Samos is a large and varied island, attractive for at least two quite different reasons. It is the location of the most ambitious city of 6th-century BC Archaic Greece.

But Samos is also an island of wild mountainous landscapes, traditional villages, beaches, and a rich and unique vegetation. 

This is a chapter from Blue Guide Greece the Aegean Islands: what to see, where to stay and eat, history, archaeology, art, culture, leisure. With superb, award-winning maps. Written and edited by a team of three experts: historian, art historian and archaeologist, two of whom lead cultural tours in Greece. "Blue Guides still hold the cultural high ground" Sunday Times.