Gávdos

If you suffer from mal de civilisation (and who doesn’t these days?) catch one of the small ferries from Chóra Sfakíon or Paleochóra that sail 24 nautical miles (79km) to the triangular maquis-matted islet of Gávdos, the southernmost point in Europe.

It’s one of the best places in the world to see and photograph the Milky Way, and famous for not really caring if you’re wearing any clothes and allowing free camping on the beaches.

But in 2023, nudity was banned on the most popular beach, Sarakiníko, much to everyone’s surprise (justified by the current mayor as a place where locals could take their children).

Many regular visitors cancelled their plans; others, fearing the bans would spread and totally change the character of the island the loved, started a Save the Free Beaches Campaign that has spread to other islands threatened by private interests, beach clubs and hotels trying to privatize Greece’s beaches.