Mykonos Town with its narrow paved streets, white houses with brightly painted doors and balustrades, windmills and seafront is really charming and you will want to spend a few days here savouring its wonderful atmosphere during a visit to Mykonos Island.
Explore Mykonos Town
Europe This Way comment: We were utterly charmed by Mykonos Town which is beautiful by day and is equally gorgeous and busy at night time. We can't wait to come back!
The Greek Islands are full of charming towns and Mykonos Town is definitely in the top ten of these to visit. Its narrow pedestrian streets are all paved in stone with a distinctive crazy paving look that makes Mykonos Town instantly recognisable on photos. All of the buildings are painted bright white and have brightly painted wooden balconies, doors, windows and ballustrades. These are usually shades of blue but there are enough other colours to keep it interesting.
Large bougainvillea and pots of cactus and other sunloving plants add to the beauty. Wandering the streets you can find restaurants and bars covering quite a range of prices. Mykonos has an international reputation as something of a jet-set destination and definitely a party destination, with some big party beaches further round the coast, and so there are plenty of options for all budgets.
The shops are an eclectic mix of high-end jewellry and glassware with lots of beautiful boutiques selling shoes and clothes and also lots of more touristy shops selling glass beads and other Mykonos momentos. The blue evil eye of Greece appears everywhere from bags to cushions to beads and who could resist a few of these wonderful evil eye bracelets. The idea is that if you wear one you deflect the evil eye from yourself!
As you walk round you will also see an incredible number of tiny churches often with bright blue or red dome roofs. Be sure to have a look in these as some have amazing Byzantine interiors and are really beautiful. They are so tiny that some could only hold about ten people in the congregation!
There are some iconic sights to Mykonos Town that you will see as you walk round. The row of windmills in the small bay at the western edge of town can be seen from various viewpoints around the town. Up close they are not in the best of settings but from a distance they are lovely to see. On the opposite side of this small bay is a group of buildings built directly on the waterfront and known as Little Venice.
Little Venice is a popular area at night and its bars play music and have a party vibe and the restaurants fill up quickly. During the day sit and have a drink in one of the balconies overlooking the water and you get one of the best views of the windmills.
Another popular part of the town is the old port where you can look out on the fishing boats coming in and out of the harbour and eat or drink at a good range of harbourside restaurants. If you are lucky whilst you are in this part of town you might even see the tame pelican that wanders around Mykonos Town.
Also to look out for is the Panagia Paraportiani church which is an unusual triangular shape and is made up of five seperate churches, four at ground level and one built on top of them!
Take a walk up the steep steps on the eastern side of the town which lead up to another old windmill. From here you get some great views over Mykonos Town, Mykonos and out to sea.
When in Mykonos be sure to try the absolutely delicious baklava baked on the island. Our favourite was the Gioros Wood Medieval Bakery which is in the basement of a building on Agiou Efthimiou street. It is hard to spot but you won't be disappointed. Its like steppping back in time. They have a few different varieties of baklava - we sampled them all and all are delicious!
Where to visit nearby?
Mykonos Town is just a few kilometers from the pleasant beach of Platis Gialos and the chic beach of Psarou famous for its beach club and restaurant - Nammos.
Mykonos is known as a party island and is particularly gay and LGBT friendly. The main party beaches are the Paradise and Super Paradise beach and Paranga also has a great party vibe. In Mykonos Town itself the Skandinavian Bar is the place for the coolest party atmosphere.
If you are looking for quieter or family beaches then head east or north of the island. Don't be put off by Mykonos' party reputation if this is not your thing. Mykonos Town can be enjoyed by any age group.
Mykonos has a port with easy transfer to Naxos, Paros or Santorini. All of these are well worth a trip and Santorini is a bucket-list destination not to be missed.
