Mykonos
Mykonos Island
Mykonos island is one of the most beautiful islands in the Aegean Sea. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece as well. It’s also the best summer destination for crazy fun! Featuring some of the best beaches of the Cyclades, some of Europe’s finest restaurants and hotels, Mykonos Island is one of the top clubbing destinations in the Mediterranean, the hottest spot of celebrities and gay community.
The capital of the island, Mykonos (Chora), with its beautiful harbor where small fishing boats swing next to luxury yachts, is completely different from the majority of the Aegean islands.
Mykonos belongs to the group of the Cycladic islands, located in the center of the Aegean Sea. Mykonos Island is located south of Tinos, east of Syros and north of Paros and Naxos.
Mykonos, in general, is considered as a relatively small island. In case you want to leave your own car home you should know that transport is fairly organized and consistent on the island.
How to get to Mykonos Island
You have two options to get to Mykonos, by airplane or by ferry from Athens.
By Air
If you want to get as fast as possible, you can also take a plane. Flight duration is only 35 minutes from Athens and the total cost depends on how early you have pre-purchased your air tickets. It is worth knowing that Mykonos airport accepts more than ten flights a day during the summer months and also serves charter flights. Mykonos Airport is 4 km away from Mykonos Town. Both Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines, during the summer, have daily direct flights from Thessaloniki. In the high summer season, there are also less frequent flights from Rhodes, Santorini, Crete (Heraklion) and Volos. Also, many European airports have direct flights to Mykonos May to October.
By conventional ships or speedboats
Mykonos is 94 nautical miles southeast of port of Piraeus and 74 nautical miles southeast of Rafina port. The boat trip from Piraeus is about 3 hours with highspeed and 5 hours with the slowest ferry. Most of the ferries connect Piraeus to Mykonos from April to October. You can also get to the island of Mykonos, directly from the other Cycladic islands, Syros, Andros, Tinos, Paros, Naxos, Ios, Santorini and Crete. There are also a night ferries from Samos and Ikaria every day and less frequent from Milos, Sifnos, Serifos, Folegandros, Kimolos, Sikinos, Anafi and Thirasia. As coastal companies update the program weekly, there may be some inaccuracies with companies’ online information.
From the port to the town of Mykonos (Chora)
During the high season there is public transport from the new port of Tourlos to Mykonos town, but the best solution is to take a taxi. You can walk from the new harbor to Mykonos town, but it will take about 45 minutes on a busy main street without a sidewalk.
Mykonos Beaches
Mykonos Beaches
Rhodes Island
Rhodes Island
Crete Island
Crete Island
Athens
Athens
Santorini Island
Santorini Island
Mykonos Attractions
Petros the Pelican
An old celebrity of the town's waterfront, "Petros" has been the mascot of Mykonos for over half of century. After his death the locals elected a successor to carry on his legacy until today. In 1995, another pelican fell to the island and so today there are three pelicans in Mykonos that have won the hearts of the island's inhabitants and visitors.
Lighthouse
The Armenistis Lighthouse stands as a tribute to the great maritime history of Mykonos while remaining fully functional today. Its strategic position offers scenic views of the surrounding areas and is well worth visiting to get a sense of the island’s fascinating history and enjoy its amazing beauty.
Little Venice
Perhaps the most photographed and charming area of Mykonos, "Little Venice", is a picturesque neighborhood built on the coast that reminds Venice very much. Elegant, beautiful and colorful houses with windows, stairs and wooden balconies, literally on the sea, give the visitor a sense of being in the famous Italian city. You can definitely enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets in Greece.
Agora of the Italians
This Agora is situated near the commercial harbour of Delos. As it was used by the merchants from Italy, it is called the agora of Italians. It is also called the agora of Competialists or Hermaists, because the merchants gathered here practiced cult for Lares Compitales and Hermes. This episode shows the close relationship between Delos, Athens and Rome in the later half of the second century.
Town Hall
The Town Hall is a elegant, two-storied building 1780 with a roof o breaks that was manufactured at the period of Orlofika in order to it constitutes the Seat of the Russian General Consul of Archipelago. Later it came under the authority of the jurisdiction of Community, in order to accommodates up to today the offices of Municipality of Mykonos.
Delos
At a distance from cosmopolitan Mykonos, Delos is the holy island of ancient Greece. It is the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, according to mythology. But what makes one of the country's most important archaeological sites is that it is the only one in Greece where private homes have been found in a wonderful state.
Mykonos Town
Between Kastro and Skarpas is the picturesque neighborhood with its colorful balconies and the wooden "bountias" hanging - above all - above the sea. You can definitely enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets in Greece.
Windmills
A trademark of Mykonos, its windmills, are internationally recognizable, thanks to the countless photos and postcards of the visitors. They stand on a hill, in the neighborhood of Kastro in Chora, and are seven three-storey buildings of cylindrical shape, with small windows and a conical wooden roof.
Folklore Museum
The oldest house on the island has a rich collection of 19th-century furniture, jewelry, ceramics embroideries, marble sculptures, tombstones and a variety of other trinkets. The museum also pays tribute to Mykonos' traditional nautical roots with models of 19th-century Mykonian ships, maps and an anchor and canons used during the Greek War of Independence.
Aegean Maritime Museum
The Museum opened its doors to the public in 1985, having as its primary objective the promotion of maritime history and commercial navigation of the Aegean islands. The Aegean Maritime Museum is housed in a traditional Cycladic building, at Tri Pigadia.
Agricultural Museum
Old tools and machinery are displayed in one of Mykonos’ famous windmills and, located above the main town of Chora in Ano Myloi offers an amazing view of the town and sunset. Bonis Mill has been preserved to its original condition so the visitors have full access to all three floors of the building.
Archaeological Museum of Mykonos
The Archaeological Museum of Mykonos was built in 1902, specifically to house the finds from the "Catharos Cave" of 425/426 BC, revealed in 1898 by Dimitrios Stavropoulos in Rhenia. It is one of the oldest museums in Greece.
Chapel of Panagia Paraportiani
Among the more than 600 churches on the island, Panagia Paraportiani occupies a special place because of its unique architecture. It consists of a two-storey complex of five churches, with four being the base and the fifth standing like a dome. The temple was built in the 16th century.
Monastery of Virgin Mary in Tourliani
It was built in 1542 in a place where there was an old church of the Eisodia Panagias. In 1757 - 1767 the monastery, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was renovated by the hieromonk Ignatius Bassoulas and acquired its present form. The monastery collection includes many old tools and important post-Byzantine icons.
Monastery in Paliokastro
It is a 18th century monastery, a typical example of the monastery architecture of the Cyclades, located to the north of Ano Mera. Its name owes it to the homonymous neighboring hill "Paliokastro". It is based on prominent remains of ancient fortifications. Panagia Paleokastriani is a female monastery.