“Of all the islands of the Aegean Sea, Pholygandros can boast of the most majestic coastline,” James Bent wrote in his 1885 book, The Cyclades. “In fact, I doubt if it can be equalled anywhere.”
Windswept and rocky, this South Aegean Shetland-with-sunshine is raw and bling-free, and it barely causes a blip on the radar of the Mykonos–Ibiza–St. Tropez set. There are more churches—somewhere around 70—than cocktail bars. No discotheques, no recognizable brands or Michelin stars, and no chain hotels. A local law bans rental beach chairs on the pebbly sand to discourage clubs from attracting the wrong sort of visitors.
