Castle of Oia

The Castle of Oia is what remains of a Venetian-era lookout fort at the western tip of the village, a low ruin of stone walls on the rock above Ammoudi Bay. There is little to see in the fort itself; people come for the view, which takes in the whitewashed houses and blue domes of Oia on one side and the open caldera on the other.

This is the most famous sunset spot on Santorini, and it behaves like one. From late spring to autumn the walls fill up an hour or more before the sun goes down, and the lanes leading to it turn into a slow queue. Come early and accept the company, or watch the sunset from a quieter stretch of the caldera path and visit the castle in the morning, when it is almost empty.