Paros Favorites

Favorite thing: We ended up in Naoussa by chance and I can't say we regret it. This town is absolutely beautiful with its white-washed houses, marble pavements and the picturesque harbour.

The small harbour with all those little boats and restaurants that line the dock is certaintly the heart of the town. This was an amazingly quiet place during the day and crowdy in the evenings.

Fondest memory: Naoussa is probably my favorite of all the towns I have stayed in in Greece. I am not quite sure why, the place just had a great feel about it.

Favorite thing: I wasn't as impressed with Parikia as Naoussa and very glad we ended up staying in the latter. I found the beach road really unappealing but up from there the town looked better.

Having said that I can't really say I know the town, as I only spent a few hours there.

Fondest memory: The main attraction in Parikia is the church Panagia Ekatontapilliani. The complex actually consist of a few seperate churches and they played part in the developement of early christianity.

Favorite thing: Lefkes is a beautiful, quiet town in the center of Paros. It is the former capital of the island and the second largest town. All the houses are white and the reflection from their walls makes it almost impossible to go around without sunglasses during the day.

Fondest memory: The winding narrow streets are great fun to explore and the houses are beautifully decorated with flowers. The streets are too narrow for cars to pass so there are no disturbances.

Lefkes is a must to visit when touring Paros.

Favorite thing: On the main road between Parikia and Lefkes lie the ancient marble quarries. The site is marked with a sign from the road. Up to the quarries leads a marble road and the fences over there are made from marble. Everything is marble!

Fondest memory: The primary quarry was closed when we visited but all around the place there were remains of quarries.

The Parian Marble is famous for for it's quality and made the islanders rich in former times. Marble is still a major export from the island.

Many of the greatest statues throughout history were made from Parian marble, i.e. David from Milo.

Favorite thing: Naousa is one of the most the beautiful picturesque fishing village of Parosand is located in a huge bay in the northern part of Paros, 10 kilometres east from the capital, Parikia.
It is built amphitheatrically around a tiny picturesque port where remains of a Venetian castle can still be seen, creating a particular and enchanting atmosphere.
Naousa is also famous for its numerous beautiful golden beaches, filling the huge bay of Naoussa, such as Kolymbithres Beach, Agios Ioannis, Agioi Anargyroi, Monastiri and much more.

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Favorite thing: It is the capital of the island, and also a commercial and trasporting port.
Narrow streets, ancient monuments, small churches and a archealogical museum and also Paroikia offers all the facilities for a traveler.
There is a windmill in the centre of the waterfront and it is the trademark of the town.

Favorite thing: Memphis Net Internet cafe is conveniently located right by the port at Parikia, the capital of Paros.

I logged onto VT from this Internet cafe most days during my visits to Paros in September 2005 and May 2006.

To access the Internet you must first purchase a time card from the counter. These can be purchased in amounts of 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours. You don't have to use all the time in one sitting....simply keep the card (which displays a unique access code and password) and bring it with you when you next return to the cafe. The shorter time cards (less than an hour) are valid for a few days, while the 3 hour card is valid for a period of 21 days. The more time you buy, the better value it is - a 3 hour card costs 10 Euros.

The connection speed is fast and the cafe offers a variety of other facilities such as printing, burning to CDs and the use of webcams. It is also a WIFI hotspot.

You can purchase hot and cold beverages.

Open daily from 8am - 10pm (closed for a few hours on Sunday afternoons).

You can find more details about this Internet cafe at http://www.memphisnet.gr/

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Favorite thing: The most famous and oldest church of Paros is the Church of Panagia Ekatontapiliani (Our Lady of the Hundreds Gates) or Katapoliani, which is also considered as one of the most important Byzantine Monuments of Greece.
Located in the capital of Paros, Parikia, the church is believed to be miraculous and every year, thousands of Pilgrims visit it for its celebration, on the 15th of August.
Panagia Ekantontapiliani was built on the site of an older cross shaped wooden basilica which was destroyed, nobody knows exactly why. The new church built there had beautiful vaults and domes but was hit by many catastrophes all over the centuries, creating great damages.
In its interior, the church has a beautiful cross-shaped baptistery, wonderful sculptural decorations, fine post-Byzantine icons, astonishing marble-carved iconostasis and more.