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Mykonos is world - famous. It is no coincidence that this, the most cosmopolitan of all Greek islands, attracts so many visitors from all over the globe, including large numbers of artists and intellectuals.

Here, the steep mountains to be encountered in most of the Cyclades give way to low, rocky hills which combine with superb beaches to make up the landscape of the island.

The capital, Hora, with its colourful harbour in which little fishing - boats nestle happily side by side with luxury yachts, presents quite a different picture from the majority of Aegean island towns. While it is usual for island villages to be built on naturally amphitheatrical sites, Mykonos is spread out over a flat area and conveys an impression of solid aesthetic cohesion.

Along the whitewashed streets stand brilland white box - shaped houses with stepped walls for sitting on, wooden doors and windows and brightly - coloured balconies. These are interspersed with small but impressive churches, pretty little tavernas and shops selling souvenirs and other goods, and the overall sense is of being inside a film set.

On the low Kastro hill is the complex of churches known collectively as Our Lady ' Paraportiani ', a superb arrangement of whitewashed masses created over the centuries and now recognised as a national cultural monument.

Of particular historical and aesthetic interest are the medieval houses in the district of the town, which stand like a wall above the sea protecting the west side of Hora.

The Archaeological Museum of Hora contains finds tombs on the nearby island of Rhenia,sculptures, vases and figurines.

Mykonos is also the home of the Nautical Museum of the Aegean, which has interest all of its own.

There are tiny white - washed chapels and windmills on the countryside of Mykonos.

Ano Mera is, after Hora, the most important of the older villages on the island. Has the interesting monastery of Our Lady Tourliani.

Here lovers of the sea will find out-standing golden beaches such as Agios Stefanos, Psarou, Kalafatis, Platis Gialos, Ornos, Elia and Panormos.

Mykonos is a busy island with all the amenities of a modern resort and with plenty to do - by day or night - for those who want to have a lively time. Yet visitors fond of more peaceful holidays will still find quiet corners in which to relax.

 Delos, the sacred island, was in myths, the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Today the island is uninhabited : it is a vast archaeological site whose superb monuments draw thousands of visitors in pilgrimage to what was, for a thousand years or so after the ninth century BC, the political and religious centre of the Aegean.

The archaeological site covers almost the entire island, starting on the west side, where the sacred harbour was.

From the harbour, a majestic sacred way led to the Sanctuary of Apollo, where there were temples, altars, votive offerings and other buildings. There are ruins of four temples to Apollo, one of them known as the Temple of the Athenians.

A narrow channel separates Delos from Rhenia, where there is an important burial ground.

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