Kos Town

The city of the Koans is not large, but one lives better here than in others, and it appears beautiful to all who pass it by in their ships. Strabo, 1st century BC

The capital of Kos, Kos Town, in the region of the dolphin’s eye, looks magical if you arrive by sea, especially at twilight: a medieval castle by the port, stately palms and pines and an evening scent of jasmine; opposite, the coast of Turkey fills the horizon.

At close quarters, much of the town postdates the 1933 earthquake. No other town in Greece looks like it, with its spacious design, Art Deco administration buildings and neighbourhoods put up by the Italians.

Another side-effect of the quake is what makes the town so fascinating: when the rubble was cleared away, large sections of the ancient city were revealed, leaving Hellenistic and Roman ruins peppered among the post-earthquake buildings.

Plateía Eleftherías: Freedom Square