The Greek island that banned the car — and never looked back
Hydra is one of the most distinctive islands in the Mediterranean: no cars, no motorbikes, no scooters — donkeys and water taxis are the only transport. A horseshoe harbor ringed with 18th-century stone mansions, bougainvillea-draped alleyways, and an atmosphere that attracted Leonard Cohen, Henry Miller, and a generation of artists. The beaches are rocky and swim-from-rocks, the seafood is exceptional, and after the day-trippers leave the ferries go quiet.
Hydra's stone mansions were built in the 18th century by Hydriot merchant captains who grew rich supplying grain to the Ottoman Empire and then European powers during the Napoleonic Wars — at its peak the island had 125 ships and 15,000 sailors. The Hydriot fleet played a decisive role in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), contributing nearly half the Greek naval force, and heroes like Admiral Andreas Miaoulis are still honored with annual re-enactments on the harbor.