at the mouth of Pedi Bay. The beach has sunbeds and a taverna, and the shallow channel to the islet is easy to cross. A small boat shuttles over from Pedi harbour in summer. Water shoes help on the pebbles.
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Agios Georgios Bay
A pebble cove on the east coast closed in by a sheer cliff, known locally as Dysalona and reached only by boat. A small chapel stands at the back of the beach. The water is deep blue and very clear. There are no facilities, so food and water come along, and the cliff puts the beach in shade from mid-afternoon.
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Ano Symi
The upper town on the ridge above the harbour, also called Chorio, a maze of stepped lanes, old captains' houses and small churches. Some houses stand empty and roofless beside restored ones. The quarter looks down over both Gialos and the bay of Pedi. Buses climb the road from the harbour, but most visitors walk up the stone stairway from the waterfront.
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Castle of Symi
The ruined castle of the knights at the top of the upper town, on the site of the ancient acropolis. Stretches of wall and a church in the enclosure remain, and the hilltop looks down on the harbour on one side and Pedi Bay on the other. The way up is on foot through the lanes, past a row of old stone windmills on the ridge.
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Kali Strata
A broad stone stairway of around 500 steps linking the harbour of Gialos to the upper town. Grand mansions with pediments and iron balconies line the lower flights, built when sponge diving and shipbuilding made the island rich. The higher steps give the classic view down over the harbour. The climb is hot work by midday in summer, so water helps.
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Monastery of Michael Roukouniotis
A small fortified monastery in the hills west of the upper town, with a great umbrella-shaped cypress shading its courtyard. Two churches stand one above the other, and the lower one keeps old frescoes. It is reached by road or by a long walk over the hills. The monastery holds a festival under the cypress on the feast of the Archangel in November.
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Nanou Beach
A wide pebble bay on the east coast with a single taverna, reached by boat. Taxi boats from the harbour run only in season, with sailings that change with the wind. The sea is clear and shelves quickly. Sunbeds make it the easiest of the boat beaches for a full day.
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Panormitis Monastery
A large monastery of the Archangel Michael on a sheltered bay in the south of the island, with a tall baroque bell tower over the quay. The church holds a silver-covered icon of the saint, and two small museums show sailors' votive offerings, including model ships. Modest dress covers shoulders and knees. Ferries from Rhodes often call here, and a road crosses the island from Gialos.
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Pedi Beach
A small sand and pebble beach in Pedi, a fishing hamlet in a sheltered inlet below the upper town. The water is calm and shallow, which suits a gentle swim. The bus from Gialos runs here through the upper town. Small boats leave the quay for Agia Marina and the other coves along the coast.
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Hotel
The Old Markets
Old shop buildings on the stone steps above Symi harbour, a stay in the town's own architecture rather than on the waterfront.
