The Greek Island of your dreams is for sale at €35 million
If you've been inspired by 'The Odyssey' to up sticks and move to a magnificent Greek island, we have just the place...
Property listings are often pretty functional affairs. How many bedrooms does it have? Is it near the station? What is the kitchen like?
Every so often, though, you'll come across a rare outbreak of poetry, and it's all the more delightful for being unexpected. And that's what we have today in the case of Argyronisos, a private island for sale at €35 million (about £30 million) through Engel & Völkers:
'60 acres of rolling hills, ancient olive trees, cypress groves, wildflowers, and small, idyllic private coves surrounded by shimmering azure waters,' reads the blurb supplied by agent George Ioannou. 'Here, the journey begins long before you step ashore; it starts as the mainland recedes and the rhythm of life slows down to match the whispering tide.'
I can feel my blood pressure lowering just re-reading this paragraph. If this is what Greek islands are like, no wonder Odysseus raised heaven and earth to get back to his.
This dot on the map sits in the northern Aegean, between the northern tip of Euboea — also known as Evia, the second-largest island in Greece — and the mainland itself. It's a breathtaking slice of paradise, with woodland and olive groves running across the island down to the craggy cliffs, and an impossibly romantic lighthouse at one end.
There is also a deep water dock and a handful of small beaches dotted about the island, all of which arae unspoilt, natural and rocky rather than open and spacious.
That's the vibe here: this is not a place for those who love great expanses of sand, but instead a calm retreat from the world, a place of seclusion and privacy, a happy little enclave where you can sit back and feel the spinning of the earth beneath your feet.
Argyronisos has been in the same family since 1961, spending much of that time as a family home, but more recently it's been run as a luxurious retreat which has, according to the agents, 'welcomed globally renowned entrepreneurs, artists, and prominent figures who sought out Argyronisos not for ostentatious display, but for the rarest luxury in the modern world: absolute, uninterrupted privacy.'
What happens next here will be for the new owners to decide, but there's plenty of scope for all sorts of uses. The island has 11 separate stone buildings across its space, including a main residence and separate villa which are modest and tasteful both in size and appearance, with the whitewashed walls highlighted by classic Greek blue-framed windows and shutters.
Elsewhere on the island you'll find stone cottages, an olive house and an ancient chapel, as well as a that looks like the sort of yoga studio you'd see in an episode of The White Lotus.
The island is also largely self-sufficient. Solar panel installations provide all the power needs for the island, though there is also a back-up generator
Argyronisos is for sale at €35 million through Engel & Völkers — see more details:
