Entry is free; visit mid-morning on a weekday to avoid the busiest tour groups.
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, detailed frescoes cover the walls, and exterior mosaics give the facade a richness that takes a moment to take in properly. The cathedral was damaged in the 1956 earthquake and later restored, so what you see today is a careful reconstruction rather than an untouched original. From the grounds you also get open views across the island.
This suits anyone passing through Fira who wants a brief, unhurried look at something with genuine local significance. It sits close to the caldera path and the main commercial strip, so it folds easily into an afternoon on foot. No special preparation is needed: just wander in when the doors are open.
Our takeGo in, take a slow look at the frescoes and the mosaics, and move on. It is a short stop that earns its place on any Fira afternoon.
The cathedral sits in the centre of Fira, within easy walking distance of the caldera path and the main town square.
Our Mediterranean summer aboard Celebrity Xcel took us from Athens to Barcelona, with Santorini, Mykonos, Ephesus and Valletta along the way. We loved the ship and the itinerary, although the intense July heat and busy school-holiday crowd made it a slightly different Celebrity cruise from the one we had expected.