Santorini

The village at the northern tip looks toward where the sun goes down past the caldera. Good spots are taken two hours before that, and people sit in layers down the castle steps.

A 10km cliff route from Fira to Oia, roughly 210 minutes. Nothing shades the middle stretch and there is no water, so an early start matters.

A town buried in ash in the seventeenth century before our era survives with buildings two storeys high. A roof covers the site, so it can be seen in shade even at the height of summer.

A pebble beach under red volcanic cliffs, reached along a narrow path. Rockfall notices are posted, so nobody should settle directly beneath the wall.

A boat crosses to the black island inside the caldera and you climb to the crater on foot. The rock is sharp enough that sandals will not do.

The highest village on the island lies away from the usual route and keeps quiet. Its lanes spiral around the old castle up to the church at the top.

Vines planted in ash give a white wine with sharp acidity. In the fields you can see the plants coiled into their basket shapes.

A small harbour below Oia at the foot of three hundred steps. Tavernas on the water grill whatever the boats brought in, and swimmers jump off the rocks.

On the east side a long beach lies under black volcanic sand. The sand heats in the sun until walking on it barefoot is impossible at midday.

A cable car links the clifftop town with the old port in three minutes. On cruise ship days the queue runs long and some take the steps instead.

Close to the Fira bus station, holding the frescoes and pottery dug from Akrotiri. Its stars are the blue monkey fresco and a small gold ibex unearthed in 1999. See the excavation first and each room clicks into place with the house its finds came from.

A Dorian town site some 360m up the Mesa Vouno ridge between Kamari and Perissa. Hellenistic and Roman theatre, temples and house plots string out along the crest. Cars climb from Kamari on hairpins, and past the car park a shadeless slope must be walked.

A caldera headland off Imerovigli, once crowned by the medieval stronghold that ruled the island. Steps lead around it to the hidden Theoskepasti chapel. The path crumbles in places, so wear trainers; if it is roped off for rockfall, view it from the village.

An inland village in the south where bell towers arch across the lanes. Mansions of old sea captains and wine traders survive, along with canavas, wine caves dug into the ground. Tour coaches skip it, unlike the caldera villages, so the square stays calm.

The island's largest village, with Kasteli at its heart, a medieval stronghold whose houses were joined wall to wall against pirates. Lanes are one person wide and many dead-end. On the ridge behind stands a row of old windmills stripped of their sails.

Raised in marble during the 3rd century BC among fields south of Emporio, it later became, unaltered, an Orthodox chapel. Its original stone survives up to the roof, so an ancient building is still in use. Small and roadside, it is easily missed.

Black pebbles line the beach on Santorini's east coast, where the Mesa Vouno cliff plunges seaward. A walkway of tavernas and cafes runs its length. In summer small boats shuttle around the headland to Perissa, saving the climb over the mountain.

On the south coast, cliffs of volcanic ash and pumice have been carved by wind into holes and folds. A small yacht harbour sits right beside it. Crowds are thinner than on the caldera side, though gusty weather sends sand stinging into your face.

A white lighthouse from the late 19th century on the island's southwest cape. The whole caldera and the western sunset share one view, with a fraction of Oia's crowds. The lane ends in parking for only a few cars, so arrive well before dusk.

A surviving slice of volcano rim across the caldera, with a few hundred residents. Steps climb from the harbour to Manolas on the ridge, facing Santorini's cliffs. Small boats cross from the harbour below Oia, and beds and tavernas are scarce.

Rebuilt after the 1956 earthquake brought it down, its white bell tower stands at Fira's caldera edge. The murals inside are by the island painter Christoforos Asimis. Its courtyard opens toward the caldera, and plenty of people sit there to rest.

At 567m nothing on Santorini stands higher; on top are an early 18th-century monastery and military antennas. Drive up from Pyrgos or walk the ridge path from the Ancient Thera side. Clear days bring neighbouring Ios and Anafi into view.