Mykonos in a day — How to spend one day in Mykonos, a place of quiet rest in Greece

In Greek mythology, Mykonos Island is named after the first king is Mykonos, son of Apollo and a local hero. This island is also considered the place of the big battle between Zeus and the Titans and Hercules killed the invincible giant. Let’s check it out my Mykonos in a day  blog — How to spend one day in Mykonos, a place of quiet rest in Greece.

Even the legend also goes that large boulders across the island are petrified testicles of the giant; this is the origin of the slang “rock” used in most major European languages to refer testes.

Mykonos in a day: Mykonos City

Mykonos is a Greek island, located between the Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos islands. Mykonos Island is 85.5 square kilometers and the peak of 341m high with a population of over 10 thousand people.

There are 10 villages on the island, but the majority people live in Mykonos town located on the west coast.

The town is also known as Chora (the Greek means “citadel”), named ” Wind Island “. Because of strong wind, traveling ships took off near the port last week, but the captain did not allow visitors to the wharf by a small boat for a secure reason. This week, I came back to this tiny island and learn a few interesting things.

Located 150 kilometers to the east of Athens in the Aegean Sea. The island has no rivers but has several springs during the rainy season, two of which have been converted into reservoirs.

The island is made up mainly of granite and the terrain is very rocky with many eroded areas due to strong wind. High-quality clay and barytes mineral (a mineral that is used as a lubricant in the oil extraction).

The island is not worth mentioning if it is not the place where attracted many famous artists, politicians and wealthy Europeans visit from the 1930s onwards.

Artists and writers have ventured on a trip to this quiet place to find inspiration … and there is even a small area known as “Little Venice” – an array of cafés and restaurants built on poles superimposed on the water for sunset-watching.

So it quickly became an international hot spot for travel. This island also has many spacious, pure and romantic beaches. Tourists again fled to Mykonos in the 1950s and since then the number is nonstop after temporary suspension in the Second World War.

Tourism soon becomes the dominant sector in the local economy, because a lot of important excavations made by the French Archaeological Schools, started in 1873. In recent years, many passenger ships land weekly.

One day in Mykonos: Best time to visit Mykonos

September and October: when the crowds have left, the water remains warm and the hotel rates descend back into a reasonable range.

One day in Mykonos: Special places you should visit at Mykonos:

Windmill

Windmill is a defining feature of the Mykonian landscape. There are many spots around the island, but most are located in the main town of Mykonos.

The popularity of “Kato Mili” (Greek means windmill) standing in a row on a hill overlooking the sea, formerly used to harness the strong winds from the North.

Windmill was built by the Venetians in the 16th century, used to grind flour and still used until the early 20th century. Many windmills have been refurbished and restored to use as housing for locals and as material silos of Mykonian heritage.

Paraportiani Church

Pangaea Paraportiani Church (also called the Church of Our Lady) is one of the most famous architectural structures in Greece.

The reason for “Paraportiani” (which means “standing next to the entrance of the ‘door’” is that it was located next to the entrance of the ancient castle, or Kastro door.

The surrounding neighborhood of Kastro formerly was a medieval castle. At that time, there was a castle and a solid fortress around, which was built in 1207 by Gisi family.

This castle was destroyed in the 16th century and its ruins were covered by the new buildings when Mykonos started to expand in the 18th century.

It takes around 200 years to build Paraportiani Church, starting in the 15th century and until the 17th century to complete. As the bizarre architecture of the church, so this is also one of the most photographed places in the world.

Catholic Church of Mykonos

The Catholic Church of Panagia Rosario is located in Alefkandra square, close to the windmills above Chora town.

The only Catholic church on the island was built in 1668 and renovated in 1677 by bishop Leandros Zanthakis.

Above the altar, you will see the image of the Virgin Mary with the Holy Child between St. Dominic (the apostle of the piety of St. Rosary) and St. Catherine of Sienna. This image was transferred in 1715 to Mykonos from Venice.

When to visit Muslim or Orthodox countries, you will see many churches and Muslim shrines.

When on tour, I still do not feel the holy atmosphere or supernatural presence of God, so every time I find a Catholic church, I come to venerate, and always feel comfort thanks to the presence of God, a cozy atmosphere, the holy quiet moment for prayer.

When looking at the program table in the church ceremony, liturgies are carried out on every Saturday and Sunday for the Catholic residents of the island. Especially during the celebration of Easter a special program is performed for the needs of Catholic visitors.

