Opposite the town of Agios Nikolaos lie the islets of Agii Pantes and Mikronissi, which form a natural breakwater for the town’s harbour. Mikronissi is the smaller and northernmost of the two, separated from Agii Pantes by a narrow channel. It is also known as Fanari, after the lighthouse at its northern tip. Both islets were mentioned by the Dutch geographer and cartographer Olfert Dapper in 1688.

The Agii Pantes Lighthouse was built to warn passing ships of the Nikolonissi reef west of Mikronissi. A nautical chart by British admiral Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt, dated 1852, records an earlier lighthouse approximately 28.6 metres high. Its light was divided into sectors: red warned vessels of the dangerous reef, while white indicated a safer course. The circular foundation surviving at the northern tip of the islet is thought to have supported this old tower. A modern metal lighthouse with a white light now operates at the site.

Like neighbouring Agii Pantes, Mikronissi preserves shelters, trenches and other military structures dating from the Italian and German occupation during the Second World War. Near the modern lighthouse stand abandoned buildings formerly used by the Sea Scouts of Agios Nikolaos. Small caves and interesting geological formations can be seen along the rocky shoreline.

At the southwestern tip of Mikronissi, beside a small landing place for boats, lies the islet’s only small beach. It occupies a rock-cut cove, possibly of ancient origin, with stone steps leading down to the shore.