The place file / Saronic Gulf
Hydra,
Greece
It is named for its springs, which dried up.
Drinking water came by boat every day until 2014.
Salty Seniors place guide
Could I live here?The draw
No cars, no scooters, no bicycles
The catch
The hospital is a helicopter away
The question
How many steps to the front door?
Leonard Cohen’s $1,500 house
Leonard Cohen arrived in April 1960, aged 25. That September he bought a house up the hill with $1,500 his grandmother had left him. It had five rooms, no electricity and no plumbing.
A few years later the island put up its first telephone poles. Cohen sat at his window resenting the wires, noticed that the birds had no objection, and began “Bird on the Wire”.
He was not the first to find the place. In 1957 Sophia Loren played a sponge diver here in Boy on a Dolphin, and after that the rest of the world knew where it was.
What they found is still here, by law. The town has been a protected monument since the 1950s. The harbour is a horseshoe of stone mansions built by ship owners who got rich running blockades in the Napoleonic wars, and nobody is allowed to improve on it.
There are no cars. There are a great many cats, and they do not seem to have owners so much as arrangements.
The rubbish trucks are about the only motor vehicles on the island. Everything else goes by mule, or by you.
What stays open year-round?
The town does, at a lower volume. About 2,000 people live here all year, so the bakeries, the grocers, the pharmacy and a few tavernas keep going, and the fast ferries from Piraeus run through the winter. Many hotels and restaurants close from November until Easter. The day-trippers stop too, which residents count as an advantage.
What will winter ask of you?
A heater and a book. It is mild, usually 10 to 15 degrees, and wet, and the old stone houses were built to stay cool. When the wind gets up the fast ferries are cancelled and the island keeps its own company. Summer asks more. It is hot, the lanes are steep, and August brings a good part of Athens.
How close is the care you need?
Not close. The island has a small health centre for everyday trouble. Anything serious goes to the mainland by boat or by helicopter, and the weather gets a vote. If you have a condition that needs a specialist nearby, this is the question to settle first.
Could you live without a car?
You will have to. Cars, motorbikes and bicycles are all banned. The town climbs the sides of a steep bowl around the harbour, and most houses are reached by steps. Groceries, furniture and building materials go up by mule, for a fee. Count the steps to any house you like, then picture them in August with the shopping.
What does a house cost?
Around €5,000 to €7,500 a square metre in 2026. The whole town is a protected monument, so anything you build or repair has to match the style of about 1800, and no swimming pool has been legal since 2010. Renovation costs more than you expect, because every bag of cement arrives by boat and then by mule.
How long can you stay?
Ninety days in any 180 across the Schengen countries, as a visitor. For longer, Greece has a residence visa for people who can support themselves without working. It asks for an income of about €3,500 a month, with 20 percent more for a spouse, and it does not allow you to take a job in Greece.
