The essential things to do in Mykonos - Greece

Chora, or Mykonos Town, is the island's capital and one of the best-kept Cycladic villages: a maze of flagstone lanes re-whitewashed every spring, lined with white houses with blue, red or green shutters, bougainvillea and some 400 chapels. The labyrinth was laid out to confuse pirates and break the meltemi, the north wind.

The Matogianni shopping axis concentrates designer boutiques and bars; to the west, the old Kastro quarter runs down to Panagia Paraportiani, Little Venice and the Kato Mili windmill hill. To the north, the old port and its promenade hold the Archaeological Museum, the boats to Delos and the pelicans, descendants of Petros, the island's mascot.

Chora is explored on foot, early in the morning to photograph it empty, at the end of the day for sunset and nightlife. Parking is on the outskirts, at the Fabrika (south) and Old Port (north) bus stations.

Delos, an uninhabited islet 2.5 km south-west of Mykonos, was in antiquity the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis and one of the greatest sanctuaries of the Greek world, then a free port of 30,000 people in the Hellenistic period. The site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, covers the whole island: sanctuary of Apollo, Terrace of the Lions, agoras, theatre, the district of mosaic houses (House of Dionysus, of the Dolphins, of the Masks) and the museum. The climb up Mount Kynthos (113 m) gives the view over the Cyclades, named after this circle around Delos.

Boats leave from Chora's old port (Deliana pier): about a 30-minute crossing, several rotations a day from April to November, including Mondays in 2026. Nobody sleeps on the island: you return on the afternoon boat.

In 2026 the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades lists a €20 ticket (reduced €10), an 8 am opening and a 7.30 pm closing in season (last entry 7 pm), brought back to 4 pm in winter.

The Kato Mili ('lower mills') windmills are Mykonos's postcard: a row of five white, thatched-roof mills lined up on the hill closing Little Venice's bay, south-west of Chora. The island once had up to thirty, built from the 16th century to grind wheat from the neighbouring Cyclades when Mykonos was a stop on Aegean trade; about fifteen survive, including the Bonis Mill, restored as an agricultural museum on the Ano Mili hill.

The mills cannot be visited inside (except the Bonis Mill), but the esplanade is freely accessible at any hour. The best moment is sunset, when the light skims the sails and the view opens onto the balconies of Little Venice.

Little Venice, or Alefkandra, is the row of 18th- and 19th-century captains' houses built right on the sea on the west side of Chora, with painted wooden balconies hanging over the waves. The nickname comes from this continuous waterfront façade, which recalls the Grand Canal.

The ground floors are now bars and restaurants whose terraces face west: it is the island's most popular sunset viewpoint, with the Kato Mili windmills as a backdrop on the neighbouring hill. When the meltemi blows, spray soaks the front tables.

Paradise Beach, 6 km south of Chora, is the beach that made Mykonos's party reputation: a cove of fine sand on the south coast, sheltered from the meltemi, taken up by beach clubs, sunbeds and bars where the music starts in the afternoon. The Cavo Paradiso club, on the headland above, takes over at night in season.

Its neighbour Super Paradise, reached by a winding road, keeps the same mood in a more enclosed bay. At the other end of the scale, Elia, the island's longest beach, is organised but quiet; Ornos and Platis Gialos, on the south-west coast, have calm water and seafront tavernas suited to families; Agios Ioannis looks out to Delos and the sunsets. All are linked to Chora by KTEL buses from the Fabrika station.

Panagia Paraportiani, 'Our Lady of the Side Gate', stands at the entrance to the old Kastro, facing the sea, steps from Little Venice. It is in fact a cluster of five chapels built and joined between the 15th and 17th centuries: four at ground level (Agios Efstathios, Agioi Anargyroi, Agios Sozon, Agia Anastasia) and a fifth, domed, set on top of the other four. Its whitewashed, rounded volumes without a sharp edge make it the most photographed church in the Cyclades.

The interior is only occasionally open; you come for the outside, in late afternoon when the low light models the walls. In Chora, the Orthodox cathedral (Panagia Pigadiotissa), the neighbouring Catholic cathedral and Agios Nikolaos church by the old port complete the walk; in Ano Mera, the Panagia Tourliani monastery (16th century) keeps a carved iconostasis and a marble bell tower.

The Archaeological Museum of Mykonos, built in 1902 at the northern entrance to Chora near the old port, was created to house the finds from the 'purification pit' on Rheneia: in 426 BC the Athenians had every tomb on Delos dug up and its contents moved to the neighbouring island. It shows geometric and archaic vases, figurines, stelae and, as its centrepiece, a 7th-century BC pithos decorated in relief with the Trojan Horse and scenes from the fall of Troy.

It is the natural complement to a day on Delos, before or after the boat. In 2026 the Ephorate of the Cyclades lists opening 9 am to 4 pm, closed Tuesday, ticket €5 (reduced €3). The Aegean Maritime Museum and Lena's House in Chora, and the Folklore Museum near Paraportiani, complete the circuit.

Ano Mera, 8 km east of Chora, is the only real village of Mykonos's interior and its rural counterpoint: a shaded square ringed by tavernas serving grilled meat and kopanisti far from the seafront. The Panagia Tourliani monastery, founded in the 16th century and remodelled in the 18th, overlooks the square: carved marble bell tower, gilded wooden iconostasis and a small museum of liturgical objects.

The village is also the start of walks into the interior: the climb up Profitis Ilias, the island's highest point (341 m), with views to Delos, Tinos and Naxos, or the descent to the northern beaches (Fokos, Panormos) and the eastern ones (Kalafatis). Start early, the island has no shade and the meltemi blows hard in July and August.

Cavo Paradiso, opened in 1993 on the headland above Paradise Beach, is the open-air club that made Mykonos a stop on international DJ tours: a dance floor under the stars, a pool and a view over the Aegean, with nights starting after midnight and ending at sunrise. It only opens in season, roughly May to October.

Below, Paradise and Super Paradise run their beach-bar parties through the afternoon, while Chora holds the cocktail bars of Little Venice and the clubs of the Matogianni lanes. Taxis are scarce at night, so plan the way back: club shuttles, seasonal night buses or a scooter.