Chóra Mykónou |
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Evaluation:
These two short walks through Chóra (or Mýkonos) give you only a
foretaste of the capital town of Mýkonos, since you can stroll the
streets of this town in many different ways. They get an
evaluation of ***.
Estimated time:
One hour will be enough to finish the first walk, but it is of course
very tempting to turn into one of the side-streets. When visiting some
of the picturesque spots, you can easily forget the time, and also a
visit to one of the three main museums is advisable – this will
definitely cost you half a day. Route
description 1 through Chóra: From the old harbour you take a right immediately, onto the promenade
which runs along the water and underneath the asphalt road (if you would
follow this busy street, you would come across a number of boat
offices). View on the pier of the old harbour, landing-stage of the Blue Stars. In this way you also walk underneath the Archaeological Museum. Before hotel Dílos you go down the steps off the right, and via the beach you thus get to the quay of the old harbour. You can now walk the entire curve of the bay, past the outdoor terraces, until you get to the right of the town hall or dimarchío, a neoclassical building dating from 1785. At the end of the boulevard you notice the beautiful marble building of the fish market and the small church with the blue dome of Agios Nikólaos. In this neighbourhood you can also find the famous pelican named Pedro, the mascot of the island of Mýkonos. The harbour of Chóra, with the famous pelican. Immediately
hereafter you go left, on the left-hand side of the bar La Notte. You
walk up until you reach the busy terraces of the restaurants, such as
the tavern of Paraportianí. To the right and behind this restaurant you
can already see the very famous church of Paraportianí or Panagía tis
Paraportianís in full. This strange construction actually consists of
five small churches, built on two levels, and it dates from the 17th
-18th century. The Panagía tis Paraportianís. Details of the church of Paraportianí. When standing in
front of the church, facing the sea, you can continue to the left and
you thus walk through a very picturesque little shopping street, the Odós
Agioon Anargýroon. By doing so you walk along the back of the houses of
so-called Little Venice, but you also walk past the old chapels with the
house numbers 47, 49 and 51 – it is really worthwhile to have a look
inside these chapels and take a rest over there. At the church with
the red dome you go right, until you arrive at the Mitrópoli-church,
with its square clock tower. Past the church you proceed towards the sea
and on your right you get a great view on Little Venice. Those are small
houses of captains and the wooden balconies are a reminder of Venice.
You might make a small detour to the right and then you continue on the
left and up, until you arrive at one of the most typical spots of Mýkonos,
the six mills of the Káto Míli ("the mills below"). The "Káto Míli", seen from Little Venice.
Details of the mills. From the – often very windy – terrace of the mills you also have a nice view on Little Venice.
Panoramic view on Little Venice. You then go straight to the town again, by taking the small and very picturesque alley on the left of the dentist practice.
The alley coming from next to the mills... |
At
the end of this street you go right for a short while, into the Odós
Mitropóleoos. You then take the first street off the left, the Odós Enóploon
Dinámeoon. On the left, as well as on the right you can see other
picturesque streets, but you continue straight ahead until you get to
the Tría Pigádia, three wells, these days a little hidden behind the
outdoor terraces. Until the 1950s these wells were the only water supply
of the town of Chóra.
Ta Tría Pigádia. You walk past the Maritime Museum and a little further you reach the beautiful churches of Agia Várvara (on the right) and Agios Geórgios (on the left).
The little churches of Agia Várvara and Agios Geórgios. You go straight
ahead, past Lena's House, with the Folk Museum,
also located in a house from the 18th century. Slightly
further you go right, moving away from the bustle.
A little street with the typical outside stairs. The street runs to a dead end, so you walk back. You continue to the right and then you take the first street off the right – there are no more shops in this street, instead, the laundry is hanging out to dry.
A more peaceful street... At the end of the
street you go left and then you follow the Odós Panachrántou and the
Odós Zouganéli, all the way until you reach the old harbour again. You
can take a left and have something to drink on one of the terraces, or
you can take a right and return to the old harbour. Route
description 2 to the Bónis-mill:
This walk goes up and thus provides you with a beautiful panoramic view
over the town of Chóra. You climb up for
about one minute, then you continue up the old staircase on the left and
finally you walk up a sloping concrete street. At the Apartments Rania
you take the street on the right and you go up until you get to the
asphalt road. Over there you go right until you arrive at the Bónis-mill.
The Bónis-mill. Inside the restored windmill you can visit the small folk museum. The entrance is free and you can also climb up the mill – from up there the panoramic view is really beautiful, amongst others on the row of mills below.
Inside the Bónis-mill.
Panoramic view from the Bónis-mill. Leaving from the
mill you can descend via a staircase. After one minute you reach a
crossing, where you go down the staircase on the left. You cross a nice
staircase street (off the right) – this is a more peaceful part of Mýkonos,
before you get to the shopping streets again.
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