Eggares Olive Press Museum

The Eggares Olive Press Museum sits in the quiet inland village of Eggares, about 8 km northwest of Naxos Town. Housed in a stone-built mill that dates to at least 1884, it was operated by the Lianos family for five generations before being lovingly restored and opened to visitors. The renovation kept the original structure intact while giving it the clean white Cycladic aesthetic the building deserves — functional history made legible rather than frozen behind glass.

This isn't a large or formal institution. It's a working-heritage site where the exhibition, the tasting table, and the shop occupy the same compact space, and where the family connection to the place is genuinely felt.

What to Expect

The visit centers on the original production equipment still inside the mill — stone wheels, wooden presses, clay vessels, and the structural components of an early industrial olive-oil process that would have served the surrounding village community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A guide walks you through how the olives were brought in, crushed, pressed, and stored, giving you a clear sense of the labor involved before mechanization arrived.

After the tour, complimentary tastings are laid out: a range of infused olive oils, plus olive-based snacks prepared in-house — olive bread, cookies, and cake that regulars apparently refer to as "Mama's." The shop alongside sells bottled oils and related products, most sourced from Naxos itself. The outdoor patio provides a shaded place to sit before or after — unhurried in the way that inland Naxos village life tends to be.

The tour is free. With a 4.7 rating across more than 1,600 Google reviews, it is one of the most consistently well-regarded cultural stops on the island.

How to Get There

Eggares is a short drive from Naxos Town via the road that passes through the Livadi plain toward the Melanes valley. By car or scooter, the village is roughly 15–20 minutes from the port. There is roadside parking near the museum. Public bus connections to Eggares are limited, so a rental vehicle is the most practical option for most visitors. Alternatively, several tour operators in Naxos Town include the Olive Press Museum on half-day island interior itineraries, which is worth considering if you plan to combine it with a visit to the nearby Kouros of Flerio or the Melanes valley.

Best Time to Visit

The museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Mornings — especially before 11:00 AM — tend to be quieter, and the light on the stone courtyard is good for photographs. Summer afternoons can bring tour groups, so if you want a more relaxed tasting experience, aim for a morning slot or an off-season visit. The museum operates year-round, and the autumn period (October–November) is particularly atmospheric: olive harvest season in Naxos, when the trees in the surrounding groves are heavy with fruit and the whole context of the exhibition feels immediate.

Tips for Visiting

• The tour and tasting are free, but the shop sells quality oils and products — budget for a bottle or two if you want to take something home.
• Combine the visit with the Kouros of Flerio, the unfinished ancient marble statue about 2 km southeast in Melanes — both fit easily into a two-hour inland morning.
• The outdoor patio is a genuine rest stop, not just a selling space — order a coffee and use it.
• The museum is accessible and suitable for all ages; children tend to engage well with the tactile, mechanical nature of the old press equipment.
• Contact ahead if you're arriving with a larger group: +30 2285 062021 or [email protected].
• Wear comfortable shoes — the courtyard and interior have traditional stone paving.

A Note on the History

Olive cultivation has shaped Naxos since antiquity. The island's interior valleys — protected from wind, watered by seasonal streams — produce olives well suited to pressing. By the late 19th century, when the Eggares press was active, small community mills like this one were the economic backbone of rural Cycladic villages. Most have since disappeared or fallen into ruin. The fact that this one survives in working condition, still in the hands of the family that ran it, makes it an unusually direct link to that period. The restoration by civil engineer Yiannis Protonotarios preserved the original stonework and machinery rather than replacing it, which is not always the approach taken with heritage properties in high-tourism areas.