161 Best Sights in The Cyclades, Greece

As its name implies, this is where Antiparians head to watch their island's fantastic sunsets. Also known as Sifneiko as the neighboring isle of Sifnos can be seen in the distance, clear water and golden sand are guaranteed, but ideal beach weather is not—located on the west coast, the beach bears the brunt of the Cycladic winds that can stir things up. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: snorkeling; sunset; swimming.

Young and wild, gay and straight: all head to Super Paradise to let loose, though the more sedate LGBTQIA+ crowd now head to Elia. The stunning sandy beach is one plus, but the beach bars and clubs truly dominate the scene. Summer months mean daily late-afternoon beach parties, where drinks and dancing rule. Hired bikini-clad models move to the beat to encourage a party atmosphere that includes people dancing everywhere and anywhere they can. For those not in the party mood (yet), umbrellas and sun beds can be rented and dining options are available for a meal; Super Paradise Rooms is right on the beach for those who need a place to crash. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); toilets; showers; water sports. Best for: partiers.

Constructed 100 years before the Parthenon circa 530 BC, the temple is made of Naxian marble with Doric columns and was restored by German and Greek archaeologists during the 1990s. Demeter was a goddess of grain and the harvest, and it seems fitting to find her in this beautiful, fertile spot. There is also a small museum here displaying objects found at the site.

The 25-minute walk here from the village is splendid.

A short walk from the main road, marked by a sign, three caverns are bored into the hillside. The largest of them, the Cave of the Nymphs, is 91.4 meters (300 feet) deep. Now blocked off from entry, this is where the world-famed Parian marble was mined—the marble of the Acropolis, of the Temple of Poseidon, of Venetian palaces, and of monuments all over the world. The Venus de Milo, Nike of Samothrace, and countless other masterpieces all began here.

In the back of their quaint Neoclassical house, the Vallindras family has supplied Naxos with kitron liqueur from their distillery since 1896. Before you take the free tour, sample various flavors and strengths of the Greek aperitif that is marked with a Protected Destination of Origin (PDO) status. In the distillery room, examine the century old copper equipment, which continues to produce the island's strong, traditional aperitif.

One of Greece’s most prestigious rembetika (urban Greek folk music) artists, Markos Vamvakaris hailed from Syros, making this a fitting location for a museum in his honor. The composer is a legend in Greek folklore music hailing from the 1930s and is widely known for his rembetika songs, especially the Frangosyriani. In the little museum you’ll see many of his personal items, vintage photographs, and a passport he never managed to use, all donated by his family.

The small beach's fine sand is protected from the sometimes harsh summer Cycladic winds, making its calm water a favorite with local families. Considered an organized beach, beach chair and umbrella rentals are available, and a street lined with tavernas and cafés is within walking distance for any visitors that need a good meal after a day of beach lounging. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: sunset; swimming.

Close to the port are the pedestrian paths of Antiparos Town, lined with shops, restaurants, and cafés. Farther up, the arched stonework entrance to the historical center, known as the camara, leads to the centuries-old Venetian Kastro, or castle, of Antiparos. Like other Cycladic islands, this architecture reflects the construction of fortresses built between the 13th and 16th century when Venetian and Ottoman influences took over the islands. You can walk the whitewashed streets of this small village, where Antiparians still live in small homes built on top of each other as one continuous block construction within the stone walls. There are also four churches within the settlement.

Tiny Volax is the most spectacular of the villages with a landscape that seems to be straight out of Lord of the Rings. Windswept and remote, the settlement is surrounded by hundreds of giant granite boulders. Smooth and weatherworn, geologists are still undecided as to their origin—are they the result of volcanic eruption, or meteorites that landed in prehistoric times?

Filoti is the starting place for several walks in the countryside, including the climb up to Zas Cave where obsidian tools and pottery fragments have been found. Mt. Zas, or Zeus, is one of the god's many reputed birthplaces; on the path to the summit lies a block of unworked marble that reads Oros Dios Milosiou, or "Boundary of the Temple of Zeus Melosios." (It is thought that Melosios, is a word to do with sheep.) The islanders say that under the Turks the cave was used as a chapel, and two stalagmites are called the Priest and the Priest's Wife, who are said to have been petrified by God to save them from arrest.

The Orthodox cathedral of Mykonos is dedicated to the life-giving spring of the Virgin Mary, as its icon was found inside a well ("pigadi"). The church is also known as Angelohtismeni---built by angels; however, more prosaically, it was probably founded in the 1600s.