Perhaps Greece’s most compelling image is that of blue-domed churches looking out to sea from picturesque cliff-side perches. Though similar architecture occurs elsewhere in the Cyclades, these iconic churches are Santorini’s signature. The difference here is that they’re clinging to the rim of a massive volcano, with many whitewashed buildings perched on the cliffside now home to some of Santorini’s best hotels. Its sweeping, sea-filled crater gives Santorini its sense of magic, propelling the isle onto many a bucket list.
Beyond postcard-perfect panoramas, Santorini appeals for its wines produced from vines woven into basket shapes (to protect the grapes from the strong Meltemi winds), grown on the island’s gentler southern slopes. This is also where you’ll find the ruins of ancient Akrotiri: a town smothered in falling ash when the volcano erupted over 3,000 years ago. The cataclysmic event forever changed Santorini’s geography, bequeathing it its one-of-a-kind landscape.
