Category: In the news (Page 7 of 9)

Sudden storm soaks Skiathos on Sunday

June 16, 2014 / admin / 3 Comments

This video showing a Skiathos Town street flooded by yesterday’s thunderstorm was posted on YouTube by the tsak Bpam crêperie. It reminded me of television newsclips reporting on flooding from monsoons in southeast Asia. This wasn’t a scene I would expect to see on a Greek island in June!

Stormy interlude: I keep a small travel-size umbrella in my luggage just in case we encounter some rainy weather while travelling in Greece, and we have had to use it a few times. If we manage to schedule a trip to Skiathos in the near future, news about some wild weather on the island yesterday may make me consider packing some rubber boots, too.

Only two weeks ago, in my June 4 post Greek islands take spring weather woes in stride, I reported about thunderstorms that brought several days of heavy rain and strong wind to many parts of Greece at the beginning of this month.

This past Sunday afternoon, Skiathos got thoroughly drenched by a sudden deluge that dumped over an inch of rain on parts of the island in less than an hour.

Torrential rain, power cuts and street flooding reported

News about the latest bout of bad weather broke on the TripAdvisor.com Skiathos forum where SkiathosLover1, a TripAdvisor destination expert for the island, started a conversation thread entitled “Violent Storms … affecting the island this afternoon,” and described “torrential rain,” thunder and lightning, power dips, and “reports of flooding in Papadamatis street.” SkiathosLover1 also included a link to the YouTube video which I posted above.

Numerous people quickly posted replies expressing concern and hopes that all residents and visitors to the island were safe and minimally affected by the tempest.

This morning TA member ShaunWin chided them for “getting so worked up about yesterday’s storm.” It lasted only an hour and “was fun to watch,” he wrote, but “that was it. It’s glorious again today, with not a cloud in the sky.”

“If you’ve got friends or fans out here and are worrying about them: Don’t! They’ll be on the beach or on the beers today and not worrying about you!!” ShaunWin observed.

However, while the storm may have been fun for some to watch, SkiathosLover1 pointed out that it did cause considerable damage bringing down trees, and did frighten passengers returning to the island on tour boats.

A description of the storm’s highlights can be read a June 15 post on The Skiathan blog.

Nikos Paschalis posted this photo on Facebook, showing stormwater rushing down Papadamatis street in Skiathos Town during the late afternoon downpour.

Petition seeks better working conditions for mules & donkeys used as ‘tourist taxis’ on Santorini

June 14, 2014 / admin / 12 Comments

Some of the mules used to transport tourists up and down hundreds of steps between the cruiseship tender dock and Fira, the main town on Santorini

Animal abuse: An international online petition is urging local authorities on Santorini to make significant improvements to the welfare and working conditions of dozens of mules and donkeys that are forced to repeatedly carry tourists up and down hundreds of steps on the island every day, often without adequate water, shade and rest.

The petition is the latest in a series of efforts The Donkey Sanctuary has undertaken during the past 8 years as part of an ongoing campaign to reduce and prevent abuse and cruelty toward donkeys and mules on Santorini, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece.

I described The Donkey Sanctuary’s earlier initiatives in my April 12 2013 post, Don’t ride the donkeys! Why tourists should avoid taking the mule ‘taxis’ on Santorini, which has since become the most-read report on my website. (Please click on the link to see the article and photos if you aren’t already aware of the Santorini donkey situation.)

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Animals are denied access to shade, water & rest for long periods

The Donkey Sanctuary decided to launch the latest course of action after an independent report produced in 2013 “revealed that many of these animals are forced to carry overweight passengers and are denied access to shade, water and rest for hours at a time. Poor quality saddles and bridles are often used and safety guidelines are regularly ignored, placing tourists at risk of injury. “

“Over the past few years we have attempted to work with the town municipality to provide training and equipment for the taxi operators although unfortunately, the standards have not been maintained and the level of complaints has risen yet again,” The Sanctuary explains on its website.

The petition calls for a number of “urgent improvements” to the welfare of Santorini’s mule taxis, including provision of adequate shelter and shade, access to fresh water, predetermined weight limits for passengers, and regular veterinary and tack inspections, among others.

Names collected on the petition “will be presented to the mayor of Santorini as part of our campaign to improve standards for donkeys and mules working in the tourism industry,” The Sanctuary says.

