Parga, Greece Travel Guide (Things to Do 2026)

Parga in Greece was off my list of places I dream of visiting. I had heard of it, of course, but it wasn’t until my friends suggested we take a late summer or early fall trip there that I researched the area, looked at photos, and then couldn’t wait for the time to come for our visit to Parga, Greece. It took place at the end of September. It turned out to be a pretty good time to go there – warm, without the horrendous heat.

The long drive from Sofia to Parga had left us tired and restless, and by the time we finally arrived, we were more than ready to get out of the car. But the moment we stepped onto the street and caught our first glimpse of Krioneri, Parga’s picturesque central beach, all the fatigue simply melted away. The turquoise water, the colorful houses climbing up the hillside, and the small islet just offshore instantly won us over.

Over the next few days, we slowly discovered what makes this charming seaside town so special. We spent lazy mornings at the beach, swam in crystal-clear waters, and took long evening walks along the promenade. We explored historic castles with breathtaking views of the Ionian Sea, wandered through narrow cobbled streets, and sampled delicious local dishes in cozy tavernas. What started as a simple summer getaway gradually turned into something more – part relaxing vacation, part cultural exploration.

In this article, I will tell you about the most interesting sights, beaches and things to do in Parga, and guide you on how to organize your trip there.

Contents

Why is Parga worth visiting?
Briefly about the history of Parga
Where it is and how to get there
Beaches in Parga
Things to do in Parga, Greece
Where to stay
Where to eat
Parking in Parga
Is it expensive in Parga
How many days do you need in Parga
Final thoughts

Why is Parga worth visiting?

First of all, Parga is a very beautiful place – most of the pictures from there look like postcards. The town is located in a stepped pattern on the coast of the Ionian Sea, and behind it rise high hills as a wonderful backdrop to the sea views.

In addition, Parga will offer you beautiful beaches with clear waters, delicious food, sea attractions and last but not least – affordable prices.

Briefly about the history of Parga

The history of Parga is rich and colorful, saturated with periods of rise and fall. The region has fallen under the rule of various states over the centuries, which has undoubtedly left its mark on the modern appearance of the city.

There is historical evidence that the bay of Parga has been inhabited since the Mycenaean period (c. 1600 BC to 1100 BC). In 1320, the settlement of Paleoparga was first mentioned in the sources. It was located somewhere on the nearby hills. In 1360, its inhabitants moved to the lands of present-day Parga to avoid the constant attacks of the Turks and Albanians.

In 1401, the city fell under Venetian rule and gradually became an important trading center. Olives and olive oil were traded mainly. The Venetian fortress, one of the main landmarks in Parga, and the belt of olive trees above the city, which can still be seen today, date from this period. These two main factors – the fortress, which provided security, and olives, which were the main source of income, marked the Venetian period as the years of greatest prosperity.

At the end of the 15th century, the city fell under Ottoman rule. After that, there were periods in which Parga was under the rule of various countries, including France and England, until in 1817 England sold Parga to Ali Pasha for 150,000 liras. Turkish oppression continued until 1913, when Parga became part of Greece.

A curious fact is that Parga in Greece was the birthplace of the first Grand Vizier of Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent.

Let me share another interesting fact. It is related to Ali Pasha, whom I mentioned above as ruler of Parga. Ali Pasha of Ioannina (1743–1822) was an Albanian ruler and governor of the Ioannina Pashalik in Western Rumelia. During his reign, he managed to gain great autonomy and practically ruled independently. He was killed in a treacherous conspiracy, and his head was sent to Constantinople. The story of his death is mentioned by Alexandre Dumas – father in his novel The Count of Monte Cristo. One of the heroines in the novel – Heide, is the daughter of Ali Pasha. According to the plot, after the death of her father, she was sold into slavery and later freed by the Count of Monte Cristo.

Where is Parga and how to get there

Parga is a resort town in northwestern Greece, located on the Ionian coast between the cities of Preveza and Igoumenitsa. Parga is located about 400 km northwest of the capital Athens.

It is most convenient to reach Parga by car or on an organized tour. The nearest airport is in the city of Preveza. Bus lines to Parga are available from Preveza and Igoumenitsa.

Beaches in Parga and the surrounding area

The bay of Parga, Greece, is divided into several smaller bays. To orient you further here, I will list them sequentially. If you stand facing the sea, on the far left is the bay of Piso Krioneri beach, then Krioneri beach, after it is the harbor with the houses of the Old Town perched on it, then the cape of the Venetian castle and on the far right is Valtos beach. The town is not big, or at least this coastal part, and the listed bays are within walking distance of each other. From Piso Krioneri to Valtos beach you can walk for 30-40 minutes, passing through the streets of the old town.

There are three main beaches in Parga – Krioneri, Piso Krioneri and Valtos. All beaches have umbrellas and sun loungers for a fee and a few feet of free area.

Krioneri is the central beach. It has nice, slightly coarse sand that doesn’t stick to your feet. The bay becomes relatively deep shortly after you enter the water. The beach is almost entirely covered with umbrellas and sun loungers, with an umbrella with two sun loungers costing 15 euros per day.

