Shopping

In Hora, the flea market on Evangelistria Street is a pleasant place for a ramble. Pedestrianized Evangelistria parallels Megaloharis, the main street from the harbor up to the cathedral. Shops and stalls lining Evangelistria Street sell icons, incense, candles, medallions, and tamata (tin, silver, and gold votives). You'll also find local embroidery, weavings, and a delicious local nougat, as well as loukoumia (Turkish delight) from Siros. Weekdays, a fish market and a farmer's market set up in the square by the docks. Keep an eye out for the rather pink-plumed pelican who hangs out nearby. A Champion supermarket on the harbor is handy to have nearby, and an even larger one is just outside Tinos town on the road to Pirgos.

Two fine jewelry shops stand side by side on Evangelistria: Artemis, 18 Evangelistria (tel. 22830/23-781), and Harris Prassas Ostria-Tinos, 20 Evangelistria (tel. 22830/23-893; fax 22830/24-568). Both have jewelry in contemporary, Byzantine, and classical styles; silverwork; and religious objects, including reproductions of the miraculous icon. Near the top of the street on the left in a neoclassical building, the small Evangelismos Biotechni Shop, the outlet of a local weaving school (tel. 22830/22-894), sells reasonably priced table and bed linens, embroidered aprons, and rugs.

Those interested in local produce should head a few steps up from the harbor to 16 Megaloharis, the shop of the local agricultural cooperative, where pungent capers, creamy cheeses, olive oil, and the fiery local tsiporo liqueur are on sale (tel. 22830/21-184). If you like capers, stock up; I got mine safely back to Massachusetts and enjoyed them for months.

Several shops along the harbor sell international newspapers, local travel guides, maps, and some novels. The newspapers are on stands outside the shops.