Agios Ioannis sto Kastro

On the north-east coast a block of rock stands out from the shore with a single small chapel on top of it. A stairway of roughly a hundred steps is cut into the face, and at the top there is a walled courtyard, the chapel, and a view straight down the coast. The 2008 film put it on every list; it was a working church long before that and still is.

What the pictures do not show is the size. The platform holds a small group and no more — this is a location for two people, a photographer, and perhaps a witness, not for a wedding party. The chapel faces roughly east, so morning light lands on it cleanly and the sea behind stays deep blue; by afternoon the front is in shadow and the excursion boats and coaches have arrived.

Plan it as the first stop of the day: the drive from Skopelos Town takes about forty minutes on a winding road, and there is a small parking area at the bottom. The steps are uneven, exposed and hot by mid-morning. Modest dress inside the chapel; a ceremony here needs the parish's permission arranged in advance, and there may already be a wedding booked on the rock.