Pyrgos Village

While most visitors to Santorini concentrate on the caldera-edge villages of Fira, Oia and Imerovigli, the inland village of Pyrgos at 350 meters is the island's highest settlement and its most authentically medieval. The village is built in a traditional Cycladic castle structure (kasteli) — a defensive labyrinth of stepped lanes, barrel-vaulted passages and whitewashed houses built one against another with the ruins of a Venetian castle at the crown.

From the church of Agia Triada at the very top, the views are 360 degrees — the caldera to the west, the east coast beaches to the east, the volcanic islands of the north, and the mainland on a clear day. There are no crowds. The village has several excellent tavernas serving local food at normal prices. Visit at sunset for an experience as beautiful as Oia's but in perfect tranquility.