The walk: going back in history
To discover
Greece: the Figaro travel guide
Hydra leans in the wind in her charming labyrinth of steep alleys, putting the most exercised calves to the test. Maria Voulgari, graduate in history and archeology, guides us on an exciting tour. Too young to have crossed Leonard Cohen, however, she tells the story of the island in its golden age through a few artists including Allen Ginsberg or Axel Jensen. And, when the yacht
Guilty
is docked in port, Maria shows off Jeff Koons' artwork dressing this 35 meter long. Which belongs to contemporary art collector Dakis Joannou. Every summer, he organizes an exhibition in Hydra through the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art.
Maria's Historical Tours
(Tel: 30 697 690 1736).
2 hours, from € 50.
DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art
.
Read also: Greece: six reasons to discover the island of Aegina, near Athens
The summer exhibition: dancing in chains
The exhibition “Dancing in Chains” occupies an annex of the Athens School of Fine Arts.
HYam
Swimming between the rocks alternates with diving into contemporary art.
You will have to climb a flight of steep steps to enter the Tombazis House, an annex of the Athens School of Fine Arts, which hosts the “Dancing in Chains” exhibition.
Evoking the bicentenary of the Greek revolution and the theme of creation according to Nietzsche, it presents the work of four women, emerging talents from Greece and France: Evi Kalogiropoulou, Malvina Panagiotidi, Maude Maris and Eva Nielsen.
The exhibition was imagined by Pauline Simons, former journalist from
Le Figaro
and founder of the HYam association (Hydra for Artists of the Mediterranean).
HYam
.
“Dancing in chains”, at the Tombazis house, until August 15th.
To read also: Your questions on the summer holidays: "Do you have to be vaccinated to go to Greece in August?"
The table: dinner under the tree by Léonard Cohen
There are two institutions in Hydra.
On the port, The Pirate Bar is the meeting place for writers, artists and visiting foreigners.
And then there is Xeri Elia Douskos, hidden in the alleys a few steps away.
This historic tavern hosted the bohemian life of the island in the 1950s and 1960s. Young Leonard Cohen would sit under the tree in the square, singing along with a guitar.
Today, we eat a delicious octopus salad under the same tree.
Inside, three guitars are still on the wall not far from the photographs, witnesses of good years.
If only the walls could sing ...
The Pirate Bar
(Tel: 30 229 805 2711).
Xeri Elia Douskos (Tel: 30 229 805 2886). Main course from € 8.
Read also: Santorini, our guide to enjoying the most spectacular of the Greek islands
Accommodation: sleeping with a collector
The owner of Hydra Kunstbau has decorated his guest rooms with part of his contemporary art collection Julia Klimi
Behind a bright yellow door hides a poetic garden full of nooks connecting a group of traditional houses.
Reunited at the end of the 1950s by the architect James Speyer (1913-1986), a pupil of Mies van der Rohe, these old stones are disrupted by a modernist touch.
Added to this is the more recent intervention of the architect Alexandra Kalliri allowing the creation of three guest rooms (one with a swimming pool) which will open in September.
The owner of the premises, Alexis Veroukas, has decorated them wonderfully with part of his collection of contemporary art.
Hydra Kunstbau (Tel .: 06 26 84 42 75), from € 320 per double room with breakfast.
The Alternative: Neséa Hydra boutique Apartments.
From € 200 per double with breakfasts.