Hydra, a car-free Greek island a short ferry ride from Athens, has been named the best island in Europe for 2026 by CN Traveller, beating six neighbouring Greek islands to the title.
An island for dreamers
Unlike Mykonos, which appeals to party animals and the ultra-wealthy, Hydra is described as an island for dreamers. The island is only 10 miles long, and most of it is uninhabitable. There are no cars, no bikes, and no vehicles of any kind, which helps preserve a sense of serenity.
Rows of donkeys wait to greet ferries from the mainland, ready to carry visitors and their belongings up the cobbled lanes to their lodgings. Past Hydra port, the island's only town, these lanes are tranquil time warps of a Greece of days gone by. There are no new buildings, and a construction ban in the town itself—a Greek National Monument—has kept it largely unchanged for a century.
History and famous residents
Hydra has a fascinating history. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was a powerful shipbuilder nicknamed 'Little England'. During the 1900s, it was reinvented as a hub for sponge-fishing, which spawned the filmed-on-location movie Boy on a Dolphin (1957), in which Sophia Loren played a Hydriot sponge-diver. That film saw Hydra become a hotspot beloved by bohemians such as Pablo Picasso throughout the 1960s.
Hydra's most famous resident was Leonard Cohen. Together with his muse Marianne Ihlen and a spirited community of writers, the musician and poet found profound creative inspiration here. Locals erected a plaque in his memory on the walk to Kamini. By the port, Roloi Cafe, once known as the kafenion O Katsikas, is where Cohen and a generation of artists hung out and where he played his first concert to a handful of friends.
Beaches and travel tips
When visited in early September, the weather was still in the high 20°Cs, warm enough to spend all day wandering the coves that embroider the coast and swimming in the Aegean. The beaches are mostly rocky ledges and concrete swimming platforms as opposed to stretches of golden sand, but that only adds to the appeal. Avlaki was a favourite spot, with exceptionally clear water that shape-shifts in the sunlight.
There are no direct flights to Hydra from the UK. Visitors need to fly to Athens, then catch a ferry from Piraeus port, which takes around 90 minutes across the Saronic Gulf. Proximity to the capital makes Hydra popular for day-trips, but once you arrive, you'll wish you booked for longer. As Cohen once said, 'there is nowhere in the world where you can live like you can in Hydra, and that includes Hydra'.
