Mykonos

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GENERAL INFORMATION:

Mykonos, is the smallest, and most famous, of all the Cyclades islands. Mykonos is centered in the Aegean Sea and is popular for its cosmopolitan center and festive night life. Composed mainly of granite, Mykonos contains approximately 46 square miles. The island has a rocky terrain with gentle hills and small valleys. Mykonos Town is the island's capital city. Mykonos is also famous for its many sandy beaches. Ano Mero, Mykonos other village, is located in the middle of the island.

Night life on Mykonos is rated among the best in Europe with many festivities beginning mid-day on the island's beaches and continuing till sunrise the next morning. Mykonos is famous as the "Playground For Adults," and attracts many well known celebreties. The more than twenty popular beaches on Mykonos have earned the island the name "Capri of Greece."

BEACHES:

Agios Stefanos is a well developed family beach with a large annual tourist population. Ftelia, located on the north central part of the island, forms the base to Panormous Bay, the largest on Mykonos, and is world famous for windsurfing and Neolithic settlements. Ftelia is isolated and tranquil because of the winds it is also known for. Psarou is one of the earliest established beaches on Mykonos and offers a diving school. Psarou has a large tourist population. Kalafatis, another one of the earliest established beaches on the island, is famous for windsurfing with good offshore breezes. Kalo Livadi is a small southern beach on Mykonos. Korphos Bay attracts windsurfers with good onshore winds but is not too suitable for swimming. Ornos, located on the southwest corner of the island, is a self-contained village. Ornos is a good family beach that offers excursions to Delos, and provides good accommodations for yachts.

Agios Sastis is one of the more remote beaches on Mykonos with a lesser tourist crowd. Agios Yannis, on the island's west side, is a small, white sandy beach with several small coves and a calm, relaxed atmosphere. Agrari has kept commercial development on the beach to a minimum and remains one of the quiestest beaches on south Mykonos. Elia is the largest of the island's south beaches and has Mykonos only water park. Lia is undeveloped, with natural Cycladic landscape, and is the furthest beach from town. Panormous is found on the north side of the island, is remote, and is best suited for swimming during southerly windy periods.

Paradise beach is the most popular beach on Mykonos and became famous in the 1960s through discovery by the Hippies and other world traveling backpackers. Paradise beach caters to the younger tourist population and offers a Professional Diving Center and a well established camping facility. Paraga is the first of the southern beaches on the island and is popular with the young and fashionable crowds. Paraga has a holiday atmosphere. Plati Yialos is one of the oldest and most established beaches on Mykonos and is family oriented. Plati Yialos is also one of the most visited beaches on the island. Super Paradise beach is an exclusive, small, deep bay. Tourlos is north of town and is seldom crowded. Tourlos is long and narrow with an extensive bay and yacht harbor.

ATTRACTIONS:

Popular attractions on Mykonos include the Folk Museum, the House of Lena, the Svoronos House, the 15th Century-built Saint George Church, the 1883-built Saint Barbara and Saint Fanourios Churches, Laka Square with its eucalyptus and palm trees, the Windmill Plateau with 16th Century windmills, one of Mykonos most popular attractions, where Ancient Cyclades Islanders brought wheat and barley to be milled into flour, Alefkandra which is the "Little Venice District," Panagia Paraportiani has five churches built into a compact complex and is one of the island's most photographed structures, the Kastro, Manto Square with the Statue of Manto Mavroyenous, Ano Mera with its 15th Century monastery and church museum, local Mykonian dance shows, the Archaeological Museum with sculptures from Delos, Renia, and Mykonos, the Aegean Maritime Museum with pre-Minoan through 19th Century ships and Ancient artifacts related to the history of Mykonos shipping, and Petros the White Pelican, the official mascot of Mykonos since 1959.

ANCIENT HISTORY:

Ionians settled Mykonos in the 11th Century BC. Finds in Ftelia indicate Neolithic Kares settled the island as early as 3000BC. Ancient Mykonos was an important supply island. Phoenicians, Macedonians, and Athenians controlled the island in Ancient times. Under Alexander the Great Mykonos became a major commercial center for agriculture, maritime Trades, and ceramic pottery. Mykonos was enormously wealthy during the Roman occupations. High quality clay and barite were mined on Mykonos, and two of the island's seasonal streams have been dammed to create reservoirs.

In the Middle Ages Mykonos fell under Venetian, Sarucens, and Ottoman rule. The Slave Trade was common and thousands of Mykonians were abducted into that market. Under Manto Mavroyenous Mykonos defeated a Turkish onslaught in 1822 during the Greek War of Independence. Pirates raided Mykonos from Ancient times to the 19th Century. The island was occupied by Germany during World War II and suffered through deep starvation.

TOURISM:

Beginning in the 1950s tourism began to become popular on the island because of Mykonos Cycladic architecture, seclusion, and hospitality. Mykonos became a haven for the rich and famous tourist population and is recognized as one of the world's most famous vacation destination islands.

CLIMATE:

The Mykonos climate is known for sunshine and wind with infrequent rainfall. The sun shines on the island about 300 days a year. Natural vegetation is limited on Mykonos. Winters on the island are mild with rare freezing temperatures. Heavy South winds arrive on Mykonos during the Winter and create electrical storms. The famous Sirocco winds of Spring bring sand from the deserts bordering the Mediterranean. These winds arrive in the form of red rain. The North winds of Summer blow daily. The famous Meltemi winds of July and August blow steady and gale force winds are not uncommon on Mykonos.

AIRPORT:

Mykonos has an airport outside of town with regular flights from Athens and Thessaloniki. In the highest tourist season months of Summer several charter airlines fly directly to the island from many European airports.

Mykonos - a little island with a whole lot of big stuff to offer.