The chief town on the island of Páros is also named Páros or Parikía (pop. 3,000). It lies on the west coast, on the site of the ancient capital. The central feature of the town was (and is) a 15m/50ft high gneiss crag on the southeast side of the bay, now occupied by the Kástro, a ruined Frankish castle of about 1260, with stonework from an
ancient Ionic temple, the Hekatompedon (the "hundred-footer") built into its walls. The tower incorporates a circular building of the fourth century B.C., walled in during the Frankish period, part of which serves as the apse of the castle chapel. To the west, on the highest point of the Kástro, are the foundations of an unfinished temple of about 530 B.C., below which are remains of prehistoric houses (third millennium B.C.). The marble wall of the temple was incorporated in the church of Ayios Konstantínos.
In ancient times there was another harbor on the east side of the hill, some remains of which
can be seen under water.
On the hills outside the ancient city, which covered a larger area than the modern town (some sections of the walls brought to light by excavation), were a number of other temples.
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