An island reinventing itself
Ios was long the party island: in the 1970s, young travellers slept on Mylopotas beach after sleepless nights. The image stuck, but the island has changed. In 2026 the press mentions it for other reasons: The Times lists Chora among the 25 most beautiful villages in Greece, and the French Petit Futé guide recommends it.
Chora in the morning
Chora is a quintessential Cycladic village: whitewashed houses, narrow alleys, steep stairways and windmills on the ridge. In the morning, before the heat, it is a different place from the summer nights. It is 3.7 km from Villa Mylo, a quarter of an hour's drive.
Homer's tomb
According to an ancient tradition, Homer died on Ios. The place associated with his tomb is at Plakotos, in the north of the island: in 1771 the traveller Pasch van Krienen came looking for it and found inscriptions there. Their authenticity is still debated; the site, facing the sea, is worth the trip.
Skarkos, a Bronze Age village
On Skarkos hill, archaeologists uncovered a Cycladic village from the third millennium BC. The site is among the laureates of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra.
The quiet beaches
To avoid the Mylopotas crowds in high summer: Manganari in the south with its shallow coves, Agia Theodoti and Psathi in the east, or the small Loretzena cove, sheltered from the wind. All are described in our guide Ios beaches.
Where to stay in peace
Villa Mylo sits on a hillside shared with only two other villas. Beyond that, the garden, the sea and, on clear evenings, the lights of Santorini. Mylopotas is 1.3 km away for the evenings; the villa stays apart. See the whole villa or the guest house.
Updated 22 September 2026