Municipal Library with old books

Municipal Library of Mykonos island is built since the 18th century with more than 8,000 books and a large collection of photos from 18th and 19th centuries, documents and Cycladic coins and old stamps as well as sketches. Municipal Library is located on Ayia Kyriaki Square in the town of the city.

Aegean Maritime Museum

Aegean Maritime Museum was founded in 1983 by a Mykonian named George M. Drakopoulos and was opened in 1985 with the purpose of preserving and promoting studies of the Greek maritime history and tradition, particularly development and operation of merchant ships in the Aegean sea.

Drakopoulos has prized the Athens Academy Award and the World Ship Trust Award for his personal contribution to the museum.

Elia Beach

Armenistis Lighthouse – is a testimony to the maritime history of Mykonos, as well as a fully functional lighthouse. It is located in Fanari ( it means lantern in Greek) 6.5 km away Mykonos.

A brief history of Mykonos

Like many small islands of Greece or Turkey in the region, the history of the small island also experienced many invasions and rulers of great empires. Mykonos Town (Chora) was the first ruled by the Roman and then became part of the Byzantine Empire until the 12th century.

In 1204, with the collapse of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, Mykonos was occupied by Andrea Ghisi, a relative of the national leader of Venice.

In 1537, while Venice still reigned, Mykonos was attacked by Hayreddin Barbarossa, a famous admiral of Suleyman, and an Ottoman fleet established on the island.

Ottomans, under the leadership of Pasha Kapudan, was imposed a self-management system including a governor and a Council of Appointment. Until the late 18th century, Mykonos prospers as a commercial center, attracts migrants from nearby islands, apart from pirate attacks regularly.

In June 1794, Mykonos battle broke out between the British and French warships in the island’s main port.

Greek revolution against Ottoman Empire broke out in 1821 and Mykonos played an important role, leading by a national female hero named Manto Mavrogenous.

This woman is a highly educated aristocrat, guided by the ideas of the Enlightenment, so she donated her family’s property for Greece’s independence. Greece gained their independence in 1830.

One statue of this women is currently placed in the center of the main town.

How to get to Mykonos

By air

Airport: Mykonos has an airport serviced by domestic flights from Athens and direct flights from the UK.

Airline from the UK

• EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies directly from the UK to Mykonos;
• Olympic Air (+30 21035 50500; www.olympicair.com)
• Aegean Airlines (+30 21062 61700; www.aegeanair.com) flies to Mykonos via Athens.

By ferry

Mykonos is easy to reach from Athens’ two ports (Piraeus and Rafina) by boat.

• Car ferries – operated by Blue Star Ferries (www.bluestarferries.com) – tend to be comfortable but slow, taking about seven hours to get to the island.
• Modern high-speed catamarans – Hellenic Seaways (www.hellenicseaways.gr) and Sea Jets (www.seajets.gr) – are more than twice as fast, but not as steady in rough seas.

You can also reach Mykonos via other Greek islands if you want to island-hop.

Accommodation: You can find, check rates, availability & booking for Mykonos Hotels on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

See more about Mykonos Island:

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Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from Mykonos you can refer to

• Super Paradise Beach: Pre-booked Sunbed at Divine Beach Bar
• From Mykonos: Delos Guided Tour with Skip-the-Line Tickets
• From Mykonos: Delos & Rhenia Islands Boat Trip with BBQ
• From Naxos: Delos and Mykonos Full-Day Boat Trip
• Mykonos: Sunset Sailing Cruise with Swimming & Light Lunch
• Mykonos Full-Day Off-Road Safari
• Mykonos: Full-Day South Coast Cruise
• From Mykonos: Cruise to Delos and Rhenia with Lunch
• From Mykonos: Delos & Rhenia Islands Boat Trip with BBQ
• Mykonos: Delos Guided Tour & Rhenia Island by Sailing Yacht
• From Mykonos: Delos & Rhenia Islands Half-Day Trip by Boat
• Mykonos Walking Tour
• Mykonos: Sunset Cruise with Drinks
• Mykonos: Discover Authentic Mykonos Tour

Are you looking for more Mykonos travel guide and top things to do in Mykonos: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Mykonos travel blog — The fullest Mykonos travel guide blog for a budget trip to the paradise island for the first-timers.