Mykonos

Mykonos lies near the centre of the Cyclades, a low, granite, almost treeless island set in the open Aegean between Athens and the Dodecanese. Its capital, Chora, is the archetype of the island group: a tight maze of whitewashed cube houses, painted wooden balconies and narrow flagstoned lanes deliberately laid out to confuse the pirates who once raided this coast. Above the town stands the famous row of sixteenth-century windmills, Kato Mili, and just below them the quarter of Little Venice, where a line of old sea-captains houses rises straight from the water.

What separates Mykonos from its quieter Cycladic neighbours is a long-standing cosmopolitan streak. It has drawn an international summer crowd since the 1960s, and the mix of design shops, waterfront bars and beach clubs sits comfortably beside the whitewashed chapels and the resident pelicans of the old harbour. The south coast holds the best-known beaches, among them the sheltered sands of Psarou and Platis Gialos and the livelier stretches of Paradise and Super Paradise, while Ornos and Agios Ioannis face calmer water to the southwest. The north tends to catch the wind and stays wilder and less built up.

That wind is worth planning around. The meltemi, a dry northerly, blows hardest in July and August, cooling the heat but ruffling the exposed northern beaches, so seasoned visitors pick their cove by the day. High season runs firmly through July and August, when the island is at its busiest and warmest; late May, June and September offer the same clear light and swimmable sea with more room to breathe. A short caique or ferry ride away is Delos, one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece and, in myth, the birthplace of Apollo, an uninhabited open-air museum that makes an easy half-day contrast to the beach clubs.

Days on Mykonos move from a slow morning swim to a long lunch by the sea to dinner in the lanes of Chora once the light softens. For groups who want that rhythm on their own terms, luxury villa rentals in Mykonos spread across the hillsides above the southern bays, most with a pool, wide sea views and quick access to both the town and the water.