Paros bound
Everyone has their favourite but Paros is the best Greek island to visit in my humble opinion. My first visit to Paros in the Cyclades group of islands, was 38 years ago and it has always held a special place in my heart. Back then it was hot, dreamy and beautiful. I was young, and just beginning to explore the world outside of the grey UK.
And here I am returning, all these years later, to the exact same place, with the same best friend, to the port town of Naoussa. Would my memories hold true or would things have changed out of all recognition in the almost four decades in between?
Second best Greek island – Mykynos
First we fly in to Mykonos, the famous party island which remains a delightful destination. As soon as I see the whitewashed houses draped with stunning bougainvillea in cerise, crimson, white and burnt orange, it makes my heart happy.
The chocolate box pretty, small town of Chora, is awash with upmarket boutique shops selling beautiful things. Dazzling clothes, jewellery, and ceramics are on offer. All my favourite things, in fact. After a couple of days looking at them hungrily, the eye watering prices start to seem more reasonable as everything is similarly pricey. This is a shopper’s paradise.
The famous line of windmills on Mykonos makes for an iconic skyline – they are undergoing a full restoration process at the moment. They are being re-plastered, painted and their conical hats replaced. Sunset here is an event not to be missed. We eschew booking a place in a crowded cocktail bar with an overpriced drink, and instead take a bottle of local wine down to the beach to watch the rather lovely day draw to a close. The sunset is absolutely stunning. Rose and orange colours explode into the sky creating fireworks of clouds surrounding the ship’s masts moored in the bay. A quite unforgettable experience.
We see party goers setting off with bags of alcohol in dinghies across the bay to transfer to larger vessels. They were sailing to the famous Paradise Beach and Super Paradise beach to party on through the night. Mykonos is renowned for its hedonistic culture. We were there early in the season in May and I think this is probably the time to see the island at its best without the summer crowds.
The best Greek island and the very best ferry
We only had a couple of nights in Mykynos and then we were off on a magnificent sleek new super jet ferry to Paros.
My previous journey 38 years ago had involved a ride on an ageing diesel tug boat. It took three and a half hours to cross from Mykonos to Paros. This caused me to lie on the floor wanting to die from the diesel smell and the unpleasant rolling mercilessly around the Aegean Sea.
Today we sail on the high speed sea jet – it’s a whole different ball game. The ramp comes down, the cars drive off and there is a mad rush to board. The ferry man shouts ‘Come on everybody!’ as if he is about to burst into a song about doing the twist. The interior is fitted with comfortable leather seats and a mere 45 minute crossing time makes for a far superior journey.
Arriving at the best Greek island
We arrive at the port of Parikia, the capital of Paros. From there we take a taxi to our accommodation in the village of Naoussa. We are renting an old Cycladic house once used by the fisher folk and now converted to some chic tourist accommodation. The little house nestles behind the main square in such a way that we walk past it multiple times. No one seems to know where it is, even though we know we are really close according to Google maps. Eventually I commandeer two Greek guys from the bar to ring the company and they come to let us in. It is literally 50 yards away tucked behind a restaurant!
Our accommodation is generously described as a ‘maisonette’ but is actually a very small two story house separated by a small mezzanine level. The floor at the top (and the only bathroom) is accessible by a rather steep ladder. It is super cute with a spectacular view from the top floor balcony. Perhaps not for the disabled or those with a fear of heights though!
Naoussa village
We head out into the town of Naoussa. This is where we stayed all those years ago – how would it compare with our somewhat faded memories? We were not disappointed. It is just a most beautiful place! Sometimes described as ‘Mykonos twenty years ago,’ it remains a charming maze of pristine white houses, churches, bars and cobbled streets radiating from a picture perfect harbour.
The harbour is at it prettiest at night when the strings of lights illuminate the harbour side. Various restaurants with their own coloured chairs and individual table wear, attract the Paros glitterati. Everyone looks effortlessly chic and Greeks, French and Americans mingle with us plucky Brits.
You can even eat on some of the little boats nestled next to the eateries. You are spoiled for choice for the most amazing views and food. The cuisine I seem to think is much better than it was, and the wine most certainly is.
Eat and drink on the best Greek island
Back then in the 80’s, Greek wine was pretty rough. You could opt to quaff the awful paint stripper, known as Retsina, risk some Ouzo, or down some very cheap and nasty vintage. Today, the wine is perfectly delicious. Not a beer drinker myself – I even become partial to an ice cold Mythos, the nicest Greek beer.
Dishes like giant beans, cabbage rolls, orzo with shrimps (and these are mega shrimps!) moussaka and stuffed eggplant, are all to die for. There is still the traditional Souvlaki and Stifado to be had too. Lots of fish of course, although that always tends to be the most expensive thing on the menu. Prices are comparable to the UK, and if you are prepared to dine among the narrow streets away from the delicious harbour ,the prices are even better. Dining al fresco has always been one of my favourite things to do as it’s only possible once or twice a year where I live in the North of the UK.
The shops here are like mini art galleries. The parade of gorgeous clothes and wonderful imaginative accessories are eclectic, colourful and elegant. To be fair, they are probably things you could only really wear on a dreamy Greek island. We wander around ‘ooing’ and ‘ahhing’ at just about everything.
One day we got the bus to the capital Parikia which was only 2 Euros. Parikia is also a lovely place with some slightly more affordable shops and definitely worth a visit. All bus journeys on the island cost 2 Euros – excellent news.
Going back in time
One afternoon, we track down the place we stayed in all those years ago – the Marina Apartments. Weirdly – they are only about 100 yards or so away from where we are staying this time!
We speak to the owner and he shows us some pictures from the 80’s and we are certain it is the same place. Of course things have developed. There are a lot more apartments, villas and hotels on the outskirts of the village now, but the core of the place remains the same and it’s just as jaw -droppingly gorgeous as ever.
We visit a lovely winery called the Moraitico where lots of people are enthusiastically wine tasting. I remembered drinking Kavarnis wine all those years ago in the Kavarnis bar and in fact, the staff said it was one of the wines they had produced back then. We had met the guy that owned the winery – Georgios Moriatis– and it turned out he subsequently became a leading light in the production of organic wines on Naoussa, and he later gave this winery to his brother. Kavarnis wine was a real find – definitely ahead of its time.
We cemented our trip by recreating a photo I had from back then of the two of us perched nonchalantly on motor bikes. I’m not sure we drove them anywhere, but how cool did we look?!
Other things to do on the best Greek island
One day we hop on a boat across to Kolimbithres, the beach opposite Naoussa harbour. It is fringed with its famous weather sculpted granite rocks. The shallow green sea is totally transparent and ideal for safe swimming. A motley crew of friendly rescue dogs and cats potter around saying hello to visitors. We even write a Haiku about it! NB we have both been English teachers. Here is one of the Haikus we wrote on our Greek sojourn.
Naoussa
Cry of the peacock
See through transparent green sea
Idyllic Greek island
We discover (or rediscover) the best Greek bakery ever. We spend a fair amount of time sampling spinach and cheese pies and consuming orange pudding with creamy Greek yoghurt. Bliss!
This place still resonates with both of us and really is as lovely as I remember. If anything it is even nicer than it was then. I confess this is mainly due to the improved wine offer.
It’s not the easiest of islands to get to and the airport is very small. Getting the ferry from another island is the easiest way to get here. However I can confirm without hesitation that my heart still belongs to Paros, and I promise we will be back!
