What To Do in Paros: A Complete Travel Guide

Paros is a popular place to visit in the Cyclades, but not overrun with tourists like Santorini and Mykonos. If you want a good blend of everything a Greek island could offer, Paros is a great stop to add on your ferry hopping tour. Don’t want to miss a single stop in Paros? Download our Travel Map with all the locations saved on Google Maps for your convenience.

How to Get to Paros

Paros is reachable via airplane or ferry (or car + ferry). Paros has an international airport that flies direct from places such as London, Rome, Paris, and of course, Athens. You can also fly directly to/from Mykonos or Santorini. Alternatively, you can take a ferry from Athens or other island if you prefer ferry hopping. FerryHopper.com is great for ferry itineraries and tickets.

Where to Stay in Paros

Our personal preference and recommendation would be to stay in Parikia out of convenience. It’s close to food, nightlife, the port, airport, and has a great beach. Here’s a link to the amazing Airbnb we stayed in. Alternatively, Naousa is a 20 minute drive to the north of the island and has a lot of resorts. For a smaller, fisherman village feel you can also stay in Piso Livadi on the east coast.

Pro tip: staying up on the hill in Parikia leads a stunning sunset.

How to Get Around in Paros

Paros is a decent sized island with lots of hills to climb. Therefore, we would recommend a car. If you absolutely want to experience an ATV on this island, make sure to book in advance so you can get a higher horse power. The climb to Lefkes and around the island is slow for an ATV. We found our best price for our 2 days at Aegean Sunrise right in the middle of Parikia, which was a few minutes walking from the port. Buses, organized tours, and taxis can also take you around the island.

Where to Eat in Paros

We spent most of our time in Parikia and Naousa, which is where most of the restaurants and activities are located. Here are the restaurants we would recommend in each.

Parikia

Parea Cuisine Paros

Parea Cuisine Paros was one of the best restaurants of our entire trip to Greece. The restaurant is top rated on Trip Advisor and Google. Their special of the day was a lamb over an eggplant-based cream and it was mouth-watering. The courtyard is also super romantic.

The Little Green Rocket

The Little Green Rocket is a mix of Asian and Greek fusion. The restaurant is again top rated on Trip Advisor and Google. Everything is delicious; you cannot go wrong. They served little breadsticks with a beet yogurt dip as a starter (almost looked like a strawberry dip, did not taste like strawberry, so much better!).

Cafe Symposium Paros

For breakfast or brunch, we highly recommend Cafe Symposium Paros. The food is great in a couple ways: taste and variety. It’s a creperie with each crepe named after a different Greek island. There’s over 20 different options and variety of sweet and savory. The restaurant is an ideal location in the heart of the tiny streets of Parikia, perfect for exploring one morning. It’s also not too far from the famous Church of 100 doors.

Naousa

There a ton of restaurants that line the shore in Naousa, each as beautifully decorated as the next. Since we visited Naousa for lunch, we were limited as to what was open, but Notos was absolutely delicious.

Notos

Notos was amazing in every way. It’s an Aegean restaurant, which is exactly what we wanted on our time in Paros. It sits along the shore, beautifully decorated, amazing food, and amazing service. It’s one of the top restaurants on Google for the Naousa area and it did not disappoint. We wanted seafood to make sure we got the full Paros experience. The octopus with caramelized onion and panko cod burger were amazing. They did not let us leave without their digestif, a dessert wine.

Comfuzio

If we had opted for a later lunch or dinner, Comfuzio is also a top-rated restaurant in Naousa. The restaurant opens after 1pm.

Piso Livadi

Gialos Paros

If you’re towards the south or eastern part of Paros Island, Gialos Paros has incredible reviews on their website and Google. It is also right on the water in Piso Livadi and would be perfect for lunch or dinner.

What to Do in Paros

Paros can be properly explored in 2-3 days. 2 days is an aggressive timeline, 3 is just enough to see everything. Add a fourth day if you want more time to relax on the beach. Here’s our recommended itinerary based on experience and a lot of blog reading. Prefer a DIY approach? We pin all destinations (even those we don’t get to) in our Google Map (see below). You can also find all of our Google Maps on our Travel Map page.

Day 1: Explore the Island and Beaches

• 9-11 am: Explore the capitol of Lefkes. Grab a coffee at a café. Walk around the town and to the Holy Trinity Lefkes Orthodox Church.
• 11-2 pm: Head to Piso Livadi to explore the quaint fisherman’s village. Find a spot for lunch that has mussels, such as Gialos Paros.
• 2-6 pm: Relax at Golden Beach for the afternoon. You can rent a chair/umbrella set or find a semi-private spot on the very vast sand.
• Evening: Head back to Parikia for sunset and dinner. Make a reservation for The Little Green Rocket or Parea Cuisine Paros.

Day 2: Antiparos

Fun fact, Paros is a 2-in-1 island! For the price of one (plus a small additional ferry ride), you get to see two islands. A 30 minute ferry ride will take you to the adjacent island of Antiparos, with even more things to do. The ferry runs frequently (only during summer months), so it’s easy to get to.

Antiparos has a hop-on hop-off bus that costs less than 10 Euro/person. The bus stop directly at the main tourist stops on the island, listed below. Alternatively, you can rent a taxi to get between places. Here is where you’ll want to spend your time for the day:

• Morning: Visit Antiparos town. Walk around the little town and explore the castle.
• Mid-morning: Visit Antiparos caves.
• Lunch: Have lunch and relax on Agios Giorgios Beach for the rest of the afternoon.
• Evening: Head back to Parikia for dinner. Make a reservation at The Little Rocket or Parea Cuisine Paros.

Day 3: Parikia and Naousa

• 9-10 am: Have breakfast at Café Symposium Paros. Head out early to see the streets of Parikia with very little pedestrians.
• 10-12 am: Visit Parikia. Stop by the Church of 100 doors and walk through the streets.
• 12-1pm: Have a light lunch at the Beach Café. Their tahini energy bowl is unique and delicious.
• 1-8 pm: Explore the streets of Naousa. You’ll want to stop by Linardo, which is a bar that is famous for photos on Instagram (see photo below). Whether you’re there for the gram or not, the stroll around the area is something you don’t want to miss, as it’s right along the shore and beautifully decorated with Cycladic architecture and outdoor dining. After, pick a beach to relax at for the rest of the afternoon. Below are a couple options.
• Evening: Make a dinner reservation at Notos or another highly-rated restaurant in Naousa. Enjoy the evening in the city.

Beaches Around Naousa

Kolympethres Beach

Kolympethres beach is definitely something to see. These cool rock formations are cluttered all around the beach. It’s definitely a stop to see, but the beach is relatively small, so finding a beach chair or spot may be difficult.

Santa Maria Beach

If you’re looking for a spot to spend a few hours, Santa Maria Beach is a better option than Kolympethres. The beach is larger with more seating options and cafes.

If you have more time

The beach and beach club in Parikia is very convenient if you’re waiting for a delayed ferry or don’t want to drive. Add more beach time or time to explore other small villages on the island such as Drios or Marpissa.

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