There are several rows of umbrellas and they are apparently maintained by the establishments next to the beach. Between the rows, there are sparse areas for free sunbathing, which fill up quickly.

Krioneri Beach is located directly opposite the island of Panagia. The island is small, and the distance from Krioneri Beach to it is about a hundred meters. For swimmers, it is interesting to swim to the islet.

On the islet stands a small chapel dedicated to St. Procopius, along with the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. At dusk and after dark, the islet is beautifully illuminated, creating a stunning view from the promenade.

Just a short distance from Krioneri Beach, in a nearby sheltered bay, lies the port. Calling it a “port” might sound a bit grand, but in reality, it’s a small harbor for boats and modest-sized vessels.

One slightly unpleasant detail, when we were sunbathing on Krioneri beach and swimming, were some small, tube-shaped, biting fish that left small wounds on some of us. A Google search showed that these are some white breams (their scientific name is different) and not all tourists have a problem with them. Apparently they are not a constant presence in the bay. I also read on Google that in order to avoid being bitten by these fish, it is advisable not to stand close to other people and, if possible, to move in the water.

I would advise you to get aqua shoes or aqua socks and go into the sea with them, if there are such fish. We brought them from Sofia with the idea of ​​using them for kayaking. Well, we didn’t kayak in Parga, Greece, but our aqua shoes were welcome to protect us from the fish bites. Fact!

Piso Krioneri Beach (the back Krioneri) is a small beach, close to the central part and Krioneri Beach. It is located in a very small bay, opposite the one with the pier. To get to it, from Krioneri Beach you start along the coastal promenade and then you have to turn right, which leads to the beach. It is best to orient yourself on Google Maps.

The beach is covered with round white stones. There are also umbrellas and sun loungers here, but about 1/3 of the beach is a free zone – this is the most rocky part. The rocks on both sides of the bay make it very picturesque.

Valtos Beach is slightly away from the central part of the city, but it is quite long – the strip is about 1 km. It is also full of umbrellas and sunbeds, but there is also a free part.

Near Parga, but outside the town, you can sunbathe in several other places.

One of them is Lichnos Beach. It is as big as Valtos and is located 3.5 km east of Parga, in the neighboring village. When traveling to Parga, the turnoff to Lichnos beach will be on the left of the road, it has signs. You go down a narrow winding road.

In the opposite direction to Lichnos is Sarakiniko Beach (Saracini Beach). It is located 12 km west of Parga, not far from the village of Agia, and you can get to it by car.

Things to do in Parga, Greece

This section is devoted to the main landmarks and things to do in Parga, Greece.

The Venetian Castle (Parga Castle)

The Parga castle was built in the 11th century and has undergone many changes and additions over the centuries.

It was originally built by the inhabitants of Parga to protect their city from pirates and the Ottoman invasions that began. The Venetians rebuilt it twice – in the 13th and 16th centuries. In 1452, the castle was occupied by the Turks and suffered partial destruction. In 1817, Parga and the castle were sold to the Turks.

It is located on the high promontory above the harbor, between the bays of the harbor and Valtos beach. In the castle, you can walk along the fortress wall and then climb to the citadel, at the highest part of the hill.

You will see various rooms, towers, a church and wonderful views will accompany you all the time. You can see both the bays of Valtos beach and the one of the harbor.

How to get to the Venetian Castle – along a narrow street with 60+ steps. It starts from the square with the large anchor on the promenade. Admission is free.

The Old Town

It is located between the port and the fortress. It is interesting to walk through its narrow streets, full of souvenir shops and restaurants, located on the ground floors of the colorful houses.

The center of the Old Town falls on a square with an interesting stone church. Banana trees grow on the square itself, which is the church yard.

The Promenade

It starts at the foot of the Venetian Castle and reaches Krioneri Beach, a great place to walk and enjoy the sea. There are quite a few restaurants along the promenade. It is beautiful there both during the day and in the evening.

Panagia Church (Assumption of the Virgin Mary)

This is the church on the small island opposite the town that I mentioned.

If you went to the island by swimming (which assumes you are in a swimsuit), you will not be able to go inside. During our visit it was locked, so the swimsuit was not the only obstacle.

A small chapel “St. Procopius” was also built on the island.

Napoleon’s Fortress

At the highest part of the small island you can also walk to a small fortress from the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. The fortress is also visible from the shore.

The port

It is in the bay east of the Venetian castle, on the promenade. From there you can get boat tickets in several directions – to one of the nearby beaches of Sarakiniko and Lichnos, to the islands of Paxos and Antipaxos, a walk around the bay of Parga.

The neighboring bay of Valtos beach is used as a yacht marina – but this is towards the end of the beach.

Ali Pasha Fortress

The fortress dates back to 1814. It was built during the time of the then ruler of Ioannina, Ali Pasha, and has been preserved in fairly good condition since then. It is located on a high hill 5.9 km northwest of Parga, next to the neighboring village of Antoussa, inland from the coast, but with a beautiful view of the sea.

