Paros.

The serious fish room on the Parikia waterfront — small, family-run, the boats moor offshore. The catch is what came in that morning; the menu is short and changes daily. The right dinner on the night you arrive or depart by ferry. Reserve a day ahead in season.

A fishing-family ouzeri on the harbour in Piso Livadi, on the east coast — the owner has his own boat, which is the entire point. Whole fish, shrimp saganaki, stuffed sardines, sea-urchin spaghetti when in season. Roughly half what you'd pay in Naoussa for the same plate. Worth the 30-minute drive from Naoussa or Parikia; longer if you pair with a Marpissa village walk on the way back.

Family-run on the south-coast Aliki harbour since 1974 — the most-defended south-coast lunch, the boats moor on the quay, the room is honest. Pair with a swim at Faragas beach (10-minute drive south) or Parasporos. Cash and card; reserve in August.

The 50+-year-old family institution in Drios on the east coast — a real village taverna in a quiet residential setting, almost no foreign tourists, the kind of place Greek families drive across the island for on a Sunday. Honest Cycladic cooking, slow-cooked meats, a small garden at the back. The local Sunday-lunch destination from Naoussa.

Since 1912, four generations of the same family, three branches across Paros — the Parikia counter is the original; the Naoussa branch runs as a small bistro with sit-down; the third location is on the inland 6-km midpoint road between the two. The morning move on the island. Croissants and pain au chocolat made on the puff pastry they've been laminating for a century. The textbook spinach-and-cheese pie. Eat standing at the Parikia counter with a Greek coffee.

The Parikia waterfront grill house — counter service near the post office, twenty seats outside, the queue of locals at 1 p.m. is the credential. Meat grilled in front of you, pita wrapped warm with the right ratio of tzatziki to lemon to tomato, bill comes to €5. The most-considered cheap lunch on Paros. Sit outside under the awning; bring water.

A Naoussa cocktail bar with a happy hour the rest of the island envies — €7 cocktails between 6.30 and 8.30 p.m. (the name "7 Bar" comes from the price). Mixed crowd, garden seating, the right warm-up before dinner at Mario or Yemeni. Walk-in friendly; later in the night the room ramps up.

Naoussa's iconic pink-doored cocktail-into-nightclub on the port — DJ programme from 11 p.m., open until daylight, mixed crowd. More club than cocktail bar; the Naoussa late-night institution since the early 2000s. The right second stop after a Mario dinner.

The famous rock-formation cove on Naoussa Bay — granite boulders smoothed into wave shapes by the meltemi wind over millennia, with shallow water-pockets and tiny coves between them. The most photogenic beach on Paros (and possibly the central Cyclades). Get there by 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m.; the boat shuttle from Naoussa harbour runs every 20 minutes in season.

A small protected cove north of Naoussa with a 16th-century monastery on the cliff above — clear water, quieter than Kolymbithres, the swim spot the locals send you to. Boat shuttle from Naoussa or 10-minute drive (free parking). Pair with the Naoussa harbour back for sundown.

A long sandy crescent on the south coast — no road access to the beach itself (walk 5 minutes down from the parking), turquoise water, dramatic cliffs to the south. The Faragas Beach Club at the south end has sunbeds (€40–80 a pair); the north end is free and quieter. Pair with lunch at Aliki Restaurant on the way back.

The medieval marble village in the centre of the island — three connected squares, whitewashed houses on terraced slopes, the Byzantine Church of the Holy Trinity (Agia Triada) with a marble bell-tower carved from local stone. The highest point on Paros. A 30-minute drive from Naoussa or Parikia; eat lunch at Lefkiana on the main square.

A 1,000-year-old marble-paved path that drops 3.5 km through olive groves and an old aqueduct from Lefkes village down to Prodromos. Built by Byzantine masons; the paving stones are local Parian marble (the same quarry as the Venus de Milo). One hour each way; walk early (8–10 a.m.) before the heat. Cab back from Prodromos, or have a driver meet you at the bottom.

The ancient quarries that produced the white Parian marble used for the Venus de Milo, the Hermes of Praxiteles, the Nike of Samothrace — and for centuries the most-considered marble in the ancient Mediterranean. The site sits 7 km east of Parikia; you can walk into the abandoned tunnels (bring a torch — they're unlit and unsupervised). Free, atmospheric, almost no other visitors.

The 15-minute ferry from Pounta (15 minutes south of Parikia by car) to Antiparos's Chora — €8 each way, runs every 30 minutes year-round. Walk the single main pedestrian street, eat lunch at Captain Pipinos on the harbour, swim at Sunset Beach at the south end of the village. Quieter, smaller, the slower Cycladic pace Paros had 20 years ago. A full-day trip; back on the evening ferry.

The uninhabited islet off Antiparos's southwest coast — still being excavated, the 7th-century-BC Temple of Apollo and surrounding sanctuary, opened to public visits in 2014. Boats from Agios Georgios harbour on Antiparos (€10, 20-minute ride, runs in summer only). Bring water, a hat, real shoes. The archaeology dig is still active; you might be there when something gets unearthed.

The half-day-into-evening catamaran trip — out of Naoussa or Parikia, around Antiparos's south coast (unreachable from land), swim stops at the Blue Lagoon and the rocks below Despotiko, lunch on board. Most operators include sunset back into Naoussa. Small-group operators only (max 12 passengers); skip the 40-person megaboats.