Antiparos is located in the southern Aegean and is less than 1.9km from Paros island. Their ports are connected by a local ferry. Antiparos is not as busy as Paros which makes it an ideal holiday destination if you want to get away from the big crowds. Its beaches are mostly sandy with clear waters.
Chora is the capital of Antiparos and this is where you will find most of the island’s restaurants, bars and hotels.
The islands economy is based on tourism, fishing farming and agricultural activities. Antiparos is known for its white houses, cobbled streets and flowers that thrive in the yards of the houses.
Antiparos is 11km from north to south, and its maximum width reaches 4.5km. The island’s highest mountain is St Elias in the middle of the island, at 308m.
History
The island’s name used to be Oliarus or Oliaros before it was changed to Antiparos. Antiparos was under Venetian rule from 1207 until 1537 when it fell to the Ottomans, and it remained under the Ottomans until the Greek War of Independence in 1821.
In 1770 Joseph Tornefort reported that there lived 200 residents on the island and there were 78 houses. In 1794 a major Catastrophe happened when Kefalonians and Mani pirates arrived on the island and plundered and kidnapped the daughter of the Venetian vice-Consul.
During World War II, the southwestern tip of the island near the Agios George, was used as a secret submarine base, but after the war it became once more a tranquil place, though now growing as a tourist village.
Antiparos was known to the wider Greek public in 1960 and through the Greek cinema, where workshops hosted by Finos Films in the heart of the movie “Madalena” by helping to enhance its natural beauty and historical landscape. Since then, the island became a tourist destination for Greek and foreign tourists in the summer and the economy of the town started oriented tourism development.
Interesting Facts:
Coordinates: 37°0′34” N 25°3’39” E
Antiparos Island Area: 45.182 sq. kms
Coast Length:
Population: 1,211
Telephone code: +22840
Postal Code: 84007
Time Zone: GMT +2:00, Summer Time +3h
Capital: Chora
Highest Mountain: St Elias (308m)
