Overview
Santorini is what remains after a colossal Bronze Age eruption blew out the centre of a round island, leaving a ring of cliffs around a sea-filled crater. The main towns of Fira and Oia cling to the caldera rim, their whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches stacked above the water, while the outer slopes run down to beaches of black and red volcanic sand. It is a small island and a popular one, best enjoyed early and late in the day away from the cruise-ship hours.
Highlights
Oia at the northern tip is the classic spot for the sunset over the caldera, its lanes lined with domes and windmills. Fira, the capital, hangs above the old port with a cable car down to the water, and boat trips cross to the steaming volcanic islets in the middle of the bay. The Bronze Age town of Akrotiri, buried by the eruption, and the dark-sand beaches of the south round out a stay.