Hike
Walk the Byzantine path
Follow the old marble-paved road down the valley from Lefkes to Prodromos, about an hour, past chapels and olive groves. Go in the morning and carry on to the sea at Piso Livadi.
Lefkes to Prodromos
Paros · Things to do
Things to do in Paros
Beaches, trails, festivals, food and wine: the experiences that make this island its own.
Experiences
Our favourite things to do
Ideas for every kind of day, from a lazy swim to a full-day hike.
Beach
Swim among the rocks of Kolymbithres
Small sandy coves between huge granite boulders smoothed by the wind, with calm, shallow water. Take the little boat from Naoussa harbour and arrive early.
Across the bay from Naoussa
Food & wine
Octopus by the boats in Naoussa
Eat grilled octopus and drink ouzo at a table on the old harbour, under the walls of the Venetian fort, as the lights come on.
Naoussa
Culture
The church of a hundred doors
Visit Panagia Ekatontapiliani and its Byzantine Museum, then the Archaeological Museum behind it and the marble walls of the Kastro in the old town.
Parikia
Culture
Sunset on the Parikia waterfront
The bars along the seafront below the Kastro face west over the bay, and the sunsets here are some of the best in the Cyclades.
Parikia
Beach
Windsurf at Golden Beach
The summer meltemi makes the long sands of the east coast one of the best windsurfing and kitesurfing spots in Europe, with schools for beginners.
Golden Beach & New Golden Beach
Nature
Day trip to Antiparos and its cave
Cross on the little ferry from Pounta, climb down into the great cave of stalactites, then have lunch in the village lane and a swim off the beaches of the strait.
Antiparos
Food & wine
Fish lunch in Aliki
The quiet fishing village in the south-west has a sandy bay and tavernas by the water, ideal for a slow lunch near the airport.
Aliki
Only on Paros
What makes Paros different
What makes Paros different from every other island in the Cyclades.
The marble of the masterpieces
Parian marble was the most prized in the ancient world for its fine grain and the way light sinks into it. Sculptors used it for the Venus de Milo and many other famous works, and the ancient galleries cut deep into the hill at Marathi can still be seen.
A church of a hundred doors
Panagia Ekatontapiliani in Parikia is one of the oldest churches in Greece still in use, founded, tradition says, by Saint Helena and rebuilt under the emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Legend says only 99 of its doors can be seen, and the hundredth is hidden.
A castle of temple stones
When the Venetians built their kastro on the hill of Parikia in the 13th century, they took the marble from the ancient temples. Columns and carved blocks still show in its walls, laid in rows among the houses.
A marble road through the hills
An old paved path, known as the Byzantine road, runs for about 3.5 km from Lefkes down the valley to Prodromos, one of the loveliest walks in the Cyclades.