Attractions

The Ancient Cemetery -- Ask at the Archaeological Museum for directions to Paros's ancient cemetery on the waterfront. Excavations here since the 1980s have revealed much about the island's history between the 11th century B.C. and the Roman period. Many of the graves contained the bones and weapons of warriors, often buried in handsome ceramic jars and marble urns, some of which are on view at the Archaeological Museum.

American Students Here? -- The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts (www.aegeancenter.org) offers courses in painting, photography, music, creative writing, and other artistic endeavors in a 13-week session here from March to June. You'll see the mostly teen and 20-something students all over Parikia and out on the island.

Studio Detour -- En route to or from Marathi, consider a detour to the nearby Studio Yria (tel. 22840/29-007), signposted by the village of Kostos. A number of artists, including sculptors, painters, and potters have set up shop here and their wares are impressive. Many works draw on traditional Byzantine and island designs, whereas others are modern.

Towns & Villages: Naoussa, Lefkes /p>

If your time on Paros is limited, do try to see Naoussa and Lefkes. If you have more time, you'll enjoy rambling about the island discovering other villages. One to keep in mind is Marpissa and the nearby monastery of Agios Antonios, from which there are fine views over the island.

Until recently, the fishing village of Naoussa remained relatively undisturbed, with simple white houses in a labyrinth of narrow streets, but it's now a growing resort center with increasingly fancy restaurants, trendy bars, boutiques, and galleries. Most of the new building here is concentrated along the nearby beaches, so the town itself retains its charm -- but for how long? Colorful fishing boats fill the harbor, and fishermen calmly go about their work on the docks, all in the shadow of a half-submerged ruined Venetian minifortress -- and, increasingly, tour buses. Signs along the harbor advertise caique service to nearby beaches.

A narrow causeway links the Venetian fortress with the quay; the little kastro is absurdly picturesque when illuminated at night. The best night of all to see the fortress is during the festival held on or about each August 23, when the battle against the pirate Barbarossa is reenacted by torch-lit boats converging on the harbor. Much feasting and dancing follows. On July 2, The Festival of Fish and Wine is celebrated here and elsewhere on Paros.

There's frequent bus service from Parikia to Naoussa in summer. Daily excursion tours from Naoussa to Mykonos are usually offered in summer; inquire at any of the travel agencies in Parikia or here at any local travel agency, such as Nissiotissa Tours (tel. 22840/51-480; fax 22840/51-189).

Hilltop Lefkes is the medieval capital of the island. Its whitewashed houses with red-tile roofs form a maze around the central square, with its kafeneion with its imposing neoclassical facade. A kafeneion, a barbershop, a shop selling crafts, a plateia paved with stone slabs accented with fresh whitewash -- this is surely the most perfect little plateia in the Cyclades -- unless the plateia in Pyrgos on Tinos has a slight edge because of its fountain house! Lefkes was purposely built in an inaccessible location and with an intentionally confusing pattern of streets to thwart pirates. Test your own powers of navigation by finding Ayia Triada (Holy Trinity) Church, whose carved marble towers are visible above the town. The Lefkes Village Hotel is one of the nicest places on the island to stay.

The Cave of Andiparos

There was a time, not so long ago, when people went to little Andiparos, the islet about a nautical mile off Paros, for two reasons: to see the famous cave and to get away from all the crowds on Paros. The cave is still a good reason to come here, but Andiparos has been put firmly on the tourist map. Tom Cruise cruised by here, other stars followed in their yachts, and then the wannabes began to come by ferryboat. There's been a lot of charmless building here to accommodate holiday makers, and it's hard to think of a reason to linger here after you see the cave.

The cave (3€/$3.90) is open in summer from 11am to 3pm; excursion caiques run hourly from 9am from Parikia and Pounda to Andiparos (3€/$3.90) one-way). A shuttle barge, for vehicles as well as passengers, crosses the channel between Paros's southern port of Pounda and Andiparos continuously from 9am; the fare is 2€ ($2.60) or 10€ ($13) with a car; you can take along a bicycle for free. Buses (1.50€/$2) run back and forth from the port to the cave. Something to keep in mind: Greeks have a soft spot for caves and the Andiparos cave is often as crowded as an Athens bus.

Tourists once entered the cave by rope, but today's concrete staircase offers more convenient -- if less adventuresome -- access. The cave is about 90m (300 ft.) deep, but the farthest reaches are closed to visitors. Through the centuries, visitors have broken off parts of the massive stalactites as souvenirs and left graffiti to commemorate their visits, but the cool, mysterious cavern is still worth exploring. As usual, Lord Byron, who carved his name into a temple column at Sounion, left his signature here. The Marquis de Nointel celebrated Christmas Mass here in 1673 with 500 attendants; a large stalagmite served as the altar and the service was concluded with fireworks and explosions at the stroke of midnight.