The Town of Mykonos
The Town of Mykonos is called Chora by the local people and it’s a typical village of the Cyclades, which is built amphitheatrically. The village has whitewashed traditional houses, with wooden blue balconies, doors and windows, narrow paved streets that form a little labyrinth, picturesque churches and beautiful bougainvilleas, contrasting the bright white walls of the buildings.
The centre of the town is closed forcars, during most of the day, which means that you can agreeably walk among the colourful streets. Early morning is the best time for exploring the town, when the most of the visitors are at the beach or just sleeping after a clubbing night. You can travel on foot the entire town, enjoying its corners.
The beautiful town of Mykonos has numerous coffee shops, boutiques, fine jewellery shops and traditional, little shops for souvenirs that help the visitors to spend pleasantly their days on the island. An absolute must-see, in the Town of Mykonos, is the church Panagia Paraportiani, a cultural monument and masterpiece of the architectural style of the Cyclades. Actually, it’s a complex of churches, located on the hill with the old Venetian castle.
The famous windmills with their bright white colour are located on a hill that overlooks the town. From there, the travellers can enjoy the wonderful view over the Little Venice, which is one of the most beautiful places in Chora.
John D. Carnessiotis ©
An exciting trademark of Mykonos is of course ‘Petros’ the pelican, who is usually in the Little Venice. He is very charming and he loves posing for photos! At the Little Venice, the visitors can also find a lot of lively cafés and bars that attract many tourists during the day. Little Venice stands on a peak of land, consisting of Venetian style houses with their amazingly bright colours. These houses have two floors and they are built very close one to another. They are exactly on the seafront and the waves break under them. This is a unique picture that can charm everyone with its incomparable atmosphere and magical beauty.
The Town has also an archaeological museum, which is located between the town and the port. Its exhibitions include various vases, sculptures and more valuable items from Delos and Rhenia. These two islands are the ancient neighbours of Mykonos and they have their own rich history. There are two more museums; the nautical and the folklore museum. The last hosts a collection of furniture, icons and musical instruments of the island of Mykonos.
John D. Carnessiotis ©
At the end, we should mention the plenty of nightclubs and bars of the Town that prove the fame of Mykonos as a top party island. As soon as the sun goes down, the streets of Chora attract thousands of people who want to dance and party all night long.