The fortress can be reached by car on an asphalt road. Entrance is free.

A tourist train leads from the coastal promenade above Krioneri beach to the fortress – every day in the summer. We traveled to the fortress by the train and it was a lot of fun. On the way, we were accompanied by old olive trees, flower bushes, lemon groves, and we also saw two pomegranate trees.

In the fortress we had an interesting talk about the history of Parga and in particular about the fortress itself. From the conversation we learned that the fortress was built over 9 years. However, sometime in the fifth year, Parga was sold to Ali Pasha. The fortress was completed, but was never used, except nowadays by tourists 🙂 .

The only downside of the train tour was that we didn’t have much time inside the fortress to look at every stone. The tourist tour lasted about two hours in total, with only 35 minutes allotted for exploring and talking in the fortress. But we still managed to look around and take pictures. Tour price – 9 euros per person.

I guess that the tour schedule varies in different holiday months. During our stay in Parga, there were 3 tours a day to Ali Pasha’s fortress. We took the last train of the day – at 17:30. There were so many people who wanted to go that the organizers also provided a second train.

We covered the entire distance from Parga to the Ali Pasha Fortress by train in about 35 minutes one way and a little shorter in the opposite direction. It would be even faster by car.

Parga Waterfall

This is located on a small detour on the road to Ali Pasha Fortress. You can get there by car, but the street is narrow and it is better to park somewhere along the main road. From there, the path to the waterfall is only a 5-minute walk.

Coordinates of the approach to the waterfall: 39.29739, 20.37332.

Boat attractions

At the port, you can buy tickets for boat trips to several places near Parga, including the beaches of Lichnos and Sarakiniko. We never found time for this, but for the sake of completeness, I will mention two popular attractions:

• to the nearby islands of Paxos and Antipaxos, the price of the tour is 35 euros per person; see availability here;
• to the canyon of the Acheron River, it is located near the village of Gliki, 30 km east of Parga. See availability here.

Where to Stay in Parga, Greece

This and the next 4 sections will help you with the logistics of visiting Parga, Greece.

In my opinion, the best location for accommodation in Parga is above Krioneri Beach. This way you will be both very close to the beach and a 5-minute walk from the central part of the promenade and the Old Town. This was our strategy.

We stayed at Avlonitis rooms – a guesthouse with 9 rooms on 3 floors at a relatively good price for this location. The rooms were equipped with everything you need including a refrigerator, each floor had a kitchenette. It was very clean, in fact they cleaned every day. The price was 80 euros per night. Avlonitis rooms has a pretty high rating on Booking.com – 9.4. Check out current prices here.

Next door are Krioneri Beach studios, they are also highly rated, but a bit more expensive.

In the Old Town, you can also look at the following two hotels with a nice view – Sunrise House and Avra ​​Hotel 2.

Another option is to stay near Valtos beach, but there you will be further from the Parga’s center.

Where to eat in Parga

During our stay in Parga, we tried 4 restaurants, one of which we repeated. I can recommend the following taverns from personal experience:

• Zorbas tavern in the heart of the promenade – right on the corner between the bay of Krioneri and the pier; I ordered grilled sea bream there – fresh and juicy – ​​with roasted vegetables;
• Taverna Yannis – it is located along the street of Krioneri beach, but about a 10-minute walk to the outskirts; the atmosphere there is very pleasant, the service is at a high level, as is the cuisine;
• Taverna The Friends – it is located next to the church and, in addition to good cuisine, it is distinguished by live music. Probably not every night. This was the place we repeated and both nights were well-accompanied by two musicians – one with a tambourine and the other with a guitar.

Parking in Parga, Greece

In the city center, many of the streets are pedestrian, others one-way. Parking in Parga can be a challenge. On the main street above the old town, you can park on one side of the road. There are several private parking lots in the town. The one that was close to us – not far from Krioneri beach – charged 3 euros per hour and 8 euros for 24 hours. The larger hotels also have some parking spaces.

Is it expensive in Parga

Expensive and cheap are relative terms, so I will give some figures. You can find accommodation in Parga for between 50 and 100+ euros per night for a room. A good portion of fish with a side dish and a glass of wine in a restaurant will cost you around 20 euros. Soups and salads are cheaper. In addition, there are many supermarkets in the town where you can buy food and drinks, so it will be quite cheap. For a beach with an umbrella and two sun loungers, set aside 15 euros per day. There are also options for free sunbathing, which I mentioned above.

How many days do you need in Parga

In my opinion, you can easily see the main attractions in Parga in one day. If you have decided to go on vacation, you can estimate how many days you will need. We spent 5 days there. It could have been more, we were not bored in any case.

Final thoughts

The town of Parga in Greece enchants us with its colorful houses, perched one on top of the other above the bay, with its exotic beach Krioneri and the small island of Panagia, with the Venetian castle and the picturesque views from the Ali Pasha fortress. It is definitely a place where you will hardly remain indifferent.