13 Best Sights in The Cyclades, Greece

Mykonians claim that exactly 365 churches and chapels dot their landscape, one for each day of the year. The most famous of these is the Church of Paraportiani. The sloping, whitewashed conglomeration of four chapels, mixing Byzantine and vernacular idioms, looks fantastic. Solid and ultimately sober, its position on a promontory facing the sea sets off the unique architecture. It's said to be one of the most photographed churches in the world.

Many of the early ships' captains built distinguished houses directly on the seafront here, with elaborate buttressed wooden balconies hanging over the water, which is how this neighborhood earned its name. Architecturally unique, it is one of the most attractive areas in all the islands, and many of these fine old houses now host elegant bars. A sunset drink here to the sound of the waves is a Mykonos must-do.

The charming Aegean Maritime Museum contains a collection of model ships, navigational instruments, old maps, prints, coins, and nautical memorabilia. The backyard garden displays some old anchors and ship wheels and a reconstructed 1890 lighthouse, once lit by oil.

Before setting out on the mandatory boat excursion to the isle of Delos, check out the Archaeological Museum, which affords insight into the intriguing history of its ancient shrines. The museum houses Delian funerary sculptures, many with scenes of mourning. Most were moved to Rineia when the Athenians cleansed Delos in the 6th century, during the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War, and, under instruction from the Delphic Oracle, the entire island was purged of all dead bodies. The most significant work from Mykonos is a 7th-century BC pithos (storage jar), showing the Greeks in the Trojan horse and the sacking of the city.

Housed in an 18th-century house originally built for Captain Nikolaos Malouchos, this museum exhibits a bedroom furnished and decorated in the fashion of that period. On display are looms and lace-making devices, Cycladic costumes, old photographs, and Mykoniot musical instruments that are still played at festivals.

Take a peek into Lena's House, an annex of the local Folk Museum, and experience an accurate restoration of a middle-class Mykonos house from the 19th century. The name refers to its last inhabitant, Lena Skrivanou.

Start a tour of Mykonos Town (Hora) on the main square, Manto Mavrogenous Square (sometimes called Taxi Square). Pride of place goes to a bust of Manto Mavrogenous, the island heroine, atop a pedestal. In the 1821 War of Independence the Mykonians, known for their seafaring skills, volunteered an armada of 24 ships, and in 1822, when the Ottomans landed a force on the island, Manto and her soldiers forced them back to their ships. After independence, a scandalous love affair caused the heroine's exile to Paros, where she died. An aristocratic beauty who becomes a great revolutionary war leader and then dies for love may seem straight out of Hollywood, but it is all true.

The main shopping street, Matoyanni, is lined with jewelry stores, clothing boutiques, chic cafés, and candy shops. Owing to the many cruise ships that disgorge thousands of shoppers daily in season—some unload 3,000 jostling tourists—the rents here rival 5th Avenue's, and the more-interesting shops have skedaddled to less-prominent side streets.

Located on Manto Mavrogenous Square, the Public Art Gallery of Mykonos changes exhibitions often, giving Greek and international artists a great place to showcase their work.

This museum displays a 16th-century windmill, outdoor oven, waterwheel, wine press, and dovecote, with the intention of illustrating and preserving the traditional rural life of the island.

Across the water from Little Venice, set on a high hill, are the famous Mykonos windmills, echoes of a time when wind power was used to grind the island's grain. The area from Little Venice to the windmills is called Alefkandra, which means "whitening": women once hung their laundry here. A little farther toward the windmills, the bars that teeter on shoreside decks are barely above sea level, and as the north wind gets up, surf splashes the tables. Farther on, the shore spreads into an unprepossessing beach, and tables are placed on sand or pebbles.

Next to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral is the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, from the Venetian period. The name and coat of arms of the Ghisi family, which took over Mykonos in 1207, are inscribed in the entrance hall.

The Orthodox cathedral of Mykonos is dedicated to the life-giving spring of the Virgin Mary, as its icon was found inside a well ("pigadi"). The church is also known as Angelohtismeni---built by angels; however, more prosaically, it was probably founded in the 1600s.