Where to Party in Mykonos: Chora, Paradise, Paraga & More

Mykonos is small, but its nightlife is spread across very different worlds: the maze of Mykonos Town, the legendary southern beaches and the sunset spots in between. Understanding the geography is the key to planning great nights — here's the map in words.

Mykonos Town (Chora) — the heart of the night

Everything eventually flows into Chora. The whitewashed alleys fill up after dinner with bar-hoppers moving between cocktail bars, and after midnight the clubs take over — including our own WE ❤ MYK Club, right in the heart of town, with themed parties every night of the week. The beauty of Chora is that everything is walkable: dinner, drinks, club and a late-night gyros are never more than five minutes apart.

Little Venice — sunset cocktails

On the western edge of Chora, the houses of Little Venice hang right over the water, and their bars have front-row seats for the best sunset in the Cyclades. Arrive an hour before golden hour to get a seat, order something cold and start the night the way Mykonos intends. From here the windmills of Kato Mili are two minutes' walk — the classic photo stop between drinks.

Paradise Beach — the loud daytime bay

Paradise is the bay that made Mykonos famous in the first place: golden sand, water sports, music coming off the beach all afternoon and a young international crowd that treats a sunbed as a social event. It's a daytime zone rather than a nightlife one — the day builds towards sunset, and then everyone showers, changes and heads back into Chora for the night. Buses run there from Fabrika square, and the seabus connects it with the neighbouring coves.

Paraga & the southern coves — sunset territory

One cove east of Paradise, Paraga is smaller, prettier and considerably more relaxed: a curved bay with clear water, a rocky headland to swim out to and a handful of tavernas right on the sand. The coves that follow along this stretch of coast — Super Paradise among them — are some of the most photogenic in the Cyclades, and this is where you want to be in the hour before the sun drops. Come for a long lunch, swim, watch the light change, then let the evening carry you back to town.

Platis Gialos & getting around at night

Platis Gialos is the family-friendlier beach with restaurants and a more relaxed pace — and it's also the hub of the seabus, the little boat that hops between the southern beaches all day. To move around: beach buses run from Fabrika square in Chora to Paradise and Platis Gialos, the seabus links the beaches, and taxis are famously scarce — plan your ride home before you go out, or stay central in Chora and walk everywhere.