Note that Crete is not included on this page since due to its size and importance it's described as a separate region, and the island of Evvia is so large and so closely associated with the mainland that it's considered together with the mainland areas of Central and Northern Greece rather than being included in the above list. Also, a few small offshore Greek islands are described on the pages of the mainland areas they are close to.
'''Quick Island Finder'''
What follows is by no means a complete list of island attractions, but is meant as a starting point to help travelers to The Greek Islands, especially first time ones, decide which islands might repay further investigation. Islands top ranked in their category are given first, followed by an ''also'' listing of others that rank highly in the category.
Islands with '''great beaches:''' Mykonos, Naxos, Thassos, Rhodes, Skiathos, Skopelos; ''also'' Kos, Lefkada, Serifos, Milos, Corfu, Kefallonia.
Islands with significant '''archeological sites and museums:''' Delos, Rhodes, Aegina, ''also'' Kos, Thassos, Lesvos.
Great island '''harbor towns:''' Chios, Hydra, Symi, Naxos, Rhodes, Mykonos, ''also'' Syros, Corfu, Lefkada.
Great island '''medieval towns and fortresses:''' Corfu, Rhodes, Sifnos, Serifos.
Lots of '''night life:''' Ios, Mykonos, ''also'' Skiathos, Rhodes, Corfu.
Good for '''walking:''' Sifnos, Kefallonia, Tilos, ''also'' Skopelos.
Significant connection with '''early or Orthodox Christianity:''' Patmos, Tinos, ''also'' Chios, Milos.
Impressive '''landscape:''' Santorini, Nisyros ''also'' Naxos, Syros.
'''Closest to Athens:''' Saronic Gulf Islands, ''also'' Serifos, Sifnos, Milos.
Best '''access by airplane:''' Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, ''also'' Corfu, Milos.
Islands with '''luxury hotels or resorts:''' Rhodes, Santorini.
'''A note on island town names:''' Often, though not always, the main town of a Greek island will have the same name as the island; thus, ''Naxos'' is the name of the main town on Naxos, and ''Paros'' is the name of the main town on Paros. Sometimes these towns also have alternate names; thus Paros town is sometimes known as ''Parikia.'' In addition to these names, the main town on an island is often also referred to locally on the island as ''Hora'' (sometimes spelled ''Khora''), which basically means "the place": thus "Hora" on Naxos means Naxos town, while "Hora" on Paros means Paros town.