Visiting Paros, Greece: Top Sights on Foot

Paros is a Greek island in the Cyclades, known for its whitewashed settlements, religious heritage and long connection with marble. The island is worth visiting for its historic churches, ancient sanctuaries, museums and distinctive coastal landscapes. Neywo has a free audio guide for Paros with 22 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to see in Paros

Parikia and its harbour

Parikia is the capital, main port and largest settlement of Paros. Its traditional windmill stands at the harbour and has become one of the island’s best-known symbols. Built in the typical Cycladic style, the restored windmill recalls the nineteenth-century period when strong island winds powered mills used to grind wheat.

Beyond the waterfront, narrow cobbled paths lead through whitewashed houses, old churches and buildings with blue details. Parikia is also the island’s commercial and cultural centre, making it a natural starting point for exploring Paros.

For a closer look at this part of the island, see the Parikia destination page.

Panagia Ekatontapiliani

Close to the port, Panagia Ekatontapiliani is one of the most important historic landmarks in Paros. Also known as Panagia Katapoliani, this Byzantine church complex is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is considered one of Greece’s best-preserved early Christian monuments.

Its history reaches back to the fourth century. The original building was a three-aisled basilica, later expanded in the sixth century under Emperor Justinian, when a dome was added. The complex brings together early Christian, Byzantine and post-Byzantine elements, while pieces of marble from ancient Parian temples were reused in its construction.

The name means “the Virgin Mary with a Hundred Doors”, although the church does not actually have one hundred doors. Local tradition connects the site with Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, and another version of the story attributes the church’s construction to Constantine after her death.

Byzantine Museum of Paros

The Byzantine Museum of Paros is located within the Ekatontapiliani church complex, a short walk from the main port. Its three rooms present religious artworks and historic objects connected with the island’s Byzantine heritage.

The largest room contains icons gathered from churches and monasteries across Paros. Another displays painted wooden carvings and religious silverware, including plates, chalices and a thurible. A Book of Gospels from 1728 stands out for its finely engraved silver cover. The final room focuses mainly on depictions of saints and includes a large carved model of the Ekatontapiliani church.

Agios Konstantinos Church

On the coastline of Parikia, Agios Konstantinos Church combines Cycladic architecture with views across Parikia Bay. Its whitewashed walls and blue-domed roof create a particularly striking profile.

The single-naved, domed basilica has an unusual exterior arrangement: three columns support the outer wall and form four distinct arches. Inside, marble, woodwork and murals show the attention given to the church’s decoration. A paved courtyard and small garden add a quiet setting beside the coast.

The Asclepeion of Paros

On the hill of Agia Anna near Parikia are the remains of the Asclepeion of Paros, an ancient sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. The sanctuary dates from around 300 BC, when the worship of Asclepius was spreading throughout Greece.

Visitors came here seeking relief from illness and injury. One practice involved sleeping inside the sanctuary, where pilgrims hoped that dreams or visions would reveal a cure. They then described their dreams to the head priest, who prescribed a treatment based on them.

The ancient wall and central fountain basin are among the clearest surviving remains. On a higher terrace are the ruins of another sanctuary, originally dedicated to Pythian Apollo.

Agii Theodori Monastery

In southern Paros, Agii Theodori Monastery, also known as Moni Agion Theodoron, stands on the remains of an earlier monastery dating from the sixteenth or seventeenth century. It is a women’s monastery belonging to the Old Calendarist tradition.

The complex has a fortress-like appearance, with defensive openings in its walls. Its main church has a cross-shaped plan and a dome, and is dedicated to Theodore the General and Theodore the Recruit. The monastery also contains a two-storey building with monastic cells and guest rooms, together with several single-storey structures.

Moni Christou Dasous

Moni Christou Dasous, also called the Holy Monastery of Saint Arsenios, is an Orthodox monastery in western Paros. The monastery was founded in the seventeenth century and remained connected with the Mavrogenis family until 1793. It was then dedicated to the municipal church of Panagia Ekatontapiliani.

Longovarda Monastery

In northern Paros, near Naousa Bay, Longovarda Monastery is also known as the Monastery of Zoodochos Pigi. It is one of the island’s monasteries and forms part of Paros’s broader religious heritage.

You can continue exploring the area through Naousa, one of the nearby destinations on the island.

Moni Agiou Antoniou

Moni Agiou Antoniou, or the Monastery of Saint Anthony, is an Orthodox monastery beside and just south of Naousa. Its quieter setting offers another way to discover the religious landmarks of northern Paros.

The Nikos Perantinos Sculpture Museum

In Marpissa, the Nikos Perantinos Sculpture Museum provides a dedicated setting for sculpture and modern artistic expression. Also known as the Perantinos Sculpture Museum, it adds a contemporary art stop to an itinerary otherwise strongly shaped by ancient and religious heritage.

Other churches and local landmarks

Paros also has a number of smaller religious sites. The Church of Agia Triada, also known as Agios Chrysostomos, Agios Nikolaos or Agios Spyridon, is located in Paros Municipality. Agios Antonios and Agios Fokas are additional churches that form part of the island’s local places of worship.

Moni Taxiarchon is another monastery in the municipality of Paros. Together, these sites show how churches and monasteries remain a visible part of the island’s settlements and landscape.

A self-guided walking tour of Paros

Neywo’s Parikia: Healing Gods, Hundred Doors and the Harbour is a 4.75-kilometre walking tour lasting 104 minutes, with seven narrated stops. The route includes the Asclepeion of Paros, Agios Konstantinos Church, Paros Port, Panagia Ekatontapiliani, the Archaeological Museum of Paros, the Ancient Greek cemetery in Parikia and Delion on Paros.

It is a practical way to connect several of the island’s most important historic sites in one walk, from ancient healing traditions to Byzantine architecture and the harbour’s Cycladic character.

Paros belongs to the South Aegean region of Greece. It is part of the Cyclades, the island group named for the circle that the ancient Greeks believed its islands formed around Delos. The wider group includes destinations such as Naxos, Santorini and Mykonos.

Explore Paros with Neywo

Download Neywo to explore Paros with one walking tour: a 4.75 km route lasting 104 minutes, with seven narrated stops. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule.

The Paros audio guide includes 22 narrated places, and the narration is available in 11 languages.