Mykonos

Mykonos is the most glamorous of the Cyclades, a small, rocky, windswept island that has turned its stark beauty into a byword for chic. Its whitewashed old town, sophisticated restaurants and legendary nightlife draw a cosmopolitan crowd each summer, yet behind the buzz lies a genuinely photogenic Greek island of chapels, dovecotes and hidden coves.

The island's heart is Mykonos Town (Chora), a deliberately maze-like tangle of dazzling white lanes designed to confuse pirates and now filled with boutiques, galleries and bars. Its signature sights cluster together: the row of 16th-century windmills on the hill, the waterfront quarter of Little Venice with balconies hanging over the waves, and the much-photographed church of Panagia Paraportiani.

Mykonos is equally famous for its beaches. The south coast holds the party strands — Paradise, Super Paradise and Psarou — with beach clubs and DJs, while the north coast, exposed to the meltemi wind, keeps quieter, wilder bays such as Fokos and Agios Sostis. A hire car, quad or the local buses connect them, and after dark the action shifts back to Chora, where the bars of Little Venice and the streets around Matoyianni buzz until dawn.

From the old port, boats make the short crossing to Delos, the sacred island birthplace of Apollo and one of the greatest archaeological sites in the Mediterranean — an essential half-day trip and a complete change of pace from the glamour next door.

Mykonos is easy to reach, with its own airport and fast ferries from Rafina and Piraeus in a few hours. It is also the most expensive island in Greece, and July and August are hot, crowded and pricey. Late May, June and September offer the same light and sea with more room to breathe and gentler rates. Two or three days is plenty for most, longer if beach-club life is the point of the trip.