Mykonos is talked about in the same breathy terms as Ibiza or Miami. It has been popular with A-list celebrities since the Fifties and Sixties when stars such as Brigitte Bardot and Jackie Onassis understood its attractions. It is upmarket, stunningly beautiful and offers chic hospitality. It is a party lover’s paradise, but it is also a whitewashed, glimmering Grecian gem waiting to be explored. There are stunning beaches, glamorous beach clubs, swanky restaurants, lush hillsides and azure waters.
Villa Basileus is situated on the hillside above the beautiful, idyllic Elia Beach. The beach is gorgeous with silvery-white sand, Mykonos’ longest sweep of sand and popular with families. The rainbow flag at the end of the beach marks this as an LGBT friendly stretch of sand. Platys Gialos Beach is 5km southeast of Mykonos Town and is wide and beautiful with many restaurants and bars. You can catch water taxis from Elia Beach to Platys Gialos. Other popular beaches are Psarou Beach, Paraga Beach, Paradise Beach which is the famous party beach with bars spilling out into the sand and dominated by eponymous clubs, Super Paradise Beach and Agios Ioannis Beach. There are 25 beaches in total! Platys Gialos and Kalafatis are particularly good for water sports.
Ano Mera is very pretty. You can meander through the delightful streets and get a feel for how people lived before the tourist boom. The Panagia Tourlaina and Paleokastro Monasteries are centuries old and definitely worth a visit.
After the beaches, Mykonos Town or Hora as it is known, is the second-biggest attraction of the island. The enchanting warren of narrow lanes, bedecked with colourful bougainvillaea and lined with picturesque churches, charming restaurants, quirky art galleries and chic boutiques, is somewhere you can meander for hours. There are interesting museums, including the Archaeological Museum and the Aegean Maritime Museum. Hora is a shoppers paradise with casual fashion, souvenirs and jewellery being sold in Little Venice, Greek designers on Matogliani and fantastic art in Mavrogenous Street. The open-air cinema is another delight of Hora.