Santorini.

The most-considered modern Greek kitchen on Santorini — founded 1985 by George Hatzigiannakis (who's since departed); now in Fira under Michelin-starred chef Ettore Botrini (formerly of his eponymous Etrusco on Corfu). Tasting-menu only, deeply rooted in the Santorinian pantry: fava in three textures, sun-dried tomatoes from Mesa Gonia, capers from Akrotiri. The wine list takes Assyrtiko more seriously than anywhere on earth. Book a month ahead in season.

The dining room at Andronis Boutique Hotel in Oia — opened 1971, the oldest fine-dining restaurant on the island, now consulted by three-Michelin-star chef Emmanuel Renaut (Flocons de Sel in the French Alps). Cliff-edge terrace facing west into the caldera; the tasting menu pairs Renaut's alpine precision with Santorinian ingredients. Book three weeks ahead; the sunset booking is the move.

A cliff-edge seafood room in Fira above Town Hall square — named for the Akrotiri Bronze Age date, the kitchen leans hard on what came in at Vlychada that morning. Whole grilled fish, raw seafood platters, an excellent Santorinian wine list. One of the few caldera-side restaurants where the food is the point, not the view. Reserve the terrace.

A modern Greek room in a 1912 Oia building, chef Grigoris Karagiannis cooking the Cycladic pantry through a contemporary lens since 2022. Smaller and more deliberate than the Oia caldera spots — no cliff view, all about the food. The room seats around 30; book a week ahead in season.

The old cliff-side Argo relocated in recent years to a 4,500m² garden venue in Kontochori, 5 minutes from Fira — gave up the cliff view in exchange for room to breathe. Modern Greek-Mediterranean, the same kitchen as before in a calmer setting. The right pick when you want the food without the cruise-deck volume.

On the Oia caldera edge since 1996 — restaurant and bar, the rare cliff-side address where the food still respects itself. Mediterranean, seafood-led, an outdoor terrace cantilevered over the rim. Less touristy than Ambrosia next door; book the sunset table.

A traditional taverna in Finikia, the small village a kilometre east of Oia, inside an 1832 building — opened as a restaurant in 2007 by the family who has owned the building for generations. Cycladic-mainland menu, charcoal-grilled meat, fava, the local Assyrtiko in carafes. The dinner most travellers don't think to drive to. Five-minute cab from Oia.

Chef Haris Kossyfas's Mediterranean-Greek fine dining inside the medieval Kasteli fortress of Pyrgos — an 18th-century mansion converted to a 30-seat room, terrace looking across the entire caldera. Modern technique on Cycladic ingredients; tasting menus only. The Pyrgos splurge dinner, paired easily with a daytime wine tasting nearby.

A cliff-edge cocktail bar in Fira opened in 1976 by an Italian-Greek classical-music aficionado — open-air terrace facing the caldera, classical and opera on the speakers, jacketed bartenders, no concessions to the cruise crowd. The Negroni is the order; the sunset hour fills the terrace. Now serves small plates too.

Santorini's first cocktail bar — opened 1976 in Fira on the back of the cliff (no caldera view, all about the drinks). Yiannis Kanakaris has been mixing here for decades. Small, dim, locally-loved; the Athens cocktail crowd's pilgrimage stop when they visit. The right second stop after Franco's.

Molecular-mixology bar inside a cave on Marinatou Street in Fira — smoked drinks, edible-foam toppings, drinks served in lab beakers and on slate slabs. Cliff-cave interior with caldera view through the windows. More theatre than the other Fira bars; worth one stop if you've already done the classics.

Red volcanic sand against red cliffs at the southern tip of the island, a 5-minute coastal walk from the Akrotiri site parking lot. Note: do not swim under the cliffs. Rockfall has closed the beach itself in recent years; the viewpoint is the legitimate visit. Photogenic, slightly dangerous from the cliff above, never noon. Pair with the Akrotiri site visit.

A long stretch of dark grey sand on the south coast under white tufa-stone cliffs the wind and rain have carved into wave shapes — the most-architectural beach on the island and almost completely overlooked by the cruise crowds. The far end is quietest. Bring shoes — the sand is fine but the rocks are sharp. Pair with the Santorini Arts Factory at the inland Vlychada port (the old tomato canning plant, now a serious contemporary-art space).

The long black-sand beach on the south-east coast, sub-divided into Perissa (the quieter northern end), Perivolos (the developed beach-club middle), and Vlychada (the wild south end). Sunbeds at the beach clubs €25–60 per pair; free swim from the public stretches. Best for a half-day swim-and-lunch when the inland half of the island is too hot. Drive over rather than bus.

The half-day boat trip from Fira's old port — to Nea Kameni, the still-active volcanic islet in the centre of the caldera (a 30-minute hike up the steaming cone to the crater rim), then to Palea Kameni for a swim in the sulphur-warmed hot-spring cove (the water turns brick-red from the iron oxide). Boats leave roughly every hour from 11 a.m.; €30–45 with a small operator, €60–90 with the big tour boats. Take a small operator.

The half-day-into-evening catamaran trip — out of Vlychada port (cheaper, quieter) or Ammoudi at the base of Oia (more expensive, scenic). Five-hour route around the caldera, swim stops at the Red Beach cove and White Beach (both unreachable from land), sunset under the Oia cliffs from the water. Most boats include dinner on board. Book the small-group operators (max 16 passengers); skip the 50-person megaboats.

A 20-minute downhill walk from the Imerovigli main square to the abandoned medieval Venetian fortress on the Skaros sea-stack — the path drops down the cliff face, hugs the sea-stack, and ends at the tiny whitewashed chapel of Theoskepasti perched on the rock. The walk back up is the only argument against. Best at golden hour (5–6 p.m.); the late-evening light on the sea-stack is the photograph that's secretly the best Santorini shot.

The 10-kilometre cliff-edge path from Fira to Oia — through Firostefani, Imerovigli, past Skaros Rock, along the ridge to Oia. Three to four hours depending on stops. Almost entirely paved; some elevation change in the Imerovigli section. Walk early — start by 8 a.m. before the sun and the cruise crowds. Take water and sunscreen you actually believe in. Hotel staff can arrange a transfer back from Oia.

The medieval inland village at the highest point on Santorini — climb up through the labyrinth to the Venetian castle at the top, with a 360° view across the entire caldera, Akrotiri, Perissa, the open Aegean. Less photographed and less crowded than the Oia sunset, with better light on the white houses. Pair with dinner at Botargo (the 18th-c mansion in the Kasteli) or Selene (if it's been moved back yet — verify).

The single-best half-or-full-day a Santorini visitor can do — four wineries across Pyrgos, Megalochori, Episkopi, Exo Gonia, with lunch in a wine village in between. Cross-reference our Santorini wine guide for the full producer list, the one-day tasting itinerary, and the three bottles worth shipping home. Hire a driver; don't drive yourself after four tastings.