Paros Island Cyclades

Built on the same white marble that shaped the Acropolis and the Venus de Milo, Paros carries something of that material quality in its character: clean, refined, enduring, and more layered than it first appears.

What makes Paros exceptional among the Cyclades is not any single quality but the breadth of what it holds. The island is large enough to contain genuine contrasts — and unhurried enough to let each of them breathe.

Those drawn to the social rhythms of a Greek island summer find them fully realised in Naoussa — a harbour town that has become one of the Aegean’s most sophisticated destinations, where exceptional restaurants, elegant bars and long evenings draw an international crowd that has chosen here deliberately.

“Some islands are best discovered alone. Paros is best discovered with someone who already knows it. We have been here for ten years.”

The Beaches of Paros

Paros has more than forty beaches. Knowing which suits you — and which to find at the right time of year — is exactly the kind of knowledge we are keen to share with you.

Organized Beaches with High-End Beach Bars & Restaurants

• Faragas — On the southern coast, a sheltered cove of extraordinary clarity facing south toward the open Aegean. The beach bar is well-run and sociable, with sunbeds bookable in advance; half the beach remains public. The setting is the finest of any organised beach on the island.
• Krios — Just outside Parikia on the western coast, reachable by small boat from the port. Sandy, calm and well-serviced — with a seafood restaurant that has been feeding guests well for thirty years.
• Monastiri — Set within the protected corner of Naoussa Bay against a dramatic rocky backdrop, the most striking organised beach on the island. Expect DJs, excellent cocktails and an atmosphere closer to Mykonos than anything else on Paros. Book sunbeds well ahead in July and August.
• Parasporos — On the west coast close to Parikia, with a beach bar restaurant and a traditional taverna.

Wind-Sheltered Beaches

• Faragas — Faces south; reliably flat and clear in the northerly meltemi.
• Krios — Protected by Parikia Bay; calm on most wind days.
• Lageri — Long, crystalline, reachable only on foot or by boat from Naoussa. No facilities — bring everything. Worth every step.
• Kolymbithres — Famous granite rock formations; natural shelter with warm, shallow water.
• Aliki Bay — Sheltered from most wind directions; excellent swimming and fish tavernas on the shore.

Family Beaches

• Golden Beach (Chrisi Akti) — Longest sandy beach on the island. Sunbeds, restaurants, shallow entry, gentle meltemi waves that older children love.
• Monastiri — Pristine sand, crystal-clear shallow water, naturally protected bay.
• Krios — Consistently calm, sandy from entry, easy boat ride from Parikia.
• Logaras — Sheltered, sandy, genuinely quiet eastern coast beach.
• Santa Maria — Long sandy beach, warm shallow water, excellent facilities, faces Naxos.

Unspoiled Beaches

• Tripiti — Small pebble-and-sand cove near Aliki; ideal for snorkelling. No facilities.
• Voutakos — Sandy, quiet, largely local. Paros without tourist infrastructure.
• Kalogeros — Natural mineral clay beach near Marpissa. Wild, unusual, memorable.

Watersports Beaches

• Pounta — Premier kitesurfing. The channel between Paros and Antiparos creates a wind acceleration corridor serious enough to host international competitions.
• Golden Beach — Annual Windsurfing World Cup venue. Reliable meltemi conditions from July through August. Professional instruction available.

The Parian Table

Paros feeds people the way it does everything else — quietly, without fuss, and better than you were expecting.

The island has its own cheese, its own wine, its own cured fish, its own pasta dried in the sun. Graviera and kefalotyri aged in island dairies. Gouna — sun-dried mackerel grilled over charcoal — a dish that sounds humble and tastes like something you will think about for years. Revithada: chickpeas slow-cooked overnight in a clay pot in a wood-fired oven, unchanged in form and spirit for generations. And wine from the Moraitis vines — Paros is the second largest wine-producing island in the Cyclades after Santorini.

Some of our restaurant recommendations

• Thalassamou — Aliki. Special occasion dining. Chef-owner Marios Salmatanis trained in Paris and returned to cook everything over an open wood fire burning olive and oak. The cuisine is inventive without being showy. The aromas from the kitchen reach you before you have sat down.
• Arodo — Krios Beach, Parikia. Long lunch that becomes dinner. Exceptional grilled fish, a wine list of genuine depth, and a setting where guests who arrive for lunch regularly find themselves still there at sunset.
• To Takimi — Naoussa. Authentic island pulse. Where we send guests who want the true rhythm of the island rather than a formal dining occasion — meze, local wine, and on the right evening, live music that starts late and shows no intention of stopping.

