Things to do
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Church of Panagia Paraportiani
Five small chapels fused into one two-storey white church give Mykonos its strangest silhouette, and you can walk all the way round it on the seafront edge of Kastro.
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Delos
You get a whole ancient city to walk, its streets, houses and temples spread over an island where fewer than 25 people live today, most of them staff at the excavations.
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Little Venice
Come for the sunset over the Aegean, watched from a waterfront cafe under painted wooden balconies that hang straight over the sea.
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Mykonos windmills
The row of windmills above Little Venice is the trademark of Mykonos, and you can fold it into any walk through the town without a detour.
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Aegean Maritime Museum
Ship models, charts, coins and navigation instruments trace the seafaring history of the Aegean islands in a nineteenth-century mansion in the Tria Pigadia quarter of town. The garden holds the Armenistis lighthouse as a restored exhibit, along with ancient sailors' gravestones from Mykonos and Delos. It sits a short walk from the windmills.
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Ano Mera
The island's only real inland village, a farming settlement on a plateau east of town where life runs to its own calendar. Tavernas spread their tables across a large central square, with the walls of the Tourliani monastery on one side. A morning visit pairs well with the monastery and a swim at a north-coast beach. Local buses connect it to the town.
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Archaeological Museum
A small museum near the old port, holding finds from the burial pits of neighbouring Rheneia, where the graves of Delos were moved when that island was purified. Its prize is a large clay storage jar decorated with the Trojan Horse, warriors peering from hatches in its side. Grave reliefs and painted pottery fill the other rooms. It is ticketed, and an hour is ample.
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Armenistis lighthouse
A stone lighthouse on the bare north-western cape of the island, looking across the strait to Tinos. The draw is the open headland around it, with low scrub and a long view of passing ferries. Sunset here is calmer than in town, and the cape is fiercely windy in the meltemi. Confirm road conditions locally before driving out.
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Cavo Tagoo
A design-led base on the quiet side of Mykonos town, close enough to walk to the old port and far enough to sleep well in August.
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Fokos Beach
An undeveloped bay on the wild north-east coast, reached by a rough road through empty hills behind Ano Mera. There are no sunbeds, only coarse sand and clear water below bare slopes. The north wind blows straight in, so the sea can run high in summer. A car or quad is the only practical way there.
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Megali Ammos
A beach within walking distance of Chora, 10 to 15 minutes from the centre, so a swim here needs no bus or taxi. The rooms around it have quieter nights than the lanes of the old town, which suits a stay in Chora without a car.
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Old Port market
Fruit stalls and fishmongers set up at the Old Port, where the boats to Delos leave, and sell the island's own produce. A walk through the stalls fits around a morning sailing to Delos, or around the walk back into Chora's lanes after the crossing.
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Ornos
An easygoing beach village on the south coast, about ten minutes from Chora by road, and the easy pick for families. Buses link it with the Fabrika terminal in town, and the walk back to Chora along the road takes about 40 minutes.
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Panagia Tourliani Monastery
A working monastery on the square of Ano Mera, rising over the village roofs. It is the island's patron monastery, and the church and its courtyard are the reason to stop on a morning in the village. Covered shoulders are expected. The tavernas on the square make a natural pause before or after the visit.
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Platis Gialos
A south-coast beach village with its facilities right on the beach, and the easiest beach base without a car. Boats leave from here along the shore to other beaches, so one bus ride from town opens up several swims.
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Psarou Beach
A sheltered sandy cove on the south coast, protected from the north wind and lined with sunbeds and a smart beach club. Yachts anchor just offshore in the calm water. The bay is small, and it lies a short taxi ride from town. Neighbouring Platys Gialos is the next beach along the coast.
