Little Venice has rightfully earned its name from the colorful 18th-century Venetian style build-ings right on the seafront, with wooden balconies above the sea. It used to be a sea trade center, and the buildings belonged to shipping merchants giving them direct access to the sea. Now old, and traditional on the outside but modern and fully renovated inside, they serve as trendy bars, cafes, and restaurants.
It is the most romantic place on Mykonos and the best for drinks or dining while watching the sunset in the Aegean. It's very quiet and peaceful in the morning hours but gets busier and blustering as the day progresses, especially in the evenings as tourist horde from all over the island to admire the spectacular sunset. It’s advisable to book a table for your dinner or drink so you will not be disappointed. It is among the most photographed attractions on Mykonos.
The world-famous landmark of Mykonos, the seven Windmills standing proudly on top of the hill,southeast of Chora. They were built in the 19th century by the Venetians taking advantage of the northern wind 'meltemi’. They were used to grind wheat and barley, which was an important source of income until mid of the 20th century.
Boats passing through would stop and stock bakery products mostly rusks 'paximadia' for their sea travels. You can still find the oldest bakery of the island still operating and eager to serve tourists with freshly baked bread in a wood oven and its famous rusks, perfect for your breakfast, or boat trip snack.
The Windmills are preserved and renovated. They are currently used as private homes, cafes, res-taurants, and shops. 'Geronymos Mill', dating back to 1700, is completely renovated but still maintains its equipment, and can be visited as well as an art and jewelry shop housed in what used to be a storage area.
The 'Bonis Mill' is now Mykonos Agricultural Museum and visitors can see the whole process of the mill's function. Every second Sunday in September, the Harvest Festival takes place there and you can enjoy local treats and drinks while listing to "paramythades' story-tellers of Mykonos legends and island stories.
Kastro is one of the most picturesque places, on the coastline of Chora. Panagia Paraportiani church sits at the entrance of the castle, with its unusual structure and whitewashed walls. It con-sists of five smaller churches built on top of each other, no wonder it is one of the most photo-graphed churches not only of Mykonos but of Greece as well.
The name itself "Paraportiani" means right next to the entrance. Agios Efstathios is the central church and around it stand Agios Sozon, Agia Anastasia, and Agios Anargyros. On top of them is the dome-shaped church of Virgin Mary.
Escaping the main island of Mykonos takes a boat trip to Baos. It is an isolated rocky islet west of Chora. It is also known as Agios Georgios, the name of a chapel on the island. The name Baos de-rives from Georgios Baos, a Mykonian pirate who protected the islanders from enemy ships and used the island as his hideaway. From there you can visit another rocky islet Kavouras and Megali Ammos Beach. You can spend your day at the beach swimming, snorkeling, and diving, then re-turn to Mykonos town and have an evening drink at Bao's famous bar-restaurant, in its quaint at-mosphere, overlooking the island.
Undoubtedly, Mykonos is a shopper's paradise. You can find everything you could wish very con-veniently, in Chora. Strolling along the windy streets, you pass by more shops than you can imag-ine. From souvenir shops to designer clothes, hand-made leather bags and sandals are all there, side by side. You can find the latest collections of contemporary designers some of them even have a store in Mykonos.
Visit some Fine Art galleries with classic or modern sculptures and paintings by famous or upcoming talents either foreign or Greek. Most shops are family-run busi-nesses offering the best quality merchandise, combining fashion, comfort, and tradition, always friendly and eager to help you choose items to suit your taste and budget.
Here, you can buy expensive and prestigious jewelry, watches, and accessories by famous design-ers or simply natural stone jewelry and souvenirs. Your shopping is not complete if you don't visit local delis for 'kopanisti' cheese, 'amygdalota' almond sweets, Greek 'masticha' brought from Chi-os and 'syglino' pork meat, ouzo, tsipouro, and local wine to drink when back home.
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