Mykonos island is famed as a cosmopolitan destination among the Greek islands in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea
Widely recognized as one of the great travel meccas, Mykonos island is welcoming every year countless discerning tourists and regular visitors each year from all over the world.
This beautiful Greek island has been voted for 7 consecutive years (2005-2012) by the readers of Conde’ Nast Traveler’s magazine as the Best European Island of the Year and again for good reason!
Exceptional beaches, award-winning restaurants, legendary parties, expensive yachts, dreamy villas, luxury hotels, beautiful people, 5-star service, Mykonos island will for sure seduce you.
Mykonos island main communities
The island’s main communities are Chora the island’s capital and Ano Mera village. There are also other smaller communities scattered around the island, most of them on the south, south-west.
Mykonos Town (Chora)
The main capital of the island is a stunningly picturesque Cycladic town. With a maze of tiny streets and whitewashed steps lanes, houses and churches, gathered around its harbor in the middle of a wide bay it is one of the most cosmopolitan and crowded towns of the Aegean.
Matoyianni Street is the heart of the retail scene, with chic, high-end shops, cafes, and art galleries. The town’s Little Venice quarter is filled with waterfront bars, seafood restaurants, and houses with colorful balconies. Nearby, Panagia Paraportiani is a whitewashed church with a famously lumpy, lopsided shape.
Although the streets are full of little shops, boutiques, art galleries, and also cafes, bars, and restaurants, Mykonos Town has not completely lost its identity. Despite the island’s rapid growth and development, it’s traditional Cycladic architectural style and character has remained firmly intact. This has been achieved thanks to the island’s strict regulation of building.
Expect to find shops by Chanel, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and also other well known, high-end brands. It would appear that these shops cater more to the tourists that arrive on many cruise ships that dock nearby.
In Mykonos Town, you will also find the two main bus terminals to all the beaches!
Ano Mera
Ano Mera is the only village in Mykonos, lying down at the core of the island.  In a 15-minute drive from Mykonos Town by your own transportation or by public bus from the Old Port bus station, you can be to the second most populated area in Mykonos. It is simple and quiet which offers a much different feel to its visitors.
Instead of a warren of lanes highly populated with shops, cafes, bars, clubs, and restaurants, Ano Mera village is simple, quiet, and centered around a large public square. You will certainly not find big crowds partying here. In fact, if you come at the right time, you will see what it is like to walk through a typical Cycladic village.
Walk around Ano Mera’s center and find traditional stone houses to take some beautiful photos! The beautiful and bold bougainvillea against the white painted walls is particularly striking around many of Ano Mera’s corners. Stop by a gift shop or just enjoy a drink at the local cafés.  And if you get hungry, Ano Mera has plenty of excellent options to experience authentic Greek cuisine!
One of Ano Mera’s highlights is also he monastery of Panagia Tourliani, founded in 1542 . A must see even if you have only stopped there by accident! Click here to see all the things you can do while you are in Ano Mera village!
Other small communities
Agios Ioannis
Agios Ioannis is one of the most attractive areas in south-west of the island! It has a beautiful beach surrounded by many luxury hotels, exclusive villas and good restaurants!
Agios Stefanos
Agios Stefanos is a beautiful area close to Mykonos Town (2.5km)! You can find there a great variety of hotels, restaurants, and cafes and also a very well organized beach!
Platis Gialos
Platis Gialos is one of the most famous areas in the south! It features a nice and long stretched sandy beach. There is a huge variety of accommodation options and plenty of good restaurants and tavernas to choose from.
Ornos
Ornos is also a popular area in the south (2.5km) of Mykonos Town. Here you can find numerous wonderful beachfront restaurants and convenience stores. There is also a huge variety of hotels, apartments, studios, and luxury villas on and around a beautiful beach.
Tourlos
Tourlos is the parent area of Mykonos NEW port just 1.5km from the main town. Sheltered from the northern winds, it offers quite a few good places to eat and several types of accommodation like hotels, apartments, and studios.
How it became popular
Mykonos island was once very poor. People tried to survive on fishing and also stock breeding on the harsh land. Another major industry was also ship construction. It’s hard to imagine a time when Mykonos was a humble little island, without electricity, just a layover on the way to famous Delos.
Things changed in the 1950s. Legendary names of the international jet set became associated with Mykonos and the island quickly became the favored holiday destination in Greece for the super-rich, artists, and movie stars. The arrival of Aristotle Onassis, Maria Callas, and Jackie O are only some of the first ones! If you add Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Princess Soraya, Elizabeth Taylor, Nureyev, Pierre Cardin, and Stavros Niarchos, you get the big picture!
And the list of celebrities and stars continues to grow! Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Monica Bellucci, Hugh Jackman, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Giorgio Armani, Russell Crowe are the only some!
Mykonos island Geography
Mykonos island spans an area of 85.5 square kilometers. The highest point of elevation is 341 meters. It is relatively close to the Greek capital, approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Athens in the Aegean Sea.
The island’s composition is mostly of granite. The terrain is very rocky with many areas eroded by the strong winds. Until the late 1900s on the eastern side of Mykonos, high-quality clay and baryte were mined. These minerals are used as a lubricant in oil drilling.
There are no rivers here, but numerous seasonal streams particularly in wintertime. Two of those streams have been converted into water reservoirs. One is located at Fokos beach and the other one just before Panormos. Along with the plants of reverse osmosis of seawater the island produces enough water daily in order to meet the needs of the population and also the visitors.
Mykonos island has a population of nearly 10.500 (2011), although during the high summer season this number can exceed 100.000!
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