A screen capture of The Donkey Sanctuary website post explaining reasons for its petition to prevent cruelty to mules and donkeys in Santorini

Cavo & Tropicana release summer DJ lineups

June 6, 2014 / admin / 2 Comments

The Cavo Paradiso DJ lineup for July and August 2014

Party planning: In my Beach parties on Mykonos post last month, I promised to update information about upcoming events as news became available. I can now report that the two biggest beach clubs on Mykonos have released the DJ entertainment lineups for their 2014 summer events.

Cavo Paradiso posted a list of its July and August events on its Facebook page today. The schedule shows that events will be held every night in July and each night in August until the 25th of that month. Headlining acts for several parties at the end of July and two in August have not yet been named, but the club says it expects to confirm the “to be announced” DJs shortly. The schedule does not yet include events for September, and does not indicate when Cavo will hold its season-closing party.

Paradise Club has posted a more extensive event listing on its website, showing the DJ lineup for more than 50 events taking place between now and its closing party on September 20. It, too, has several “to be announced” gigs for which the entertainment has yet to be confirmed.

Tickets for Paradise Club events can be purchased in advance through an online order form on the club’s website. VIP tables also can be booked in advance through a separate section of the website; click here for a direct link to that page.

Tables reservations for Cavo Paradiso events can be booked in advance but full prepayment is required. Further details and contact information are available on the newly-redesigned Cavo Paradiso website.

Both clubs are located at Paradise beach.

A promotional flyer listing the names of acts that will appear at Paradise Club this summer was posted on the venue’s Facebook page

Greek islands take spring weather woes in stride

June 4, 2014 / admin / 1 Comment

Dark stormclouds hover overhead as rain falls on Mykonos and nearby islands. I shot this photo from the swimming pool deck at Hotel Tagoo on the morning of May 18 2012. Many Greek islands and parts of mainland Greece have been experiencing similar stormy weather conditions this week.

Be prepared: If you’re planning to travel to Greece in May or early June next year, be sure to pack an umbrella or waterproof windbreaker in your suitcase — there’s a good chance you might need to use them for a day or two.

Occasional bad weather used to be something you could expect to encounter in early spring — especially while travelling during April or the first two weeks of May in the Cyclades, Dodecanese, East Aegean and Sporades island groups. But once the middle of May had passed, rainstorms and completely overcast skies would be rare — visitors typically could expect one day after another of warm, dry and mainly sunny weather until the fall.

Climate patterns seem to have changed in recent years, however, and travellers have been encountering sporadic stormy conditions later in May and into early June too, as bad weather across much of Greece this week has shown.

We didn’t need rainwear or umbrellas until 2010

On our trips to Athens and various Greek islands between 2004 and 2009, we didn’t encounter any major rainstorms or other inclement weather bad enough to put a damper on a day of sightseeing, hiking or beach activities. We would pack travel umbrellas in our suitcases, but never have to take them out. In fact, we recall only three instances of rain — all in early May 2006, the time of month when unsettled weather still could be expected.

That year, there was some overnight rain on May 11 and 12 while we were visiting Mykonos, but the clouds cleared by the time we got up for breakfast. One week later (on May 18) we were at Maragas beach on Naxos when a late afternoon thunderstorm suddenly blew in from the west. Rain began to sprinkle so we hurried over to the Gorgona Taverna at Agia Anna beach, where we had an early dinner while waiting for the precipitation to stop. Within 90 minutes the sun came back out and gave us a beautiful sunset that evening.

After the storm: Thunderclouds begin to break up over Paros island (top) and Naxos following a late afternoon downpour on May 18 2006. We shot this photo from Agia Anna beach on Naxos.

Of course, the weather wasn’t perfect the rest of the time during our first five Greek holidays. We did encounter a few days when it was extremely cloudy, like on June 8 2005, when we arrived at Santorini to find the island shrouded in thick, low-hanging clouds that obscured sunset views and lingered into the next morning before dissipating. We also experienced several exceptionally windy days, as well as some very chilly mornings and nights that forced us to wear sweaters and jackets to keep warm. But there wasn’t any horribly bad weather, and the adverse conditions didn’t stop us from fully enjoying the islands.

When we arrived at Santorini on June 8 2005, the island was surrounded by thick clouds that obscured caldera and sunset views that evening. There was no rain, but the clouds hung around until morning. We shot this photo from our terrace at the Phenix Hotel in Imerovigli during a brief break in the clouds.

