The village of Oia on the island of Santorini is one of the most beautiful places that our family has ever visited.
Crescent-shaped Santorini in the Cyclades chain of Greek islands is one of the most beautiful islands in the Aegean Sea. The village of Oia, on an impressive cliff on the northern tip of the island, affords visitors spectacular views of the Aegean and is renowned for its beautiful sunsets over the caldera.
Read: 7 Reasons To Take Your Kids on a Mediterranean Cruise
This village, the most photographed in the Aegean, definitely lives up to its reputation as one of the most picturesque spots in the world. The whitewashed buildings with blue accents, the blue domed churches and the stunning views of the Aegean Sea beg to be photographed as visitors stroll the streets of the village. We had only an hour or so in Oia and I spent the entire time snapping photos in an attempt to capture the incredible beauty of this village.
The village of Oia
Katie and Emma in Caldera Square, Oia
Church of Panagia of Platsani, Caldera Square, Oia
Bells of the Church of Panagia of Platsani, Caldera Square, Oia
Shopping in Oia
Emma in Oia
Blue Domed churches of Oia
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Steve
Absolutely beautiful place! The blue domed churches just scream Greece. I think only having an hour there would drive me nuts.
You did get to eat before you left right?
Becca@R We There Yet Mom?
Wow – you weren’t kiddin! I can feel the sun in those pictures. I am sure they do not do it justice either – it looks stunning!
~Becca
hotels in Derby
Looks stunning! Oh how I wish to go there someday 🙁
Sabrina - Country Skipper
Looks like a beautiful place! The white and blue combinations of the houses and the sea are amazing.
Anwar
The photos are beautiful! I love how white everything is. I particularly like the photo of the church bells.
Lisa
Beautiful colours, and such vibrancy! I must say the Greek Islands are one of my all time fave holidays ever!
Mary @ The World Is A Book
Gorgeous photos, Lisa! Love the blue and white contrast here. That’s the downside of a cruise of being there for only an hour but definitely worthy of a return. I believe I pinned one of your similar Santorini pictures in my Dream Destinations =)
Lisa Goodmurphy
@Steve – it did drive me crazy that we had to leave! We were on a ship’s tour, which we usually avoid but there were exceptional circumstances in this case. I could have happily spent several hours there. Sadly, there was no time to eat other than some nuts that shop owners were passing out to tourists strolling the streets. We bought a bag and they were delicious!
Lisa Goodmurphy
@Becca – my photos don’t even begin to do it justice! It was an extremely hot and sunny day – Emma was quite exhausted by the end of it and had a desperate need for ice cream when we finished our tour in Fira.
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Sabrina – I love that white and blue colour combination too!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Anwar – the bells were my favourite part too! I happily snapped photos for a number of other people in the square and carefully framed them to have the church and the bells in the background. We tried several times to have someone take a photo of our family though and in each one the bells and the top of the chuch were cut off. I was too polite to say, “Excuse me, do you think you could try that again” but I couldn’t believe these people couldn’t see that they were cutting out the best part of the shot. So we have pics of my husband and the girls in the square but none of all of us.
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Mary! The short time ashore is definitely the downside of a cruise and in this case it was worsened by the fact that we didn’t arrive in Santorini until around 2pm and I didn’t want to keep Emma out late when we had an 8am start in Athens the next morning. If we had been arriving in the morning we would have either skipped the tour and made our own way from Fira to Oia for the day or ditched the tour in Oia and made our own way back to Fira. Oh well, at least I saw Oia!!
Cathy Sweeney
I love the white buildings against those deep blue skies. What a beautiful village on a beautiful island.
Lisa Goodmurphy
@Lisa – we visited both Santorini and Mykonos and I thought they were both beautiful – I would love to go back for a longer holiday in the Greek Islands, however, I probably wouldn’t go in August!
Lisa Goodmurphy
@Cathy – Oia is definitely one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited!
InACents
Didn’t it drive you crazy to not run over and yank on the ropes to ring the bells? I somehow think a couple glasses of Greek wine could inspire someone to awaken the city.
Lisa Wood
OH my gosh – that is stunning! Would love to be there 🙂
Lisa Goodmurphy
@InACents – I actually didn’t notice the ropes on the bells when we were there – it wasn’t until I was looking at the photos at home that I could see them in the close-up. If I had noticed them at the time then I would have at least had a closer look at them!
Sophie
Wow! What a gorgeous place. I really need to put Santorini on my travel list! The colour of the ocean in that last photo… incredible!