Mykonos: An Evening in Greece’s Gay Capital

Watch the sunset from Little Venice, then follow a local host from Pierro's to the bars that made Mykonos a byword for gay freedom.

Mykonos Town, known locally as Hora, is a maze of whitewashed lanes, blue shutters, and tiny chapels, with windmills on the hill above the harbour. By day it is quiet and photogenic. After dark, it becomes one of the most famous nights out in the Mediterranean.

The island’s gay history goes back to the 1970s, when people came from across Europe and America for a freedom that was hard to find elsewhere in Greece.

An evening with a host who knows the island takes you through both its history and its present.

Sunset in Little Venice

The evening starts in Little Venice, where old captains’ houses sit right on the water. Kastro Bar opened here in 1976 for sunset cocktails, and the tradition of watching the sun go down over the windmills from this stretch of the shore has lasted ever since.

As the light fades, the lanes behind you begin to fill. It is the best hour to get your bearings before the night starts.

Pierro’s and the 1970s

In 1973, the Italian-American painter Pierro Aversa opened Pierro’s with the fisherman Andreas Koutsoukos. It became the island’s first gay-friendly bar and one of the most important venues in the history of gay travel in the Mediterranean.

At the time, Greece was still under military rule, and Mykonos offered something rare. Regular visits from Jackie Kennedy Onassis had already made the island fashionable, and word of Pierro’s spread quickly among gay travellers, many of them from the United States.

Jackie O’ and the Town Bars

Today, Jackie O’ Town Bar, below the Paraportiani church, is at the centre of gay nightlife in Hora, with two floors, terraces over the sea, and regular drag shows. Montparnasse, which opened in 1983, still brings cabaret to the old town.

Your host knows which bars are busiest on which nights and can move you between them easily, with tables held where you want them.

Dinner in Hora

Between drinks, there is dinner. Mykonos has some of the best restaurants in the Cyclades, from tavernas serving grilled fish by the harbour to tables tucked into courtyards in the old town.

Eating late is the custom here, so dinner at ten is perfectly normal, and the town is at its liveliest by the time you finish.

Beyond the Town

The scene also extends to the beaches. Elia and the seaside Jackie O’ at Super Paradise draw a largely gay crowd by day, with music, food, and sunbeds, and many evenings start with a long afternoon on the sand.

In late summer, the XLSIOR festival, launched in 2009, brings a week of parties with international DJs. Your specialist can advise whether those dates suit the kind of trip you want.

Planning Your Mykonos Experience

The season runs from late spring to early fall, with July and August the busiest months. Mykonos is a short flight or a few hours by ferry from Athens, and the old town is best explored on foot.

Out Of Office can arrange a local host for the evening, reserve tables at the island’s best restaurants and bars, and find a villa or hotel that suits your style. Your LGBTQ+ travel specialist can also combine Mykonos with Athens or other islands in the Cyclades.