The island of Syros is the best kept secret in the Cyclades. Named for the ‘circle of love’ they form around the island of Delos, the Cyclades are the most popular of the Greek Islands, with their whitewashed cubic houses and cane roofs. A one-hour jaunt by ferry from the most famous, Mykonos, is the quieter Syros, which shares the other’s celestial light, medieval citadel, labyrinthine old town and harbour. But when, at summer’s height, you can’t find a chair to sit in on Mykonos, on Syros you’ll have your pick. Here, you won’t overpay or hear foreign voices ringing out, and locals redefine the word ‘hospitable’. This is a year-round, working island with little history of tourism.