The chapel of Agios Ioannis sto Kastri stands on top of a rock stack on the north-east coast of Skopelos, reached by a flight of steps cut into the rock.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
It was the wedding chapel in the Mamma Mia film, and it is now the single most visited spot on Skopelos.
Two things worth saying plainly
Our own guide states both, and they are the whole of the useful advice:
The climb is a genuine staircase up a rock, and there is nothing at the top but a small chapel and a view.
The island was a serious destination before the film and remains one after it.
Take those together and you have the right expectation. This is a short, steep climb to a small building and a good view - not an attraction with anything built around it. People who arrive expecting a set are disappointed; people who arrive expecting a chapel on a rock are not.
The film, and the correction that goes with it
Worth carrying because the neighbouring island gets the credit: the 2008 film was shot largely on Skopelos, where the hilltop chapel wedding and the main beach scenes were filmed, with only some scenes on Skiathos. On screen the two islands together played the fictional Kalokairi.
So if the film is why you are coming, Skopelos is the island - and from Skiathos the pilgrimage is a day trip by boat rather than a walk.
What else Skopelos is
The most densely forested island in Greece, where pine runs to the shoreline, with beaches of white pebble.
Skopelos Town is a tiered amphitheatre of houses around the harbour, stacked steeply with slate roofs, whitewashed walls and an improbable number of churches - the usual figure quoted is around 120 in the town alone. Above it is the ruined kastro; below it a working waterfront. The lanes are stepped and largely car-free, and the walk up through them is the best hour on the island.
Glossa, at the northern end, is the second town.
Practical notes
Getting there: Skopelos is in the Sporades, reached from the mainland ports or via Skiathos - Skiathos to Skopelos covers that hop and the fact that there are two possible ports on the Skopelos side.
The steps. We give no count and no gradient. It is a staircase cut into a rock stack; look at it and decide.
We print no opening hours for the chapel.
Common questions
Is this the Mamma Mia chapel? Yes - the wedding chapel from the 2008 film.
Is there anything at the top? A small chapel and a view. Our own guide says so plainly, and it is the kindest thing anyone can tell you before the climb.
Was the film shot on Skiathos? Largely on Skopelos, with only some scenes on Skiathos. The two played one fictional island.
Next
Our Skopelos guide has the practicalities, things to do in Skopelos covers the town, and the beaches cover the white pebble.