Please click the number 2 in the link below to continue reading this report.

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Extended opening hours lead to big spike in tourist visits to Greece’s top museums & historic sites

June 4, 2014 / admin / 0 Comments

Tourists climb steps to the Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis of Athens, on the morning of Sunday June 1

Wise move: A decision to extend operating hours for 33 of Greece’s top museums and archaeological site this summer is proving to have been a wise move, sparking a significant surge in the number of visitors to each of the attractions.

As I reported in a March 4 2014 post, the Greek Ministry of Culture recently implemented longer opening hours for nearly three dozen major museums and historic sites, including the Acropolis in Athens and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion in Crete. From April 1 to October 31, each of the sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week. (Many had previously been closed to the public on Mondays, and were not open for nearly as many hours on other days of the week.)

A May 30 news report on the Greek Travel Pages website says government data for the month of April has shown significant double- and triple-digit increases in visitor numbers and revenue at each of the venues offering extended hours.

Ticket sale increases ranged from 14% to 116%

The smallest increase was the 14.12% rise in ticket revenue reported for the Archaeological site of Sounion, while sales of combined entrance passes to a group of central Athens historic sites, including the Acropolis, also hit double digits, climbing by 17%.

The biggest increase in revenue was achieved at the Archaeological Site of Akrotiri, on Santorini, which reported a nearly 116% rise in sales compared to April 2013. The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion posted a 109% increase, while revenues rose slightly more than 100% at the White Tower in the city of Thessaloniki.

I was in Athens from May 30 to June 2 and saw substantially more tourists in the central area of the city than I recall seeing at the same time last year and in 2011 and 2010. In fact, in many parts of the city I heard more people speaking English, Italian and French than I heard speaking Greek. And during my June 1 visit to the Acropolis, visitors from China and Japan almost outnumbered tourists from other countries.

Greece had been anticipating a record 18.5 million visitors for 2014, but the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) last week predicted that the number will surpass 19 million.

Click here to read a June 3 Globe and Mail newspaper report on Greece’s tourism rebound…it includes comments by the Greek minister of tourism, Olga Kefalogianni.

Throngs of tourists explore the area around the Parthenon on June 1.

New Athens X80 express bus links Piraeus cruise ship port to Acropolis and Syntagma Square

May 12, 2014 / admin / 11 Comments

A new express bus service links the cruise ship terminal at Pireaus with the Acropolis (above) as well as Syntagma Square in Central Athens

Editor’s 2018 Update: The X80 route resumes service on Thursday May 10. Click here to read a Keep Talking Greece article with information about the service, including fares, schedules and stops.

New route: Buses began running today on a new express service route that links the Piraeus cruise ship port to the Acropolis and Syntagma Square in Central Athens.

The X80 express bus will run seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 21:30 (9:30 p.m.), with departures every 30 minutes. The trip along the 25 km route from the cruise ship terminal to Syntagma Square is estimated to take between 30 and 45 minutes.

OASA, the Athens Urban Transport Organisation, introduced the new route to help make it easier for tourists arriving at Athens by cruise ship to reach Syntagma and the Acropolis — two of the city’s most popular attractions.

The bus will stop at the OLP terminal gates, the Piraeus town center, the Sygrou-Fix metro station, the Acropolis and Syntagma Square.

For 2018, two types of tickets can be used to take rides on the X80 — the €4.50 ticket that is valid for umlimited use on the metro, buses and trams in the city center for 24 hours, or the €22 tourist ticket that is valid for 3 days of travel.

Below are two maps that show the X80 route and stops at Piraeus as well as the route and stops in Central Athens. Click here to view an OASA PDF document showing the complete X80 route between Piraeus and Syntagma Square.

For general information about all modes of Athens public transportation, click here.

This map, from the Athens Urban Transport Organisation website, shows the X80 bus route stops at Piraeus. Click the image to view a larger-size picture.

This map shows the X80 bus stop locations in Central Athens

5 reasons to take another look at Lesvos

April 28, 2014 / admin / 0 Comments

The spring edition of Aegean Airlines’ Blue magazine features a cover photo of the town of Molyvos and its Byzantine-era hilltop castle on Lesvos island

On our list: Friends who haven’t yet been to Greece keep wondering why I find it so difficult to decide where we should go on our Greek holidays. They think that if you’ve seen one Greek island, you’ve seen ’em all, so they simply can’t comprehend why I spend so much time checking flights and ferry schedules to see if we could visit places in an island group we haven’t been to before, or perhaps explore the Peloponnese, Pelion or other parts of mainland Greece instead.

