Entertainment In Samos

As the most popular destination of the northeastern Aegean Greek Islands, Samos offers an intense and varied nightlife. The island has plenty of restaurants, taverns with live or traditional music, cafs, atmospheric bars and nightclubs, which play all kinds of music. The capital, Karlovassi, and Kokkari and Pythagorio are the most developed in terms of nightlife.

Eating out

Eating out in Greece is a national pastime and a leisurely pleasure. Whether dining at a local taverna or at an elegant restaurant, Greeks take their time over food. The native cuisine is delightfully uncomplicated and quite different from what's found in Greek restaurants abroad. Much of the cooking relies on simple seasonings and fresh meat and vegetables.

Samos has both international and Greek restaurants, with the widest variety of establishments being in Vathy. Visitors should ensure they give the local wine a try. There are also many traditional taverns in the smaller villages, which often have their very own specialties. Sometimes you'll have to ask for special dishes, since they are often not on the menu.

Local cuisine

Samos' cuisine has been influenced by two main factors. The first one is that the populations who have settled on the island over the centuries originated from different regions of Greece and Asia Minor, each of them bringing their own recipes. The second major influencing factor is the agricultural produce of the island as well as the abundance of seafood.

Gemista is the islands specialty. This can be made from tomatoes, peppers, eggplants or even potatoes, which are then stuffed with rice. Vetouli is kid meat cooked in the oven with pasta or tomato sauce. Fish is usually served broiled on the grill, while some of the local delicacies are smoked herring and anchovy fillet grilled with onions, peppers and tomatoes.

Some of the local recipes that visitors shouldn't miss are the zucchini-balls, tomato-balls and chickpea-balls, which can be washed down with wine or the local drink, souma.

Theatre and music

The Municipality of Pythagorio plays a leading role in the organisation of the international festival Manolis Kalomiris, which takes place every year in Samos. The majority of theatre plays, ancient tragedies, concerts and recitals take place at the Ancient Theatre of Pythagorio.

As the most popular destination of the northeastern Aegean Greek Islands, Samos offers an intense and varied nightlife. The island has plenty of restaurants, taverns with both live and traditional music, cafs, bars full of atmosphere and nightclubs playing all genres of music. The capital, Karlovassi, as well as Kokkari and Pythagorio are the most developed in terms of nightlife.

Shopping

In the capital of Samos, all kinds of shops can be found, from jewellery and souvenir to folk art shops. Numerous shops are also available in Pythagorio and Karlovassi. The famous local wine of the island and the tasty honey can be found in every shop on Samos. In the villages of Mavrarzei and Koumandarei, folk art shops sell a great variety of fine ceramics, potteries, woven fabrics and handmade rugs.