Fira

Fira is the capital of Santorini, a town of about 1,516 residents built along the western edge of the island directly above the caldera. It sits roughly 220 metres above the old port at the foot of the cliff. The name is the local Cycladic pronunciation of Thira, which is still the island's official name, so the two words refer to the same thing rather than to two different places.

A Short History

Fira became the island's main settlement in the late eighteenth century, after Skaros, the Venetian-era castle town on the rock below present-day Imerovigli, was abandoned as earthquakes and rockfalls made it unsafe. The island's ancient name, Thera, comes from Theras, the Spartan leader credited by Herodotus with colonising it.

Two building traditions sit side by side in the town. The Cycladic one gives the whitewashed cubic houses with flat roofs and blue-painted joinery. The second comes from the centuries of Venetian rule and the Catholic community it left behind: Fira still has a Catholic quarter with its own cathedral, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and a Dominican monastery, alongside the Orthodox cathedral of the Ypapanti, which was rebuilt after the earlier church on the site was destroyed in the 1956 Amorgos earthquake.

Museums and Sites

• Museum of Prehistoric Thera, which holds the finds from the Bronze Age town of Akrotiri, including wall paintings recovered from under the volcanic ash.
• Archaeological Museum of Thera, 30 metres east of the cable car station, with material from Ancient Thira on the Mesa Vouno ridge, including large storage amphorae and painted lamps.
• Megaro Gyzi, a restored Catholic mansion housing old maps and engravings of the island and a photographic record of the 1956 earthquake.
• The Orthodox cathedral of the Ypapanti and the Catholic cathedral, both on the caldera side of town.

Getting Up and Down the Cliff

Fira's old port, Mesa Gialos, sits at sea level with no road connection to the rest of the island, so everything arriving there has to go up the cliff face by one of three routes: the zigzag staircase of 588 steps, a mule, or the cable car. That isolation is part of why the port is a popular stop for gulet charter guests exploring Greece, who tie up below the town and walk straight into it.

The cable car was paid for by the Loula and Evangelos Nomikos Foundation, set up in 1979 by the shipowner Evangelos Nomikos. Construction began in autumn 1980 and finished in summer 1982; the cabins carry six passengers each and the ride takes about three minutes. The mules use the same staircase as walkers, which is worth knowing before choosing to climb it. Larger cruise ships cannot berth and anchor out in the caldera between Fira and Nea Kameni, tendering passengers in to Mesa Gialos.

Walking and Boat Trips

The caldera-rim footpath from Fira to Oia starts at the north end of town and runs roughly 10 kilometres through Firostefani and Imerovigli, taking three to four hours. Boat trips from the old port generally head for the craters on Nea Kameni and the warm springs off Palea Kameni, and many operators combine the crossing with a stop at one of the island's wineries.

Eating, Shopping and Nightlife

Fira has the densest concentration of restaurants, bars and shops on the island, most of them on or just behind the caldera-facing lane where the tables look out over the water. Bars along the rim stay open late in season, which is why Fira, rather than the quieter rim villages further north, is where most of the island's night-time activity ends up.

The town is also the island's transport hub. The central bus station is where every route on Santorini begins and ends, and departures are often announced only shortly before they leave, so it is worth arriving with time in hand rather than relying on a posted timetable.