Andros town — always called Chora — occupies a dramatic narrow peninsula on the island's east coast, with sea on three sides and views to the open Aegean. Unlike most Cycladic towns, it has a distinctly Venetian-influenced character: the mansions here were built by ship-owning families in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and their neoclassical facades give Chora a grander feel than Mykonos or Paros.
The ruined Venetian castle at the far tip of the peninsula is worth walking out to — you cross a small bridge and pick your way across the rocks to reach what's left of the fortifications, with sea crashing on both sides. The main street (the plateia) has good cafés and a few good restaurants. Chora is notably free of the souvenir-shop clutter that dominates busier Cycladic towns.