Mykonos, a jumble of cubed buildings and cobbled streets covered in white-on-white flowers that practically sweats with crowds from June to August, is the most popular Greek island in the world. It’s a classic high-society playground where mega-yachts, myriad ferries, helicopters and planes unload 15,000 visitors a day. From models, tycoons, rock stars, Formula 1 drivers, international superstars, heads of state, billionaires to ordinary people, the best experience in Greece is perceived as Mykonos.
Beneath Mykonos’ signature windmills in Little Venice, summer nights are filled with candlelit tables perched near the water’s edge, limitless bars and cafes brimming with glittering crowds. Mykonos has a schedule of its own that most either respect or stop trying. You eat at 10 or later and then spend several hours dancing or just walking the streets getting home while honest people wake up to go to work. Therefore, the crowds don’t start showing up on the beach until noon, or even early afternoon.
The water around Mykonos is crystal clear aquamarine, and the beaches themselves are absolutely beautiful. Super Paradise Beach is the most famous outside of Mykonos (second after Ibiza) for being one of the party zones in Europe. Lines of beach chairs and umbrellas, it draws hard bodies, male and female, gay and straight, with the kind of tan last seen in America in the 1980s. It also has its share of topless women, beach bums. beach and the occasional family, all soaking up the sun to dance to hits pumped out by the beachside restaurants that line the beach.
If you want to avoid the crowds or the craziness, there are plenty of smaller beaches to escape to. Agios Sostis, is only a few miles northeast of Chora, but still a nice drive. The wide beach is pale sand, sometimes breezy in the summer, but no music or beach chairs. The strange hills of the Mykonos lunar landscape rise above it, adorned with white cubed houses. A small cove on the north end provides all the shelter you need from the wind and sun, and feels a world away from the noisy masses. Mykonos has enough beautiful white sand beaches lapped by crystal clear turquoise waters to choose from in terms of atmosphere and amenities. These range from simple family-style taverns to ultra-chic lounges offering dance music and potent cocktails at all hours. The latter is the case for many of the coves to the south, where Elia beach is a quieter version of paradise and Agios Ioannis to the west.
If you want to laze on the beach, this time in Psarou, you’ll need to reserve beach chairs in advance to make yourself at home amid the wild summer see-and-be-seen crowd, many of whom arrive by yacht and are whisked off the ship. in old mahogany boats. Stay tuned in case Georgio Armani or Roberto Cavali call for a fire, because they will be there. Psarou also boasts such vital amenities as a day spa, a hair salon, and an outpost of chic boutiques in case someone has left their Prada in the overhead compartment of the plane.
Mykonos is the pinnacle of luxury accommodations, fusion cuisine, excess and shopping for high-end labels and luxurious jewelry found on Rodeo Drive or 5th Ave. This is the island of choice to live a little or a LOT, really. Of course, it can also be beautiful and peaceful if you want to escape the ghosts of your wild college past.
