Quick facts
Location: a sheltered bay on the southwest coast of Serifos, about 11 kilometres from Chora.
Population: around 50 today, down from roughly 700 at the height of the mining era.
Known for: the ruins of the island’s iron mining industry, and the 1916 miners’ strike that won Greece’s first legally recognised 8 hour workday.
Character: quiet and largely residential, with a small, sheltered beach and just 2 seafront tavernas.
Is Megalo Livadi worth visiting
Megalo Livadi is unlike anywhere else on Serifos, a former company mining town rather than a traditional Cycladic village, and it is worth the drive for the history alone. The ruined neoclassical headquarters building still stands at the edge of the beach, and the wider bay is scattered with the loading ramps, rail tracks and gallery entrances left behind when the mines closed, alongside a genuinely important piece of Greek labour history.
Highlights
The former mining headquarters, a neoclassical building at the edge of the beach, built around 1890 after the Serifos Spiliazeza mining company moved its offices here, with the ruins of its 2 flanking palm trees still marking the entrance.
The 1916 strike memorial, near the headquarters, commemorating the miners killed when police opened fire on striking workers on 21 August 1916. The strike, led by the anarcho-syndicalist Konstantinos Speras and the island’s Union of Workingmen and Miners, ended with the government conceding an 8 hour working day, the first in Greece.
Mining infrastructure along the bay’s northern side, including loading bridges, ore wagons and rail tracks running down from several gallery levels cut into the hillside.
The Almiros thermal spring, where miners once bathed to ease the physical toll of the work, still flowing near the village.
The chapel of Agios Nikolaos at the village entrance, along with Agia Triada and Agios Ioannis Prodromos elsewhere in the settlement.
Getting there
Megalo Livadi sits about 11 kilometres from Chora, on the far side of the island from Livadi port, so a rental car or scooter is the practical way to reach it, since bus services this far out are limited. See Serifos taxi and the Serifos bus timetable for current options, and how to get to Serifos for routes onto the island itself.
Map
Where to eat
Megalo Livadi keeps it simple, with 2 seafront tavernas overlooking the beach, both with tables set out directly on the sand.
Where to stay
This is not really a village set up for overnight stays, most of what remains is residential, and most visitors see it as a half day trip from Chora or Livadi rather than a base. If you want a wider choice of accommodation, Livadi, close to the port, is the more practical option.
Nearby beaches
Megalo Livadi has its own small, sheltered beach right in the village, shallow and shaded by tamarisk trees, making it a genuinely quiet alternative to the busier beaches near Livadi and Livadakia. For a bigger choice of beaches with more facilities, see Livadi and Livadakia.
Best time to visit
Late spring and early autumn are the most comfortable months for exploring the mining ruins on foot, since much of the site is exposed with little shade. The gallery entrances that run into the hillside are best left to experienced, properly guided visits rather than casual exploring, some sections are known to be genuinely unsafe.
Back to the Serifos island guide.
