General Information & Reviews

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• General info • Useful links • Gallery (6) • Reviews (7)

Parga, Greece is a small town placed on the north-west coast of Greece, with approximately 2500 inhabitants. Its main feature is its beautiful surrounding. Parga is ideal for relaxing and strolling around, although it gets a little busier in summer. Its history started many centuries ago.

Due to some archaeological findings, it is believed that Parga has been inhabited since the Neolithic times.

However, Parga appears more clearly in Greek history since the Byzantine times. Along with its history, the city has been conquered by the Venetians, who built the castle of Parga, and has been destroyed by pirates. It has also been under the rule of the Russians and the British, who finally sold it to Ali Pasha, in the 19th century. The residents moved to the close by the island of Corfu to avoid the cruelty of the Turks and returned to their birthplace after the liberation of Greece, in 1819.

However, Parga became part of the Greek state a century later, in 1913. An interesting archaeological site to visit in Parga is its Venetian castle, which lies on top of a hill.

This castle has some interesting Venetian and Turkish features and offers a picturesque view of the ceramic rooftops of the houses and the bay of Parga.

Apart from archaeological sites, Parga also has beautiful scenery. A large portion of the greenery surrounding the town consists of huge olive trees, planted by the Venetians in the 16th century. In fact, the olive oil production consists of a major income for its inhabitants.

The houses of Parga are amphitheatrically built, scattered along a sheltered bay. Although Parga is not an island, you could say that it does have a certain "island vibe".

Moreover, Parga has developed many tourist facilities, along these last years. Most restaurants offer traditional, homemade Greek food and there are many places to stay, from camping areas and rooms to rent to luxurious hotels.

The local residents are also very friendly. Most tourists are Greek, who want to spend some relaxing days, but Parga also has many Italian visitors, due to its closeness to the Italian coast.

Last but not least, the surroundings of Parga have some picturesque villages and nice beaches to visit. These beaches can be reached on foot or by boat from the harbor and are bound to give you relaxing moments.

A visit to Parga assures special vacations, with the possibility to enjoy this town and to explore the rich natural area around it.

Read also in our blog: Why Parga is your next destination

PHOTO GALLERY

Reviews

Monica6 08 Dec 2011

Popular for my fellows

One of the best things about traveling is the anticipation of the trip and every time I travel to Greece I get the best feeling. A friend of mine back home in Italy was browsing through your site and there was so much information about Parga in your website and thought it was a chance to discover a new Greek town. We spent our holidays in Parga and Sivota last September, two marvelous places.

The waterfront of Parga was very busy, cafeterias and bars were full of people, although I guess in August it would be louder. Our hotel was ideally located above the town beach, so every day started with a chilly dive in the morning and ended with a relaxing swim in the evening. A stroll around the town will lead you to beautiful taverns. We met other Italians as well in Parga, it seems it was a popular destination for my fellows this summer. Not that much of nightlife but more of relaxing lounge bars.
johanna27 18 Feb 2011

Paradise for hiking

Parga has all you need for summer vacations plus it is a paradise for hiking, around the hills and the olive groves. We learned some amazing routes from Valtos to the old fortress of Ali Pasa in Anthousa. Valtos beach was my favorite, it's easily accessible, full with pebbles and lush greenery and the most important the water is just perfect, a light blue (at times even deeper) and always clear. We saw many people who tried various water sports, windsurfing, scuba diving etc. The town beach is a bit different. It is an organized beach with plenty of umbrellas and sundecks, we enjoyed many coffees there! We found some nice bars in the town, hidden in the alleys, most of them were pretty quiet but we didn't mind at all. We had a great time at "Sail In", loud music and cool drinks. In you are interested in monuments and museums, you should visit the Medieval Castle above Parga. Also do not miss the springs of Acherondas River about an hour drive from Parga, a great natural place.
euod88 18 Aug 2009

Surprisingly beautiful

I visited Parga two years ago but unfortunately we stayed only for three days. Although there is not much to do in sightseeing, except for the castle, the scenery is so beautiful and relaxing that we didn't want to leave. Unfortunately, we had a schedule to follow (driving around Greece) but we promised to come back in the future for more days.

At first sight, we were surprised that this so beautiful town is rarely mentioned in the travel guides. We chose it by chance, while planning our route from northern to southern Greece. When we included it in our trip, we had no idea it would be so amazing!! Truly, the town is very picturesque and the beaches are sandy and very clean.

The most popular beach is near the town and a small boat from the port also gets you to Valtos, another nice beach five minutes from Parga. In Valtos, have lunch in Tango restaurant, a lovely place with pool. It is open all day as a cafeteria and a restaurant and in night it is actually a bar with lounge music.

For an evening walk, climb up the steps till the castle. I don't know if there is a road to drive there, but taking the steps is kind of more adventurous, don't you think? Climbing up will take about 20 minutes so make sure it is not a very hot day.
stavrpap 16 Apr 2009

Nice and cozy

We spent Easter (last weekend) in Parga, a lovely and cozy town in Western Greece. As it was my first time there, I was happy to discover a new Greek town. I liked the Castle very much. There is a kiosk up there and has good views to the sea. The waterfront of Parga would get very busy in the evening with people going up and down. Churches had holy masses every afternoon and bells were heard all over the town. Beaches were not warm enough to swim but they looked very clean.
elenadiev 09 Nov 2008

Almost like an island

This is a small town that indeed looks like an island. Lovely waterfront for the adults to walk and for the children to ride a bike. Excellent food, although I must say that the restaurants didn't have some special recipe to present, just the typical Greek dishes. The view from the Castle was nice, but the Castle itself was almost ruined. I seriously believe Greece has better Venetian Castles to see. I also liked the Castle of Anthousa, but it was harder to climb up. In Parga, we stayed close to the beach. Do the same, as most life is there in summer.
tontsa 10 Sep 2008

Picturesque Parga

A very beautiful town built right on the beach. Parga has a special aura around it. Cosy streets, tall and narrow houses attached to each other, lovely beach bars. If you want to do some sightseeing, there isn't much in the area, except for the castle. Choose to walk up there but do it in the evening, when it is not too hot. The beach of Parga is very clean. Have your meal at Romantica and ask for apple pie. Delicious!!
el2335 22 May 2008

Ideal for weekend excursion

Parga is the ideal weekend excursion. We stayed there last weekend. Our hotel was in the waterfront and the view to the small, green islet was a delight. My favourite thing was the visit to the castle of Anthousa. It is on top of a hill and I took some great pictures from there. Photography is my hobby. Maybe we go back in summer, just for a couple of days, to get away from our busy hometown. It is only 3 hours drive from Patras, where we live.

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