Just a three-hour ferry ride from Athens, Sifnos is worlds away from its crowded, flashy neighbor, Mykonos.
Thirteen small villages, home to a population of just over 2,500, are spread across its mountains and valleys, and 235 blue-domed churches dot its beaches and cliffs. In Kastro, the ancient capital, on the coast, 14th-century fortifications surround whitewashed houses and narrow, meandering cobblestoned streets. Old men still scavenge for capers, and women with deeply lined faces sell their pottery.
