Santorini walking tour & city guide

Fira and Oia

Fira, the island's capital, sits high on the caldera rim. Its whitewashed lanes are full of shops and cafés with balconies hanging over the sea, and a cable car or a long staircase leads down to the old port. In the evening the cliff-top paths fill with people watching the light change over the water.

Oia, at the northern tip, is the island's postcard village, with its blue-domed churches, windmills and cave houses carved into the rock. It is famous for its sunsets, and the area around the castle ruins gets very crowded, so arrive early or find a quieter spot along the cliff.

The caldera hike and beyond

The cliff path from Fira to Oia, about 10 kilometers long, passes through the villages of Firostefani and Imerovigli and offers stunning views the whole way. It takes three to four hours, and it's best to start early in the morning with plenty of water.

Beyond the caldera, Santorini has black and red volcanic beaches, the Bronze Age excavations of Akrotiri, often called the Greek Pompeii, and traditional villages like Pyrgos. Boat tours sail to the volcanic islands in the middle of the caldera and its hot springs.

Visiting tips

Santorini is very busy in July and August and when cruise ships are in port. Spring and early autumn are calmer and still warm. Ferries and flights connect it with Athens and the other Cycladic islands, and local buses run from Fira to most villages.