“Why not just stick to Mykonos or Santorini? The islands can’t be that different from one another,” one friend has remarked several times. It’s a reaction I find hard to fathom, particularly since she — and most of our other friends, family and acquaintances who have made similar comments — return to the exact same vacation resorts in Florida, California, Hawaii and Mexico year after year.

Friends have urged us to visit Lesvos

Although we do have favourite islands we’re always happy to revisit, we try to expand our horizons by going to new places whenever we can work them into our travel dates. We have a list of nearly a dozen islands that we’re eager to see in the next three to five years, but some aren’t easy to reach in May (our typical travel period) because of extremely limited or awkward ferry connections at that time of year.

However, one place we’re confident we will see sooner, rather than later, is Lesvos — an island we’ve been urged to visit by numerous friends who are well-travelled in Greece, and who understand how each destination there is special and unique.

Although we won’t get to see Lesvos when we return to Greece next month, I continue to read up on it from time to time — and so far I have been liking everything I have seen (I haven’t read a single negative comment yet). And when Aegean Airlines published a profile of Lesvos in the recently-released spring edition of its in-flight magazine, Blue, I honestly felt a strong tinge of regret for leaving Lesvos for a future vacation.

‘The island that has it all’

With an appealing photo of beautiful Molyvos village on its cover, Blue magazine invites readers to “Explore Majestic Lesvos,” and offers five key reasons explaining why “the island that has it all” deserves attention:

◊ The traditional cuisine

Article author Fotis Vallatos recommends several tavernas and ouzeris that serve scrumptious meals, including mezedes, fresh fish and other “delights from the sea.” They include Ermis and Kalderimi in the port town of Mytilene, Papeli’s at Agiasos, Baluchanas in Perama, Stratis Maganas’s ouzeri in Skala Neon Kydonion, Petri Taverna in Petri village, Mrs Maria’s canteen on Chrousos beach, and Ouzadiko tou Baboukou at the Molyvos harbourfront.

◊ Charming villages

“Many of the island’s hamlets remain untouched by development and tourism,” Vallatos notes, and certain driving routes — like the road from Mytilene to Plomari — pass through “enchanting landscapes and villages.”

“Agia Paraskevi is a wonderful traditional settlement. Mantamados is famous for its ceramics and dairy products, mainly cheese. Molyvos is home to a magnificent fortress. the beautiful Sykaminia seems to have stepped out of an old movie, while Skala Sykaminias is where you will find the impressive Panagia Gorgona (Mermaid Madonna) Church, which is built on a rocky outcrop in the harbour,” he writes.

◊ Beautiful beaches

Vallatos points out that Lesvos can proudly lay claim to one of the country’s “most stunning” beaches, at Chrousos, and boasts many other “standout” strands, including the four adjoining beaches at Agioi Anargiroi, just past the Eftalou thermal baths.

◊ Unique bays

“Wonderful, off-the-beaten track fishing villages” are scattered along Gera Bay, while the Rodotihos, an Archaic stone wall measuring 50 meters long by 6 meters high, is a top attraction at Apothika.

◊ The petrified forest

Rounding out Vallatos’ convincing set of reasons for revisiting Lesvos is what he feels could well be “the country’s most amazing natural heritage site” — the petrified forest near Sigri village.

The Baluchanas taverna in Perama. This photo, by Perikles Merakos, appears in Blue magazine’s feature article about Lesvos.

Superb food, scenery and local hospitality

But as anyone who has already been to Lesvos is bound to tell you, there are countless more reasons why the island is a must-see destination. One that I hear repeated most often is the welcoming, friendly nature of the local residents. The people, the food, the scenery and the history all combine to create an outstanding vacation experience that keeps drawing people back for more.

As one of my friends insists, “You will fall in love with Lesvos and keep coming back.”

That seems to be a sentiment commonly expressed online by repeat Lesvos visitors — as well as by people who loved visiting the island so much they moved there.

As TripAdvisor.com members RobandCarol posted in TA’s Lesvos travel forum in January, “BEWARE. Lesvos will capture your heart. Be it Molyvos, Petra, Anaxos or anywhere else on Lesvos. This island has a magical quality, even Aristotle was seduced.”

