Paros Island Things to Do

Antiparos island is separated from Paros Island by a narrow channel 1.5 kilometers more o less. One of the island’s attractions is the impressive caves of Stalactites on the hill of Agios Ioannis, on the south of the island. Dont miss.
You can reach the island from Pounda (10 kilometers S. from Parikia) where departs a small ferry each hour or by caique in high season.

This is a 16th century church and also a byzantine museum which exhibits some marvellous icons, relics and carvings from the byzantine and turkish periods. Inside the church it is truly beautiful, I do not believe in taking pictures inside places of holy stature so you have to believe me that it is fantastic. In size and state of preservation it is one of the most famous christian monuments and dates back to 280 AD. Legend is that 99 doors have been counted and when the 100 is found it will be a sign that Constantinople will once more be Greek.

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This delightful village is definately worth a visit. The small harbour is the epitamy of greek fishing boat pictures. The tavernas and kafeneons are so traditional and I suspect have been designed to stay that way. The small winding streets are great for browsing and window shopping. But if you like a bargain go to parikea.

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This was a truly greek signposted attraction, the sign pointed down a road you come to a fork in the road and yes there is no further sign. Eventually through great perseverance and some cooler weather we found it , realised we had passed it 2 or 3 times but then you would not expect it to be in the basement of a modern building! However it was worth a look.

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This famous and ancient church will be on your itinerary as its in the main town on the Island. What I found fascinating was the structure of the church and the baptistry as they date back to a time when many of the inhabitants of the island would have been converted as adults (such structures are not seen in Greek orthodox churchs as it is no longer a church that very actively seeks converts). If you close your eyes this helps transport you back to the later days of the Roman Empire when Greece was slowly being converted away from its classical beliefs and into Christianity.

Didn't actually count the doors but pretty sure there weren't a hundred, which is probably just as well ;)

Do not go to paros without taking the trip across to anti paros. A ten minute boat trip 7 euros each way with a car! The cave is probably the most spectacular sight you will see in a long time. It is like a film set but it is for real. We could only take pictures outside the cave but if you visit an internet sight then you can see and read about the cave in more detail. Fascinating!

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Not far up the hill from parikea is the marble quarry. The marble from the quarry is so translucense lots of famous temples including Delphi and Olympia were made from it. They have spent so much time laying a marble path which is marvelous. When you get to the end of the road there is an entrance to the quarry , however we gave it a miss as it looked a bit unsafe. There is however nice views in the area and I got a few nice pics.

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Everywhere you go on the Cyclades you'll see the iconic blue domes. Sometimes it sees that there are more churchs than inhabitants and some of the churchs are located in such inaccessable places you'd wonder how they were ever built. Every farm seems to have its own sturdy tiny church.