Caldera

The number one tourist attraction of Santorini is without doubt the impressive caldera. Caldera is the territorial cavity born by the sinking of the land after the explosion of Thira's Volcano. With a diameter of 16 kilometers the caldera of Santorini is the largest in the world.

Volcano

On Santorini there are many tourist offices where you can book for 20 euros an excursion by boat to the volcano. The excursion includes a visit to the moonscape island of the volcano and a stop to Palia Kameni island for a quick swim in the hot springs (they smell bad due to the sulfur).

Archaeological Museum of Thira

It was founded in the early 20th century to house the rich findings dug up during the various excavations on Santorini since 1896, mostly from the ancient city of Thira. The main exhibition hall is a large Γ shaped room where findings are displayed in chronological order from 8th to 4th century B.C. The collection includes vases with geometric decoration, a relief archaic jar of large size, clay figurines, ceramic artwork and more. One of the exhibits that stand out is the perfectly preserved marble daedalic kore which is 2,30 meters tall and weights 750 kilos and was found in Sellada. Telephone 22860 22217.

Museum of Prehistoric Thira

This museum is located in Fira and it exhibits the prehistoric findings of Thira. On the second floor you can see findings from Akrotiri and other locations of Santorini dating from the Late Neolithic period (5th millennium B.C.) up to the 17th century B.C. The most impressive displays are the famous mural of the 17th century B.C. with the monkeys and a unique finding: a golden figurine ibex in the last show case of the museum.

Thira Nautical Museum

The museum was founded in 1956 and it is housed in a two-floor traditional house that has been restored to its original form. The exhibits include navigational charts, ship diaries, nautical accessories (astrolabes, compasses, anchors, etc), chests with maritime decorations where captains kept their personal belongings and tools from the two shipyards of Santorini. Among the tools stand out a hand drill and a very well-preserved pedal lathe. On the floor you can see sailboat components, ship effigies, a collection of aquarelles and uniforms / portraits of captains from Santorini.

Santorini Wine Museum

An impressive museum focused in whine processing on Santorini. It is housed in an underground room of the Volcan Wines winery belonging to individuals and its collection includes machines, utensils and grape processing tools dating from the 17th century up to 1950. What draws your attention in the bulky grape steam-press that was transported here from Bavaria under orders of king Otto, a hand-made mangle that was brought on 1660 by French monks and oak barrels. It is found in Vothonas village.

Petros Nomikos Conference Center

The conference center is housed in a neoclassical building in Firostefani, on a point with unique view to the caldera. Here you can see an exhibition of 3D photographic representations of the murals of ancient Thira in natural size.

Ecclesiastical and Folklore Museum

The Ecclesiastical and Folklore Museum is housed in the Monastery of Profitis Ilias, built in the 18th century in the area of Pyrgos. The ecclesiastical collection includes 15th century icons of the Creatan School, 8th century hand-written corpuses, sacred vessels, vestments and a lot of manuscripts. The folklore collection includes utensils of everyday use and traditional farm tools.

Panagia Sergena

It is found in Vothonas and it is also called Panagia Trypas (=hole), as the church was built entirely into a rock, for protection from pirates. It is a rare and truly impressive attraction that you should not miss.

Pyrgos

Pyrgos is a beautiful scenic village with a medieval feel, built on the highest peak of the island, offering panoramic view of the entire Santorini. It was once the capital of the island and it is worth visiting to see the monastery of Profitis Ilias (where the Ecclesiastical and Folklore Museum is housed), a little temple of Panagia of the 10th century (the so-called Theotokaki), the churches with the blue domes and the medieval castle of the village (Kasteli).

Santorini Arts Factory

In Vlychada there is a stone buildings complex which includes the Tomato Industrial Museum, exhibition grounds and an open space for shows and concerts. Inside the Tomato Industrial Museum you can see the old machinery with the old cans and reproductions of the photo archive.