The capital of Lesbos, Mytileni, is very lively (read: busy and crowded) and full of culture and history. It is one of the oldest towns in the Aegean Sea and it is currently populated by about 30.000 inhabitants. There are also a lot of young people due to the 3000 University students, studying at the University of the Aegean. There are museums full of interesting remnants covering the period of the last three thousand years, and in the town itself there are a lot of monuments, beautiful neo-classical houses, churches, and other buildings from various times. Mytileni also has a large, busy and interesting harbour.

On the top of one of the seven hills that the town is build on stands a majestic and enormous castle that dates from the Byzantine times. Just like the castle of Molyvos it was build on the ruins of an ancient fortification. The Byzantines built the castle to protect themselves from attacks by pirates. During the Genuese times of the island the fortress was added to and used as a defense from the Turks, untill the Turks finally occupied the island. This castle is surrounded by a pine forest that reaches down to the shore and the public beach. On the edge of the town against a hill you find the antique theater that dates from the third century BC. This theater had 15.000 seats but only a few remains can be seen. The large pink domed church is built with stones from Minos Asia and it dates from 1860.

The buildings, the scenery and the friendly people make Mytilini a very special place. If you are on a holiday to find peace and quiet than it is not advisable to book a hotel in this city, because it is really very busy with motorcycles and cars. There is just no escaping from all the traffic. Go to Mytilini to see the Archeological Museum or the Byzantine Ikon Museum (opposite the big church, 2 euro entree), to look at the church, see the beautiful fortress, and to get a taste of it all. Mytinlini is a place where you can go shopping and off course it is the place where all the ferries to the other islands and to Piraeus (the harbour of Athens) depart. Mytilini has two bus stations. The blue busses don't go very far but they go frequently to places like Moria (the aquaduct), Loutra and other nearby villages. The green busses on the other station make the longer routes. A long stay in Mytilini I would not recommend to anybody, but it is surely worth a visit.

For all hotels, apartements and studios in Mytilini - click here.