Other forum participants have agreed, saying Lesvos stole their hearts, too — and now they can’t wait to make their annual holiday trips to the island. Several have said they would love to move their, too, as RobandCarol did five years ago.

Click here to read the online version of the Blue magazine feature and see more Lesvos photos by Perikles Merakos.

For additional information about Lesvos, check out the websites Lesvos: The unspoiled beauty and Travel to Lesvos.

Remezzo club gets restyled into restaurant & bar as new places to eat, stay & play open on Mykonos

April 13, 2014 / admin / 4 Comments

The new Anna’s Place Restaurant & Bar overlooks Paradise beach from its hillside location next to the Cavo Paradiso nightclub complex. This photo of the restaurant’s beach view appears on the Anna’s Place Facebook page.

New this season: It has been a busy week on Mykonos, and next week will be even busier, as dozens of hotels, restaurants and shops open their doors for Easter celebrations and officially launch their 2014 tourist season.

Several new businesses — restaurants and bars plus Bohème Mykonos, a luxury boutique hotel — are opening for the first time, adding more variety to the island’s diverse and exciting mix of accommodation, drinking, dining and entertainment venues.

New restaurants have already opened at two of the most popular beach resort areas on Mykonos: Anna’s Place Restaurant & Bar at Paradise beach, and Apagio seafood and Aegean cuisine at Ornos. Two more dining spots opening soon in Mykonos Town are the noodle and sushi joint Noodle Mykonos, and the chic new restaurant and cocktail lounge Remezzo Mykonos. And a newcomer to the island’s notoriously intense nightlife scene will be the gay-friendly Sofi’a Thalami Bar.

The colourful logo for Anna’s Place at Paradise beach

Legendary nightclub revived as chic restaurant

If the name Remezzo rings a bell, that’s because it’s the latest incarnation of the legendary nightclub that opened in 1967. Located on the Mykonos Town harbourfront, Remezzo catered to the jet-set party crowd and for decades enjoyed a worldwide reputation as one of the island’s leading dance clubs.

This year, Remezzo is being transformed into what its Facebook page describes as “an exceptional restaurant with sophisticated Mediterranean cuisine and an impressively eclectic international wine list.” It will occupy the “same idyllic setting” near the Old Port as the original bar — upper levels of the big white building near the red-domed church and the neoclassical Mykonos Archaeological Museum, two familiar landmarks near the Mykonos Old Port. (Salparo Seafood and Kavos Cafe occupy the building’s ground level, beside the pedestrian path that leads from the Old Port to little Agia Anna beach in front of the Leto Hotel.)

Remezzo will open for the season on May 1.

This promotional image, from the Remezzo Mykonos Facebook page, shows the new restaurant’s outdoor cocktail and dining terrace.

The Remezzo Mykonos outdoor terrace has superb views of the Old Port, harbour and Mykonos Town waterfront, part of which are visible in this pic of the veranda that I shot three years ago.

Looking toward the big white Remezzo building (center) from little Agia Anna beach at the Mykonos Town harbour.

Seaside seafood and ouzo at Ornos

After eight years, the man who created the popular Ithaki restaurant at Ornos beach has moved on to launch a new venture in premises a short walk away. Sikiniotis Lefteris has opened Apagio Authentic Aegean Cuisine on the east side of Ornos Bay near the Santa Marina Resort & Villas, only a couple of minutes’ walking distance from Ornos beach. (The name is spelled Apagio in some places, and Apaggio in others, but they’re one and the same place.)

The restaurant specializes in fish and seafood, but its menu includes appetizers, salads and some meat and pasta dishes. The Apagio bar serves beer and wine and boasts an impressive selection of more than 40 different raki and ouzo to accompany the delicious appetizers. The restaurant’s indoor dining area faces Ornos Bay, with a wall of glass panels that staff can slide open on beautiful days. Apagio also has a row of outdoor tables right next the seaside, offering unrivaled views of the beach and bay.

Apagio restaurant has a row of seaside tables offering views of Ornos beach and the entire Ornos bay area. The restaurant is located near the entrance to the five-star Santa Marina Resort & Villas. This photo was posted on the Apagio Facebook page by Petro Kalaris.

This photo shows the indoor and seaside dining areas of Apagio restaurant at Ornos. The photo is from the Apagio Facebook page.

