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Paros harbor at sunset

A popular yacht charter destination, Paros is a sloping, 2500 foot mountain, famed for its beautiful beaches. The capital, Parikia, is set in the location of the ancient capital Paros and has houses built in the traditional Cycladic style with flat roofs, whitewash walls and twisting vines gracing blue doors and shutters.

The town’s picturesque ambiance is enhanced by the numerous gardens of oranges and pomegranates. Marble is abundant on the island and the remains of a medieval castle set upon a seaside rock was built entirely of marble. Numerous reliefs, inscriptions and columns are other antiquity remnants found in abundance on Paros.

Typical Cycladic architecture found throughout Paros villages

A popular landmark among yacht charter visitors is the town’s main church. The Ekatontapiliani is located in Parikia’s main square and it is believed to have been founded by Saint Helen, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great, during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The bay of Naussa, located on the north side of the island, is a safe, spacious harbor that was closed by a chain in ancient times. Drios, on the southeast side, is another good harbor. Both are popular anchorage spots for charter yachts. The Turkish fleet anchored there on its annual voyage through the Aegean during the Ottoman rule over Paros, between 1537 and 1832.

Attractions

The abandoned monastery of Agios Antonios is located on the hilltop of the villages of Kephalos on the eastern side of the island. Around it are the ruins of a medieval castle which was raided by the Turkish admiral Barbarossa in 1537.

The chief source of wealth of Paros was Parian marble, which was exported from the 6th century BCE onwards. The great Greek sculptor Praxiteles used this marble to create his masterpieces. Several of the marble tunnels can still be seen and at the entrance to one of them is a bas-relief dedicated to Pan and the Nymphs.

Parikia has a small, interesting archaeological museum housing local finds including a fragment of the Parian Chronical, a marble inscribed chronology of ancient Greece. The museum is very popular among yacht charter visitors to Paros.