A tiny island, three lives, and one rule: come early.
Off Elounda, in the Gulf of Mirabello, a fortified rock guards the mouth of the bay. The Venetians built a fortress here in 1579; the Ottomans settled in; then, from 1903 to 1957, Greece confined its leprosy patients here — the last active leper colony in Europe. A gate, a tunnel, and on the other side a whole small town, with its shopping street, its church and its cemetery.
Victoria Hislop's novel (2005) and the Greek series 'To Nisi' sent its fame soaring. The result: at midday in summer, the Agios Nikolaos boats pour in hundreds of visitors. The secret comes down to one word — timing.
Here's everything to know before you board.