These are three recommendations from a much longer list. Get in touch and we will tell you exactly where to go — and ensure you have a table.

Experiences on Paros

Paros does not require an itinerary. But for those who want one, the island simply rewards.

Horse Riding

The Parian countryside — marble hills, dry-stone walls, coastal paths above the southern bays — is best understood slowly. Sunset rides along the coastal routes are among the most consistently memorable experiences we arrange, combining the quality of late Aegean light with a quietness the beaches rarely offer at that hour.

Private Boat Excursions, Watersports, Pottery & The Villages

From private boat days around Antiparos and Despotiko to kitesurfing at Pounta, pottery workshops and slow afternoons in the marble villages of the interior — tell us what draws you and we will arrange it.

Festivals & Celebrations

Paros celebrates the way it does everything else — with genuine feeling, local food, and very little interest in finishing early.

• Paros Park Festival — June through August
• Kleidonas — 23rd June, Naoussa
• Fish & Wine Festival — Early July, Naoussa
• Feast of the Dormition — 15th August, Parikia
• Festival of the Pirates — 23rd August, Naoussa
• Village Panigiria — Throughout Summer

If your stay coincides with any of these celebrations, let us know. We arrange everything from the right table at a village panigiri to a private boat for the Pirates Festival.

When to Visit Paros

There is no wrong month to visit Paros between May and October. But there is a right month for you — and ten years on this island has taught us exactly what that means.

• May — The island stirs back to life. Tavernas unlock their terraces, villas are freshly prepared, and the landscape is at its most verdant. Peaceful and beautiful, but honest: the sea is still cool and the full energy of a Paros summer is weeks away. Ideal for those seeking complete tranquility — and the island entirely to themselves.
• June — Everything has come alive. The freshness of the new season still in the air, the beaches not yet claimed by crowds. June has a particular quality that Paros cannot sustain once August arrives — an ease and openness that our guests consistently wish had lasted longer.
• July & August — The meltemi arrives on the western coast, transforming Golden Beach and Pounta into some of the finest windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions in the Mediterranean. Restaurants fire at full ambition, Naoussa’s evenings extend deep into the night, and the sea reaches a warmth that makes leaving it feel unreasonable.

Getting to Paros

Paros is one of the most easily reached islands in the Cyclades, with reliable connections by both air and sea throughout the season. The fastest option is the direct flight from Athens International Airport — a 40-minute journey operated daily by Sky Express, Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air, with multiple departures in high season.

For those who prefer to arrive by sea, high-speed ferries from Piraeus reach Paros in under three hours, with up to six daily sailings in summer; the conventional ferry takes around four to five hours and offers a more leisurely crossing with views across the Aegean. Rafina, Athens’ eastern port and significantly closer to the international airport, provides an additional departure point for guests arriving directly from overseas.

Paros is also well connected to neighbouring islands — Naxos is 40 minutes away, Mykonos just over an hour, and Santorini reachable in under two — making it an ideal base for island hopping. All vessels arrive at Parikia port, situated in the island’s capital and within easy reach of the main villa areas by car. We arrange all transfers — airport to villa, ferry port to door — so that your stay begins the moment you land.

Things Worth Knowing

• Rent a car. The best beaches, quietest villages and finest sunset positions are all reached by roads no bus serves. Book well in advance — vehicles in August are reserved weeks ahead.
• Carry cash. Cards work almost everywhere, but the local ferry, the harbour fisherman and some farmers prefer it. ATMs in Naoussa can run dry on August weekends.
• Book restaurants early. The best tables fill days ahead in peak season. A reservation made the morning of is already late. We handle this for our guests as a matter of course.
• Respect the meltemi. When the wind blows strongly in July and August, head south and east — Faragas, Logaras and Aliki stay sheltered and calm regardless.
• Evenings start late. Restaurants worth going to are largely empty before nine and at their best after ten. The guests who settle into this rhythm always have a better time.
• Mind the midday sun. The Aegean midday sun is stronger than most northern European visitors expect. Quality sunscreen and shade between noon and three are not optional — particularly for children.

Tell us what you are looking for. We will tell you which villa, which beach, when to come — and ensure every detail is arranged before you arrive.