Tunnel of Eupalinos — Attraction in Municipality of Eastern Samos

If you’re visiting Samos, I highly recommend going to Tunnel of Eupalinos. It shows the great engineering skills that’s been on this island for thousands of years. Also a plus that the cutest little kitten came running to tell you all about the history of the place.

Here is my recommendation (and the route I took). Start your day early so it’s not too hot (it will be hot regardless, but the earlier the better). Take a taxi to the Tunnel of Eupalinos, and be there when it opens. First trip down is 8:40. If you’re afraid of heights and tight spaces, this might not be for you. But the safety person following you down is super friendly and will take it slow if you get scared. When you get back up, follow the road back and at one point you’ll come to a sign that shows you the way to the Ancient Theater of Pythagoreio. Go by here, take some pictures, and continue your way upwards. There are plenty of seats on your way up, so if you get tired - take a seat and watch the view. You will get to the top and see the beautiful Panagia Spiliani Monastery. Here you will be greeted by cats and find serenity. Walk around for a bit, then find a seat to have some water and a short meditation on the beauty of this island.

Then start your walk down towards the town of Pythagoreion. Here there are many cute stores you can browse (and maybe buy some things to bring home). Plenty of good eateries. And also more history to be experienced. I recommend having a coffee and brunch at Hygge, before running through all the stores. Then visit the Archeological museum. And finish with a dessert at Two spoons before you find your way back to wherever you’re staying...

Interesting to see this old tunnel/aqueduct, and thinking how much work it must have been to dig this tunnel without machines. The "tour" is basically walking the first 400m of the tunnel until the midpoint where the two tunneling teams met; and going back. It is still fascinating to see, especially sections where you can see the lower part of the tunnel some metres below through metal grating. You get to wear a hardhat which is a good idea because you are going to bump your head on the ceiling, no matter how much care you take.

Before doing this tour, be aware: especially the beginning is very tight and narrow. there are longer stretches where walking upright is impossible for most people the floor is uneven and slippery, plus there are darker sections. half the floor in many places is metal grating with a sharp drop beneath

So if you are scared of any of these things better stay out of the tunnel, you wouldn't have much fun.

Unfortunately, the guide was not really in a mood to say anything about the tunnel besides warning of slippery sections and telling people not to use flash when taking pictures. Some facts or at least a greeting at the start would have been nice. There are also no other sources of info around, a missed opportunity to teach visitors some more about this early engineering...

Marvel of ancient engineering. A visit is highly recommended.

However, we had a unpleasant experience with one of the staff members. When buying tickets, my brother (25 years old) asked for the reduced fee (for persons 25 years of age or below). The lady behind the counter asked for proof, upon we he presented his drivers license.

Ridiculously, the lady then proceeded to inform my brother that he was 26, not 25. A simple error: his year of birth was 1996, so that would make him 26 in 2022. However, his birthday would be in two weeks: meaning that as of that moment, he was 25.

When we tried to explain this to the lady, she produced a calculator, and proceeded to subtract 1996 from 2022: the machine duly indicated 26. Irrefutable evidence indeed. No amount of explanation would convince her of the opposite.

In the end, she applied the reduced fee anyway, but not after cursing us under her breath in Greek and raising her voice in indignation, proclaiming: ‘the Greek people will pay for your ticket, sir!’, no doubt in reference to lingering resentment originating from the Greek debt crisis.

This encounter somewhat dampened our mood for the rest of the visit. This startling exhibition of innumeracy in Pythagoras’ home can only be described as...