A few weeks ago, I wrote about how some uninhabited places around the world make you feel like Robinson Crusoe. The islands in this post were also once uninhabited, but once they were settled, they became so densely populated with cities that they finally took over the whole island and turned it into an island city.
Top 10 Island Cities Worldwide
1. Isola dei Pescatori
The most northern of the three main Borromean Islands in Lago Maggiore is Isola dei Pescatori, which means “Fishermen’s Island.” It is the only island where people live all year, with about 50 living there. It has a short street going down the middle that connects to the promenade that goes around the island.
Many times, the promenade is flooded, which is why the houses built along it are made that way. Even though fishing is still a traditional job on the island, tourism is now their main source of income because of how beautiful it is.
2. Trogir
Trogir is one of the best-preserved ancient towns in Europe. It is close to the city of Split. The beautiful island city is made up of tiny medieval streets that lead to secret restaurants and art galleries. A long, wide boardwalk goes around the town and ends at a cute harbor full of ships. Trogir has a beautiful Venetian Cathedral of St. Lawrence, a town hall, and an ancient fortress. The buildings are a nice mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles.
3. Santa Cruz del Islote
Santa Cruz del Islote is an island off the coast of Colombia in the Caribbean that is thought to be the world’s busiest. This island is about 1 acre in size and has about 90 homes. It is home to about 1200 people. People on the island bury their dead on a nearby island because there isn’t enough room for a garden. The only public area on Santa Cruz is only about the size of a tennis court, so people play football on the nearby Mucura key.
4. Lindau
The old city of Lindau is in the eastern part of Lake Constance (Bodensee), close to where the borders of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland meet. The city is linked to the shore by a bridge and a railroad. It is home to about 3,000 people. The island city is a famous place for tourists to visit because it has many buildings with medieval and half-timbered styles.
5. Mexcaltitan
The city of Mexcaltitán is built on a small island off the coast of Mexico’s Pacific Ocean. People live in boats that they row from place to place during the rainy season, which runs from June to October. The town is low in the marshy waterways that are lined with mangroves.
Some experts think that Mexcaltitán might be the legendary Aztlán, which was the Aztecs’ original home place. Today, the town is mostly known for shrimp farming, and shrimp are spread out to dry on any surface in the town.
6. Malé
Malé is the Maldives’ capital city and the place with the most people. The small island is crowded with more than 100,000 people. There is no countryside around the city, so all of the equipment has to be in the city itself. Desalinated groundwater is used to provide water, and diesel engines are used to make electricity in the city. Tons of trash are taken to nearby islands and used to fill in ponds. This is how the bigger airport island nearby was built.
7. Venice
The city of Venice is spread out over 117 islands and is joined by 455 bridges. It is famous for its canals. There are canals that act as roads in the old town, and most people get around by water or on foot.
Slowly, though, the city on the island is dropping, and during high tides in the fall and winter, the Piazza San Marco, which is the lowest point on the island, fills up with water. It has sunk about 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) every hundred years for the last 1,000 years. According to new reports, the city of Venice has sunk about 24 centimeters (9.4 inches) in just the last century.
This could be because the water level in the Adriatic is rising more than because Venice is sinking into the ground. Some people think that the city could be raised higher above sea level by pumping water into the ground below the island city.
8. Manhattan
Manhattan is one of the five areas of New York City. When most people think of New York City, they picture Manhattan. Most of the most famous places in New York are in Manhattan, which is an island city. “Manhattan” comes from the Lenape people who lived in the area before Europeans. The word means “island of many hills” in English.
The Dutch built a fort on Manhattan Island in 1625. This was the start of New York City. Manhattan is one of the world’s most heavily populated island cities. In 2008, 1,634,795 people lived on a land area of 59.47 km², which is 22.96 square miles.
9. Flores
Flores is on Lake Petén Itzá and is joined to land by a causeway. The twin towns of Santa Elena and San Benito are on the other side of the causeway. The last Maya state that was not ruled by Spain fought back against the Spanish on the island of Flores. Their city, Noh Petén, which means “City Island” in English, was destroyed by Spanish boats in 1697.
The fact that Flores is close to the famous Maya sites of Tikal is what draws many tourists there. The island city itself, though, is a great place to visit. It has many hotels, restaurants, a historic church, and colonial buildings with red roofs. This island city is more than just a spot to start your trip; it’s an interesting place to visit in its own right.
10. Nesebar
“Pearl of the Black Sea” is another name for Nesebar. It is a rich island city with a past that spans more than 3,000 years and is always changing. The old part of town is on an island that is linked to the mainland by a narrow causeway that was built by humans. Over the course of its history, it has been inhabited by many different civilizations.
Some say that Nesebar has more churches per person than any other town. These churches show the rich architectural history of the Eastern Orthodox.
