Santorini

Watching the sun sink into the indigo waters of Santorini’s largely submerged caldera may be a romantic cliché but it still takes your breath away. One of the biggest volcanic eruptions in history blew out Santorini’s heart around 3,500 years ago, creating the sea-drowned crater around which the island curls, as well as gorgeous black-sand beaches and multi-coloured cliffs 300 metres high. Many of the best hotels and restaurants cling to the clifftops in spots like Oia and Imerovigli, at times spilling like icy cornices down the terraced rock. The eruption also preserved the fascinating Minoan site of Akrotiri (well worth a visit) and created the fertile ground for the assyrtiko grapes used to produce some of the finest wines in Greece. Other notable distractions include the capital, Fira, whose caldera-edge views give way to bustling, narrow streets full of shops, bars and restaurants, and boat trips to the small volcanic islands inside the caldera, where craters still smoulder and you can swim in volcanic hot springs.