Páros has a bit of everything you’d expect from an island in the Cyclades archipelago – whitewashed villages, blue-domed churches, blonde-sand beaches, fishing harbours overlooked by taverna tables, plus lively bars and cafés. The landscape is perhaps not the most dramatic, with its modest 771-metre (2,530ft) -high Ágii Pándes summit, but from the ring road the views out to sea over dozens of surrounding islands are unbeatable.
The first outsider in our era to celebrate the island was Kevin Andrews, who in his classic book The Flight of Ikaros describes arriving on impoverished Páros in 1948, to be hosted by a local family near Náoussa.
Thereafter the island’s fortunes improved slowly but steadily, as an obligatory stop (along with adjacent Antíparos) on the hippie trail between Ibiza and Asia, until a fateful 1981 article in the New York Times entitled “Quiet Heart of the Cyclades”. Quiet it was no longer, but somehow Páros has managed to preserve some integrity and local spirit in a way that other islands have not. 2014 saw the first cruise ships arrive – but the main harbour is too small for them, so they must anchor out in the bay while tenders take punters ashore. The main looming issue for both visitors and residents is an acute water shortage, aggravated by a couple of dry years – wells have been invaded by the sea, and boreholes are clogged with mud.
When to go
The Cyclades are most enjoyable in late spring – when the landscape is still green, the sea has warmed up to feasible swimming temperatures, but the crowds have yet to descend – and early autumn, when the summer hordes have departed and the sea is at its warmest. In both spring and autumn you can expect attractive prices for accommodation compared to summer.
But take note – not too late in autumn; after the third week of September many facilities close down, storms do hit, ferry links get sparse but paradoxically cruise-ship calls at Mýkonos and Santoríni become more frequent, with their patrons on shore leave clogging the streets of the main towns all day. There are also swarms of flies, and individual wasps or hornets on Páros and Náxos, to contend with through much of September and October.
Where to go
Ágii Anárgyri monastery above Parikiá is a peaceful eyrie affording stunning views, while Márpissa and adjacent Pródromos are the most photogenic, strollable inland villages. The great cave on nearby Antíparos has been impressing visitors since ancient centuries.
For those of a more active disposition, the 19th-century lighthouse on Cape Kórakas is accessed by the best network of walking trails on Páros. You can get upright on a windsurfer at Khrysí Aktí or Tsardákia beach, or kite-surf at Poúnda.