The east coast & Lefkes

The east coast is the windward one, and that defines it. Chrysi Akti — Golden Beach — is a long, exposed arc of coarse sand that has hosted windsurfing world championships; next door at New Golden Beach the kite schools work all summer. If you want flat water this is the wrong side of Paros. If you want a board, there is nowhere better in the Cyclades.

Between the beaches are the villages people actually live in: Piso Livadi, a small horseshoe harbour with fish tavernas; Logaras and Molos with sand and shade; Marpissa, inland, built as a defensible knot of lanes. It is cheaper than Naoussa, quieter than Parikia, and still twenty minutes from both.

Up the hill, Lefkes is the island's old capital, moved inland to hide from pirates — marble lanes, a big twin-towered church, and the start of the Byzantine Road, a paved mule track that drops back down towards the coast. Walk it early; there is no shade on it.