Aegina: pistachios, temples and Greece’s first capital

About Aegina: pistachios, temples and Greece’s first capital

By the ULTIMATE Greek Islands Editorial Team

Aegina is the nearest real island to Athens, under an hour by fast boat, with a lively harbour town, one of the finest temples in Greece, pistachio groves and a working, unpretentious character.

Aegina is the island Athenians know best. The fast boats from Piraeus take well under an hour, and on a summer Friday the harbour fills with families heading for weekend houses. That gives the island a lived-in, everyday character: fishing boats and pistachio stalls on the quay, horse-drawn carriages waiting by the little white chapel of Agios Nikolaos, and cafés where locals far outnumber visitors.

History runs deep. On a hill above the town, a single column marks the Temple of Apollo at Kolona, and on a pine-covered ridge in the north-east stands the Temple of Aphaia, built around 500 BC and one of the best-preserved Doric temples in Greece. Its pediment sculptures are in Munich, but the setting, with views over the Saronic Gulf, is unforgettable. In 1828–29 Aegina was briefly the first capital of modern Greece under Ioannis Kapodistrias, and the neoclassical Governor’s House still stands in town.

On Aegina, the harbour stalls sell pistachios still in their pink husks.

The island is famous for its pistachios, grown in orchards all over the interior, and they turn up everywhere: roasted and salted, in sweets and spreads, even in ice cream. The rest of the food scene leans towards the sea, especially in Perdika, a fishing village in the south-west where tavernas line the waterfront and boats cross to the islet of Moni for a swim.

Inland, the landscape is surprisingly rural. The great modern church of Agios Nektarios draws Orthodox pilgrims from all over Greece, and on the hillside behind it lie the ruins of Paleochora, the medieval capital, where dozens of small chapels survive among the rocks. It is a quiet, atmospheric walk.

Beaches are pleasant rather than spectacular: Agia Marina on the east coast is the busiest resort, Marathonas and Aiginitissa on the west coast are calmer, and the clearest water is often around Perdika and Moni. Aegina is not a party island; evenings are about harbour strolls, ouzo and grilled octopus.

Because it is so close, Aegina works beautifully as a day trip from Athens, and also as a gentle first island for anyone short of time. Weekends in summer are busy with Athenians, and some boats fill up, so midweek is calmer.

Our advice: take a morning boat from Piraeus, hire a car or take the bus to the Temple of Aphaia early, have a long fish lunch in Perdika, buy pistachios on the quay, and stay a night if you can to enjoy the harbour after the day-trippers leave.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Aegina: pistachios, temples and Greece’s first capital before you go.