Mykonos, verdict by verdict

Mykonos is Greece's glamour island and it knows it: the Chora is the prettiest Cycladic maze in the Aegean after Oia, Little Venice and the windmills are photogenic, and the island runs on a beach-club economy that is equal parts scene and price tag. Its one heavyweight cultural asset, the sacred island of Delos, sits thirty minutes by boat and is the single best reason to come besides the beaches.

The caveats are real. This is a party and lifestyle island first and a sights island second, priced among the most expensive islands in Europe for sunbeds, dinners and taxis, and in August the town's lanes jam shoulder to shoulder while cruise days stack the old town between late morning and late afternoon. The interior is barer and drier than the Cyclades postcards suggest, and anyone who wants quiet taverna Greece should look at Naxos or Tinos instead.

Where it wins is polish: no other small Greek island delivers this density of good restaurants, serviced beaches and nightlife in one walkable harbour town. Three or four days covers the town and windmills, an early boat to Delos before the midday crowds, and a day or two on the organised beaches; base in or near Mykonos Town if nightlife matters, book everything in August, and aim for May to June or September for warm seas without the crush.