Logos for the new Apagio fish and seafood restaurant at Ornos. The restaurant’s bar is stocked with an extensive selection of ouzo and raki.

Asian & Med cuisine in the Italian district

The neighbourhood around Mykonos Town’s Lakka Square is a bustling zone of shops, restaurants and bars close to Fabrica Square (location of the depot for buses servicing Ornos, Agios Ioannis, Psarou, Platis Gialos, Paraga and Paradise beaches). I have often heard people refer to Lakka as “the Italian district” because it’s home to several popular Italian restaurants, including Mediterraneo and Sale e Pepe. A new eatery, Noodle, will add some Asian spice and flavour to the area.

An “Asian fusion” restaurant featuring a noodle and sushi bar and takeout service, Noodle is promising “quick, fresh & healthy” meals. There’s no word yet on the precise date it will be commencing operations — the Noodle Mykonos Facebook page still has an “Opening Soon” banner. [Editor’s update: Noodle will open on April 24.]

Also opening in the Lakka area is Funky Kitchen Mykonos, whose menu will offer Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant is situated at 40 Ignatiou Basoula, next to Marco Polo Taverna. No photos or further details are available yet.

Noodle Mykonos will bring “quick, fresh & healthy” Asian fusion cuisine to the Lakka restaurant and bar district of Mykonos Town

An image of the restaurant logo, from the Noodle Mykonos Facebook page

Anna’s piece of Paradise

Paradise beach is known around the world as the premier “party beach” on Mykonos, and for good reason — it has a strip of bars hosting wild and crazy daytime beach parties, plus it’s home to the island’s two biggest special entertainment venues, Paradise Club and Cavo Paradiso, where top international DJs spin for events that last from midnight to dawn.

This summer, the Paradise party crowd will have a new spot to drink and dine — Anna’s Place Restaurant & Bar has opened in sea- and beachview premises adjacent to Cavo Paradiso. Anna’s menu includes Greek cuisine as well as seafood, pasta and meat dishes. The restaurant has a sheltered dining room and bar terrace that overlooks Paradise beach and bay.

From the Anna’s Place Facebook page, a photo of the exterior of the new restaurant and bar at Paradise beach

Also from the Anna’s Place Facebook page, this photo shows part of the restaurant’s colourful interior dining space

New nightclubs in Tria Pigadia & former Space disco

Details are scant, but a new nightclub named ODE has opened in the Tria Pigadia (Three Wells) area of Mykonos Town, in the former Aigli bar premises across the street from Astra nightclub.

The club posted two photos on the ODE Facebook page, which was created April 15 to announce the bar’s April 16 premiere, but has not yet added further information.

Musician Alexandros Christopoulos will be one of his exclusive Esthete concept parties in the club on April 19.

That’s the same night that Dream City Mykonos will make its grand debut in the Lakka-area location formerly home to Space disco. The new Mykonos club will be a sister to the Dream City restaurant and nightclub at 30 Iera Odos in Athens.

From the ODE Mykonos Facebook page, a view of the nightclub’s outdoor patio

Sophie’s choice for a new gay venue

Sophie, a French “icon” well-known to many of the thousands of gay travellers who visit Mykonos each summer, is opening a new club called Sofi’a in the space formerly occupied by Thalami Bar (the lower back level of the Mykonos municipal building, right next to busy Niko’s Taverna).

Thalami had been around for decades, and was perenially popular for its live Greek music and friendly, social atmosphere. No word yet on when Sofi’a will be opening — there’s no website or Facebook page for it yet, but it’s getting plenty of buzz on social media as people continue to share photos of the bar’s logo (below). [Editor’s update: Sofi’a Bar held an opening party on April 17.]

There is also talk that the Ramrod Club at Taxi Square will be reopening this season, offering gay and gay-friendly visitors another venue to meet and mingle.

A photo of the sign for the new Sofi’a Thalami Bar in Mykonos Town

Mystery hotel opening in May

There are nearly two dozen 5-star hotels on Mykonos, but the vast majority are situated at beach resort areas like Agios Ioannis, Elia, Ornos and Psarou. Only four are either right in Mykonos Town or within a reasonable walking distance of the town center — the Theoxenia, Kouros, Cavo Tagoo and Tharroe. The Theoxenia is the most centrally-located of the bunch, sitting right behind the famous row of windmills at Little Venice. Kouros and Cavo Tagoo are a 10-minute walk away in the seaview Tagoo neighbourhood on the north side of the Old Port, while Tharroe is a slightly longer walk on the south side of town, high above Megali Ammos beach.

