Glossa is Skopelos’s second-largest settlement, built on a hillside roughly 300 metres above its port of Loutraki on the island’s northwest coast. Whitewashed, two-storey houses with wooden balconies and tiled roofs line steep cobbled lanes that no car can drive into, and on a clear day the views stretch across to Skiathos and the Pelion peninsula on the mainland.

Atmosphere

Glossa is quieter and more traditional than Skopelos Town, with a permanent population of under a thousand and a noticeably slower rhythm even in August. Locals describe it with a touch of dry humour: with so many steps up and down the village, they joke that by the time you’ve climbed them all your tongue (glossa) hangs out.

Who it suits

Travellers who want authenticity over convenience: fewer restaurants and a longer drive to the main beaches, traded for some of the best sunset views on the island and a real sense of village life. It also works well as a hiking base, with trails toward the Monastery of Agios Taxiarchis and the coast.

Getting there

Glossa sits about 25km from Skopelos Town by the main road, or close to 45 minutes via the slower, more scenic coastal route through Panormos, Agnontas and Stafylos. Its port, Loutraki, receives ferries from Skiathos, Volos, and Evia.

Nearby beaches

Loutraki itself has a small organised beach. Further afield, Milia and Kastani are within a 20–30 minute drive, and the village makes a reasonable base for exploring the wilder east-coast beaches near Agios Ioannis Kastri.

Local tip

Visit the small Folklore Museum above the Church of the Assumption, and look out for the Monastery of Agios Taxiarchis just outside the village, with a stone slab dating its original construction to 1672.

• Second-largest village on Skopelos, around 300m above sea level
• Best sunset views on the island, with Skiathos visible on clear days
• Car-free, stepped lanes through the historic core
• Port at Loutraki, roughly 25km from Skopelos Town