Greece - Korina Miller [316]
Also recommended:
Argonauta Taverna ( 22840 23303; mains €4.50-9) Attached to the hotel of the same name and offering sturdy Greek standards.
Apollon ( 22840 21875; Agora; mains €9-24) A long-established restaurant in Kastro.
Drinking
Pebbles Jazz Bar ( 22840 22283; ) Heading down through Kastro in the late evening you’d think Pebbles’ sunset backdrop was a vast painting. Perched above the seafront, this chilled place has lounge music by day and jazz in the evenings, with a classical climax for the sunset and occasional live performers during July and August. Pebbles has an adjacent mezedhopoleio (restaurant specialising in mezedhes) open from 9am to 1am, with breakfast from €4.50 to €7 and a great selection of mezedhes for €7 to €8, as well as omelettes and salads.
Pirate ( 6974315991) Ultracool corner of Parikia, Pirate is an ideal refuge, lulled by hazy jazz and blues beats to combat all that brilliant Cycladean light. It’s just off the far end of Market St beyond Micro Café.
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OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Athens may think it has the acropolis par excellence, but Paros has its own little Mycenaean acropolis at Koukounaries near Naousa, where you won’t mix it with too many fellow admirers. This is a grand site atop a gnarly little hill of boisterous sandstone boulders and buttresses, smoothed over and frozen into Dalí-esque shapes. Over 35,000 pieces of broken pottery have been found at the site. Signs point the way from the main Naousa road to parking at the base of the hill, but fade thereafter. Be warned: good footwear and careful footwork are essential to negotiate the initial rocky slabs, which are water-polished in places. At the top of the slabs you bear right towards a distinctive curved pillar just below the skyline. Follow your nose thereafter to the top of the hill and the scattered roots of buildings, unadorned and simple. The views are classic.
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Ellinadiko ( 22840 25046) Also known as ‘Island’, this popular local bar with foot-stomping Greek music and late-night dancing is in an alleyway between Plateia Mavrogenous and the seafront.
There are more bars along the southern waterfront, including the popular Evinos ( 22840 23026) and Salon D’Or ( 22840 22176).
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NAOUSA ΝΑΟΥΣΑ
pop 2865
Fast stealing some of the glitz and glamour of Mykonos, Naousa has transformed itself from a quiet fishing village into a popular tourist resort. Located on the shores of the large Plastira Bay on the north coast of Paros, there are good beaches nearby, and the town has several excellent restaurants and a growing number of stylish beachside cafes and bars. Behind the waterfront is a maze of narrow whitewashed streets, peppered with fish and flower motifs and with a mix of smart boutiques and souvenir shops.
Orientation & Information
The bus from Parikia terminates some way up from the main square just in from the waterfront, where a dried-up riverbed serves as a road leading south and inland. The main street of Naousa lies on the left of the riverbed. If arriving by car, be warned: parking in certain areas is banned from June to September. Signs may not be clear, but the €35 fines are painfully so. There’s parking by the harbour and along the sides of the riverbed road, with a larger car park at the top end of the riverbed road.
Naousa Information ( 22840 52158; 10am-midnight Jul & Aug, 11am-1pm & 6-10pm mid-Jun–Jul) can find you accommodation and is based in a booth by the main square.
The post office is a tedious uphill walk from the main square. There are several banks with ATMs around the main square.
For internet access, try Jamnet3 ( 22840 52203; per hr €2.50; 10am-1am),