The ancient city of Pyli, is found at a distance of 15 kilometers southwestern to the town of Kos and 4 kilometers southern to the coastal tourist resort of Marmari, which serves as its port.
This small town of 2.500 permanent residents is situated almost at the middle of the island, within an overgrown plain with olive trees and vegetables.
The few hundreds of houses that form the town surround the central square, which is really the center of economic and social activities of the settlement. It is a nice square, with traditional stone buildings, traditional cafes and small taverns, the heart of everyday life of the locals.
Food is gorgeous in the taverns of the town and the broader area, where you may find local dishes and a variety of international tastes.
Some 3-4 kilometers southeastern to Pyli, you may visit the old town of Pyli («Palio Pyli»), a semi-ruined, abandoned settlement.
One of the best building is the «Pyliotiko Spiti» («the house of Pyli»); it is an old house with three rooms, where it is represented the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom of a traditional house of the past, with original furniture and objects, as its owners left them some more than 70 years ago.
At a distance of less than 100 meters from the house there is a spring with cool water, flowing from 6 fountains.
Just beside the spring, you will see the ancient vaults, which, according to tradition, are related to the local hero of the island.
It is here, at the mountain Dikaio that used to be the town of Pyli, with the Byzantine castle at the top of a hill, overlooking the whole area. The Castle was constructed during the Macedonian Dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, who dominated from the 9th to 11th centuries. When the island of Kos was conquered by the Knights of St John, the castle was restored and strengthened, in order to ensure the defense of the area. It is really worth seeing and if you walk up here, you will certainly be rewarded for the effort: the view is breathtaking; you will see Marmari, the islands of Pserimos and Kalymnos and far in the horizon you will discern the coasts of Western Turkey (the Bodrum peninsula).
In old Pyli you may also see the church of Ypapanti, built in the 14th century, with excellent wall paintings, a wonderful wood carved icon screen and columns taken from an ancient Greek temple that existed before, possibly dedicated to Demeter.
You may also visit the tiny church of the Byzantine lord Michael and nearby, within a clump of fir-trees, you will find a spring which in the past served to watering the animals.