Capital town and port of the island, with the greatest tourist traffic in summer. It maintains the Cycladic beauty and it is build on the place of the ancient town. In the center of Parikia there are ruins of the castle and around to it the white little houses with flowers, narrow streets, arcades and little churches. The archaeological Museum, the Castle, the Ancient Wall, the Ancient Cemetery, the Public Building Sanctuary, the Delion, the Asklepeion, the Ancient Workshops of Ceramics, the mosaic floors, the Odeum or Nimpheon, the Boxy burials, the three churches and the Ekatontapiliani of Paros is one of the most illustrious Byzantine monuments all over Greece. The names of Agia Helen and Constantine the Great are closely connected to it. It is unexceptionably an invaluable treasure and all orthodox symbol that brings honor to our island. Between Parikia and Lefkes in the Marathi area there are the ancient mines.

This little town is the commercial and cultural centre of Paros as well as the main harbour of the island, serving many other islands; for the many connections Paros offer, thousands of visitors are passing every summer by Parikia just to catch a connection for another island. On the entrance of the port, a superb whitewashed windmill welcomes the visitors and constitutes the trademark of Paros. The bus station and taxi station are located nearby.
Numerous restaurants, taverns, cafes, bars and night clubs are lining the one side of the coast road (which is closed for the cars during the evening) while the town’s beach is boarding the second part of the road.A few minutes of walking from the port leads to the heart of the traditional Cycladic settlement of Parikia, which is clustered around the hill of Kastro (Castle). This quarter is typically Cycladic, full of whitewashed two-storey houses with coloured windows, doors and balconies and old mansions, separated by narrow whitewashed streets forming a labyrinth. The castle, called Kastro, was built during the 13th century on the highest point of the town; for its construction, materials and columns from an Ancient Acropolis Temple, which used to stand on the same place, were used. Now days, only a part of the wall and a tower are remaining from the Venetian castle. Another interesting museum is the Archaeological Museum of Paros, located behind the church of Panagia Ekatontapiliani and exhibits a collection of various findings (such as sculptures, inscriptions, vases, etc...) dating from the Neolithic and Roman periods.