Paros

Paros supplied the ancient world with the finest white marble known, translucent Parian lychnites cut from underground galleries at Marathi, used for the Hermes of Praxiteles and the Venus de Milo; the quarry tunnels can still be seen, unlit and unmanaged, a short drive from Parikia. The island's two towns divide the visitors: Parikia, the port, with the great Byzantine church and a Venetian castle built from ancient blocks, and Naoussa in the north, once a fishing village and now the fashionable centre, with a small sunken Venetian fort at the harbour mouth. Between them lie mountain villages such as Lefkes, the Byzantine paved road across the hills, and beaches for every taste: Kolymbithres with its sculpted rocks, Golden Beach for windsurfing, Santa Maria and Faragas.

History

Ancient names of the island include Plateia, Demetrias, Strongyle, Hyria, Hyleessa and Minoa, and it later received a colony of Ionians from Athens under whom it prospered, sending out colonies to Thasos, in which the Parian poet Archilochus is said to have taken part, and to Parium on the Hellespont. Shortly before the Persian Wars it seems to have depended on Naxos, and in 490 BC it sided with the Persians and sent a trireme to Marathon, after which Miltiades besieged its capital and demanded a fine of 100 talents; under the Delian League Paros paid the highest tribute of the island members (Wikipedia, Paros).

What's there

• The marble quarries - ancient underground galleries at Marathi.
• Naoussa harbour - the fishing port and the half-sunken Venetian fort.
• Lefkes and the Byzantine road - a hill village and its old paved route.
• The beaches - Kolymbithres, Golden Beach, Santa Maria and others.

When to go

May, June and September for warm sea and manageable crowds; August is expensive and full, particularly in Naoussa. The meltemi wind blows hard in July and August, which windsurfers welcome and others do not.

Good to know

Naoussa has become one of the Cyclades' most expensive destinations and its harbour restaurants price accordingly. Ferries and rooms in August need booking well ahead. The marble quarries are unlit and genuinely unsafe to enter deeply.

Nearby

Antiparos is a ten-minute ferry away; Naxos lies east and Mykonos north.

Key facts