Explora Journeys in Mykonos

Mykonos is a Cycladic island whose main town, Chora, is a whitewashed labyrinth of cube houses, blue domes, and bougainvillea pressed against the Aegean. The waterfront stacks its signature images close together: a row of 16th-century windmills, the Little Venice houses with balconies overhanging the water, and one of Greece's most photographed churches. The town itself is small enough that the day is about wandering, not covering ground.

What to do on a day in Mykonos

• Kato Mili: the line of 16th-century windmills on the low hill above the harbor, roughly a five-minute walk from the town center
• Little Venice: the row of former merchant houses with wooden balconies cantilevered over the sea, immediately below the windmills and best at the end of the day
• Panagia Paraportiani: the whitewashed cluster of five chapels merged into one sculptural form near the old port, among the most photographed churches in Greece
• Matogianni street and the surrounding old-town lanes, built deliberately as a maze to confuse pirates and now lined with shops and tavernas
• Aegean Maritime Museum and the small Archaeological Museum for a quieter hour off the waterfront

Getting ashore

Larger ships anchor and tender to the old port at the edge of Chora, which puts you steps from the windmills, Little Venice, and the lanes; some ships instead berth at the new port at Tourlos, about 2 to 2.5 km out, where the road has no pavement, so use the shuttle or the seabus water taxi rather than walking. The town is compact and one day is enough to see it well and still reach a nearby beach.

When to book the ship's excursion vs your own →

Weather and when to visit

• May to June (late spring). Typically warm and mostly dry, daytime highs in the low-to-mid 20s C, generally before the strongest winds set in
• July to August (high summer). Typically hot and very dry, highs commonly around the high 20s to low 30s C, with the strong, dry Meltemi wind from the north most sustained in late July and August
• September to October (early autumn). Typically warm and easing, highs in the mid 20s C in September, winds and crowds dropping off