The newest member of the Mykonos 5-star club is Bohème Mykonos, which is also on a hill above Megali Ammos but much closer to town than Tharroe. Scheduled to open on May 15, Bohème will boast 20 luxurious suites with contemporary Bohemian decor in a sparkling white building of traditional Cycladic architecture. Bohème is one of 11 Mykonos hotels belonging to Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

This image of a model striking a sultry pose in a seaview swimming pool at sunset appears on the website and Facebook page for the new Bohème Mykonos boutique hotel in Mykonos Town

New 5-star accommodations on site of former budget hotel

Regular Mykonos visitors will be familiar with Bohème’s location — it’s the site formerly occupied by the 2-star Carrop Tree Hotel and Merolayia restaurant.

I’ve been curious to see how Bohème looks, and especially to learn how its creators transformed the old budget-friendly Carrop Tree building into high-end boutique accommodations. Unfortunately, no-one from Bohème, or from its sister hotel, Porto Mykonos, responded to requests for information that I emailed to their website contact addresses and Facebook pages. But perhaps they’re keeping those details under wraps as part of the new hotel’s online promotional campaign, built around the theme “Let’s get lost in the Bohème mystery.”

Indeed, while the Bohème website and the Bohème Mykonos Facebook page both feature impressive photos that photographer Christos Drazos shot of several different suite interiors, there are no images of the hotel’s exterior or main facilities (possibly because they could well have been under renovation at the time the website was constructed). So until guests and passersby begin posting photos online, Bohème’s external appearance will remain secret.

This photo, from the Bohème Mykonos Facebook page, shows the interior of a superior sea view suite

From the Bohème Facebook page, another photo of a suite interior

The budget-priced Carrop Tree Hotel formerly occupied the property where the new 5-star Bohème Mykonos hotel will open on May 15. I shot this photo of the Carrop Tree in May 2012, and am very curious to see how the building has been transformed into its new incarnation as luxury accommodations.

Popular places opening in April

Popular restaurants in Mykonos Town that celebrated the start of the 2014 tourist season this week were D’Angelo and M-eating, which both opened April 10, and Kalita, which welcomed guests on the 11th. Aroma Bar also opened on April 11 with music by DJ Inspiro, while Scarpa nightclub in Little Venice threw its season-opening bash the same night with DJ Valeron. Nammos By the Sea got summer started at Psarou beach with its grand opening on April 12.

Restaurants opening in time for next weekend’s Easter festivities include Bakalo, which has announced it will open on April 14, and Catari on the 15th. Aneplora near Kalafatis beach, plus Marechiaro and Avra Restaurant in Mykonos Town, all will open on April 16 while Jackie O’ Beach at Super Paradise will follow on the 17th, offering a special Easter menu on the weekend. Salparo Seafood near the Old Port has given the trademark red and white fishing boat next to its patio a fresh coat of paint in time for the taverna’s April 17 opening. Karavaki restaurant at the Vencia Hotel also opens on the 17th, while Avli tou Thodori at Platis Gialos starts its season on the 18th.

The Mykonos Town nightlife will pick up steam with three club openings all on April 16 — Semeli Bar in Little Venice plus Astra and the brand-new ODE Mykonos nightclubs, both in the Tria Pigadia area. Over at Panormos beach, Panormos Beach Bar is aiming to open on the 17th.

Avra Restaurant co-owner Sarah Pearson posted this photo of Avra’s elegant courtyard dining area to Avra Restaurant Facebook group page this weekend. Avra will celebrate its season opening on Wednesday April 16.

Places opening in May

Although many bars and restaurants target Easter weekend for their annual season opening, there’s always quite a few that don’t open until May.

The Nobu Matsuhisa Mykonos at the Belvedere Hotel is among them; it will start summer service on May 9. Pinky Beach at Super Paradise will host a “soft opening” on May 21, while that night the Paradise Club at Paradise Beach will get the summer party circuit off to a rocking start (see my March 31 post for further information about that.) Interni Restaurant in Mykonos Town will throw open its doors on May 23.

A promotional image announcing the 2014 opening for Pinky Beach at Super Paradise Beach