Population: 12,500 Sightseeing At a Glance: Fira, Ancient Thira, Aktorini, Oia Historical Places: Archaeological Museum (Aktorini), Agiou Mina, Megaro Ghisi Museum, Agios Stylianos

Santorini is a well-known island with whitewashed villages clinging to volcanic cliffs above black sand beaches. First inhabitants are the Minoans, settled here in 3000 BC. A colossal volcanic eruption formed Santorini's crescent shape in 1450 BC. It is belied that the Minoan civilization was destroyed because of this eruption. When Dorians came here to settle in 8th century, the island was named Thira. It was renamed Santorini when Venetians conquered the island in 13th century.

The Sightseeing places in Santorini are the Archaeological Museum, Folk Museum, Ancient Thera and Ancient Akrotiri.

The Archaeological Museum: The Archaeological Museum represents island's long history. The Museum contains collections of sculpture (ranging from the Archaic to the Roman period), inscriptions (ranging from the Archaic to the Roman period) and vases and clay figurines (dating from the Geometric to the Hellenistic periods).

Folk Museum: Folk Museum is located in Fira. It is a cave house built in 1861, housing workshops of carpenters, barrel makers, shoe makers and tinsmiths as well as an original old winery, a gallery with works of local current artists and document archives.

Ancient Thera: The strategic qualifications of the site attracted the attention of the Lacedaemonian coloniers of the island who founded their city upon the limestone rock of Mesa Vouno. From the 9th century B.C. until the spread of Christianity, the city of Mesa Vouno was the only urban center of the island.

Ancient Aktorini: The ancient city at Akrotiri the most important archaeological site on the island. And it has an excellent state of preservation and the wealth of finds it has yielded.