Front entrance of Panagia Ekatontapyliani church at the island of Paros in Cyclades, Greece.

Shutterstock / Stamatios Manousis

Panagia Ekatontapyliani

Top choice in Paros


The Panagia Ekatontapyliani, which dates from AD 326, is one of the finest churches in the Cyclades. The building is three distinct churches: Agios Nikolaos, the largest, with superb columns of Parian marble and a carved iconostasis in the east of the compound; the ornate Church of Our Lady; and the ancient Baptistery. The name translates as Our Lady of the Hundred Doors. The Byzantine Museum, within the compound, has a collection of icons and other artefacts.