Recommended
Royal Beach Club Santorini
A beach club below Santorini's volcanic cliffs, with Greek food, shaded loungers and a rocky shoreline. We visited after Oia and Fira on our Celebrity Xcel excursion.
About
Santorini is a volcanic island group in the Aegean Sea, part of the Cyclades, and the thing that defines a visit here is its geography. The caldera, formed by an ancient eruption, shapes everything: the cliffs, the views, and the way the white and blue villages sit at the rim looking out over open water.
Most people arrive by ferry or by the island’s small airport, which sits close to the main town. The island is compact but the roads are slow and parking in the cliff-top villages is limited, so getting around takes more planning than it looks. Crowds in the popular spots can be heavy, so arriving early in the day helps.
Places to see
Where to go in Santorini
The spots we filmed, ate at, and would send a friend to — each opens its own guide.
Recommended
Three Blue Domes Viewpoint
Santorini's three blue domes are probably the most reproduced image of Greece, and this viewpoint in Oia is where you stand to photograph them. The spot exists for that one frame: the trio of domed churches descending toward the caldera, all stacked together exactly as you have seen them before. Getting there means working through…
Lotza
Lotza is a cafe in Oia, sitting close to the village's most photographed viewpoint and looking directly out over the caldera and the famous blue-domed rooftops below. That position is the whole point: you come here to sit, eat something good, and take in one of the most recognisable views in Greece at a pace…
Three Bells of Fira
Fira's most-photographed landmark is this small Catholic church perched on the caldera edge, and it earns that status pretty directly. Three bells hang in a whitewashed arch, the dome is the blue that appears on every postcard of Santorini, and the drop below to the Aegean is exactly as dramatic as it looks in photographs.…
Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral
Standing right at the centre of Fira, the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral is the kind of stop that rewards anyone who takes five minutes to look past the main shopping street. It is one of the defining landmarks of the town, a large white building with an ornate bell tower that anchors the surrounding square. Inside,…
Gallery
Photos from Santorini
Follow the journey
See Santorini on the channel.
Every destination is filmed as part of a series. Subscribe for the full episode, or browse every place we’ve been.