The harbor is where you arrive, and for most of the week it is the place you pass through rather than the place you stop. There is the ticket office, the bar with the good coffee, the man selling peaches from a crate, the ferry that leaves at an inconvenient hour. But the harbor is also one of the best sunset addresses on the island, and it asks almost nothing of you: no car, no reservation, no climbing rope. What follows is a short list of viewpoints within reasonable walking distance of the ferry dock, plus the timing details that make the difference between a nice evening and one you will still be talking about in February.
Start With the Harbor Wall Itself
The least glamorous option is often the best one. Walk to the end of the outer wall — the long stone barrier that keeps the swell off the fishing boats — and sit on the inner side, where there is a low ledge at a comfortable height for a tired pair of legs. From here you look straight out at open water, with nothing between you and the horizon except the last boats of the day coming home.
The entertainment is included. Crews hose down decks, coils of rope get thrown, someone shouts something across the water and someone else pretends not to hear. It is a working harbor at the end of a working day, and it is far more interesting than a viewpoint built for the purpose.
Aim to arrive about twenty minutes before sunset. The color is usually at its richest in the ten minutes after the sun disappears, and the sky keeps going for another quarter of an hour after that.
Two small warnings. The wall holds the wind, which means it can be surprisingly cool even in high summer — a long-sleeved layer is not a silly thing to carry. And the stone gives up its heat slowly, so in the height of the season it stays warm enough to sit on well into the evening.
The Old Town Steps Behind the Fish Market
Behind the fish market, a narrow flight of stone stairs climbs between two buildings and up into the older part of town. It takes about ten minutes at an unhurried pace. There are two landings; the lower one is narrow and mostly used by people carrying shopping, the upper one is wider, has a low wall to lean on, and is where you want to be.
Where to sit
Take the corner of the upper landing on the right-hand side as you climb. The view opens over the rooftops toward the water, and because the steps face west-northwest, you get the sun reflected off the walls opposite rather than in your eyes. The whole street turns the color of apricot jam for about a quarter of an hour. Bring a cushion if you have one; the step edge is old and uneven.
When to go
This spot rewards earliness more than the harbor wall does. Arrive thirty-five to forty minutes before sunset, when the light is still low and golden and the rooftops are picked out in detail. If you come later you will mostly be looking at silhouettes — pleasant, but a different experience. The steps are also the only spot on this list where you may have company: locals use them as a shortcut home, and they will not thank you for blocking the way.
The Lighthouse Path on the North Pier
From the ferry dock, follow the road along the water for about fifteen minutes and you reach the north pier: flat, paved, and ending in a small light tower that is more functional than picturesque. It is the easiest walk in this guide, which makes it the obvious choice for anyone with small children, a stroller, or knees that have had enough for one day.
Stand on the seaward side near the end and you get a wide, uninterrupted view of the sun going down, plus the whole harbor behind you turning on its lights one window at a time. The traffic is mostly joggers and families with ice cream, so it never feels isolated. Do remember that this is a working pier: stay behind the painted marks, keep clear of mooring equipment, and do not be tempted by the flat concrete into sitting somewhere a vehicle might need to go.
The Small Beach at the End of the Road
Keep walking past the north pier for another few minutes and the pavement gives way to a short stretch of coarse sand and pebbles, tucked under a low bank. It is not the island's best beach and nobody claims otherwise. It is, however, the only place on this list where you can watch the sunset with your feet in the water and a towel under you, and that counts for a lot at the end of a hot day.
Timing here is practical rather than poetic. Come early enough to swim before the light fades — the water stays warm well into the evening — and then stay put. Take a towel to sit on, since the pebbles are unforgiving, and a bag for your things so the sand does not find its way into everything you own. When the sun is down, the walk back to town is short and lit for most of the way, though a phone torch is useful for the last few meters.
The Church Terrace Above the Town
If you want the view rather than the sun itself, climb to the terrace in front of the church on the hill. It is a fifteen-minute walk up a series of stepped alleys, and it is worth it once: from up there you can see the whole harbor laid out below you, the breakwater a dark line across the water, and the boats reduced to white specks. On clear evenings the sun sets off to the side, so the harbor catches the light rather than blocking it.
This is the spot to save for your last evening, when you have already walked the harbor a dozen times and want to see it all at once. There is a bench or two, but they are popular; standing at the wall works perfectly well. The descent is steep and the stone gets slippery after rain, so bring shoes with a bit of grip and take the way down slowly.
A Short Timing Guide
Sunset times shift across the season, so check the day's figure rather than relying on yesterday's. As a rough routine:
- Forty minutes before sunset: leave your table, the beach, or the hotel. This gets you in place for the good light rather than arriving as it fades.
- Twenty to thirty minutes before: the harbor wall and the old town steps are in their best phase — soft, warm, and still bright enough for photographs of faces.
- At sunset: any of the five spots works. The beach and the north pier give you the widest horizon.
- Ten to twenty minutes after: stay put for the after-glow. On clear evenings this is short and sharp; on hazy evenings it is longer and often richer than the sunset itself.
- Blue hour: the twenty or so minutes after that, when the harbor lights come on, is the best time to walk back with a camera.
Two variables are worth checking before you commit. First, haze: a dusty or humid sky usually dims the moment of sunset but makes the minutes afterward better, so adjust your expectations rather than your plans. Second, wind direction: a breeze off the water clears the harbor wall but makes the north pier uncomfortable, and the reverse is true on still nights.
Practical Notes Before You Go
Wear something you can walk in — every spot here involves stone, steps, or uneven ground, often in poor light on the way back. Carry a light layer even in the warmest months, and something to sit on if you plan to spend more than half an hour in one place. Bring water; the fountains in town are useful for filling bottles before you set out.
Finally, give yourself permission to abandon the plan. The best evenings here are rarely the ones spent marching between viewpoints to catch each phase of the light. Pick one spot, sit down well before the sun gets low, and let the harbor do the rest. If you only have time for a single evening, choose the harbor wall and arrive early with something cold to drink — it is the shortest walk, the least fuss, and it shows you the island at the exact hour it looks best.
Photo: Peter Fazekas / Pexels
