With a gentle and fertile landscape that rolls out from the central peak of Profitis Elias to sand-strewn shores, Paros is many people’s idea of Greek island heaven. There is something for everyone on Paros; picture postcard fishing harbours, atmospheric inland villages, beautiful beaches, blue domed churches and a busy nightlife.
Add in delicious local food and wine, some of the best water sport conditions in the Mediterranean, and a charming sibling island a five minute ferry hop away, and it is easy to see why Paros attracts such a cosmopolitan crowd. From teen partygoers to young families, from gourmet couples to wizened hikers, from stylish art lovers to island hopping students, Paros welcomes all-comers with open arms. A great all-rounder, it is an easy-going Greek escape where the traditional and the urbane effortlessly meet.
In the classical age, the great sculptor Praxiteles prized the snowy white marble from the quarries of Paros and together with local lad Skopas they developed the first true female nudes, and the rounded elegance of their statues seems an apt metaphor for the island itself.
Voluptuous and forgiving, Paros is unlike its harsher, craggier neighbours. A focal point of the ferry network, many people spend a night or two here on their way to somewhere else enjoying the beaches and the nightlife of Parikia and chic nearby Naoussa, but those in know choose to explore the delights of Paros, one of the big hitters of the Greek islands.
