Skiathos, Greece: Stroll and Dinner with a View at Plakes Taverna

It is freezing here again in the Netherlands and I am supposed to do my weekly run but itâ€™s cosier to sit at home in my huge warm chair and blog about the warm sunny days we had in the Greek Islands last summer.

So yes, that is what is inspiring me today to write about. Winter is still going strong and the summer holiday we had last year in Skiathos Island, Greece is keeping me warm and fuzzy.

So I checked my picture gallery and picked a few pictures to reminisce about. It was a late afternoon stroll in the rugged cliff peninsula in Skiathos old town and a dinner on an outdoor terrace with a lovely sunset view of the Aegean Sea.

This cat was in this position for a looong time, haha.

Dutchman and I have truly found our place in the Greek Islands. We come back year after year after year. This coming summer, we are shopping again for a holiday in the Greek Isles. The stakes are high that it will be a new island. We have come up with a short list in our minds so we are quite excited about it.

One of the reasons why we love the Greek Islands is the traditional outdoor tavernas. The restaurants here speak of the real and pure Greece which are typically run by local families. The islands as well are not yet corrupted by crazy mass tourism (except for a few which we are not going back anytime soon), chain hotels and restaurants and bloated ridiculous prices.

So every summer holiday it is my task to search for nice places to eat and beaches to hang out. Dutchman and I really live for this. We love to sit in nice and cosy places, preferably outdoors, to enjoy our days. Dinners are important aspects of the holiday culminating the end of each relaxing day as we reflect on life outside work and stress. Luckily, in the Greek Islands, you will have a bountiful of these places without having to reserve in advance and queue up and wait for a table.

We usually go a week or two before high season starts which is the end of June and start of July. Perfect weeks in my opinion to beat the hot and scorching sun, the high prices, the crowds and having to reserve a table at popular and cool tavernas.

Plakes Taverna on a cliff.

I typically find places to eat via many avenues: Tripadvisor, Google search, Google maps, reading published articles and blogs, and my favourite and trusted way â€“ grabbing a free map or a free local booklet guide upon arrival. Almost all the islands I have been to have these and they usually have a list of local restaurants with pictures of the ambiance as visual teasers.

So this is how I found the Plakes Taverna on a cliff in a quiet corner of Skiathos old town. It was advertised on the free map. The restaurant is outdoors and overlooking the waters with views partly to the old harbour and the old town, the Bourtzi island, and the little peninsula jutting out to the Aegean Sea.

On the free map, they also have tips on where to stroll and catch nice views and they have recommended a scenic route near the taverna which is a quiet residential area with traditional houses on a rugged cliff facing the Aegean Sea. It was the perfect combination that I was looking for.

We just had a very lazy afternoon at the beach so we were quite looking forward to the stroll and then a dinner with a view. Thatâ€™s what summer holidays are for in the Greek Islands.

THE SKIATHOS OLD TOWN MAP

The area of the old town where we did the strolling and the arrow point to the location of the restaurant, Plakes Taverna, on a corner bay.

THE STROLL BEFORE DINNER

This was just before sunset, around 19:00 and 20:30.

The views from the rugged cliff.

Local children in the neighbourhood playing in the little park. The area is pedestrianised. Even motorbikes are not allowed to enter and park. They are very strict here, we were fined with our scooter once!

There were so many cats in the old town…. these 2 thug cats were terrorising another passing cat (poor cat!), while one stood and watched intently.

This is a scenic, quiet and green part of the old town to do a stroll around and even hang out for a bit, watching the boats passing by.

You can see the Bourtzi Island to the right and the old town in the far distance.

DINNER AT PLAKES TAVERNA

Finally, it is time for dinner, so we walked to the restaurant, but before anything else, let me first strike a quick pose =)

The restaurant is mostly outdoors, on a terraced terrace.

Moi getting ready for dinner while settling into the ambiance and the nice views.

We did not have starters but went directly to the main course. I had my favourite grilled octopus served on a bed of lettuce greens and lemons. Dutchman played safe and settled for a spaghetti bolognese (the Italians will swear this dish does not exist in Italy at all!).

We had normal coffee to close the dinner.

MORE STROLLING IN THE OLD TOWN

After dinner, we went down to the old town harbour to do some more strolling. We were looking at having a drink at one of the cafes but decided to back to our apartment to chill instead.