What to see in Poros
Poros has no headline archaeological site, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. The temple of Poseidon, where Demosthenes took poison rather than be captured in 322 BC, has been reduced to foundations among the pines, and it is the silence of the place rather than the stones that makes the walk worthwhile. What Poros does have is variety at very small scale: a hilltop monastery, the half-sunk stone arches of a shipyard the Russian navy built in 1834, the spiral of Chora climbing to the clock tower, and, across two hundred metres of channel, the lemon forest of Galatas with its thirty thousand trees and abandoned water mills. Go in expecting atmosphere rather than monuments and Poros over-delivers. Go expecting a Delos or a Delphi and it will not.
Places of interest
Poros Town (Chora)
The heart of the island: ice-cream-coloured houses climbing the hillside, the 1927 Clock Tower crowning the lot, and a seafront where everything happens. Perfect for a wander as soon as you arrive.
Lemonodasos, the lemon forest
Thirty thousand lemon trees terraced up the hillside above Galatas, with nineteenth-century watermills and a waterfall at the end of the path. It is across from the island, five minutes by shuttle.
Russian Shipyard (Russian Bay)
Stone arches from 1834, when the imperial Russian navy used this bay as a supply base. The ruins are right on the beach, half eaten by the sea and the pines.
Temple of Poseidon
Ruins of the sanctuary of Poseidon (6th century BC) in the wooded interior of Kalavria. This is where the orator Demosthenes poisoned himself in 322 BC while fleeing the Macedonians. Among the pines, in silence.
Zoodochos Pigi Monastery
A monastery from 1720 tucked among pines and lemon trees in eastern Kalavria. It holds an extraordinary carved baroque iconostasis, and the walk there justifies the visit on its own.