Akrotiri Archaeological Site

Akrotiri was a prosperous Cycladic town of the second millennium BC, trading across the Aegean, when the volcano buried it in metres of ash, preserving streets, drains, storerooms and houses standing two and three storeys high. Excavation from 1967 revealed an urban settlement with piped water, indoor toilets and walls painted with frescoes of astonishing quality, ships, antelopes, boxing boys, a spring landscape with swallows, now displayed in Athens and in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira. No human remains have been found, suggesting the population evacuated. The site is covered by a large bioclimatic roof and visited on raised walkways that run above and between the buildings, which lets you look down into rooms and along ancient lanes.

What you actually see

• The standing houses - Bronze Age buildings preserved to two and three storeys.
• The streets and drains - an urban plan with water supply and sewerage.
• The storage jars - pithoi still standing in their storerooms.
• The walkways - raised routes through and over the excavated town.

When to go

Year-round; the roof makes it comfortable in any weather and it is one of the few Santorini attractions that works at midday in August. Cruise-ship days bring crowds, so early morning is better.

Honest expectations

The famous frescoes are not here; they are in Athens and in the Fira museum. Visitors stay on walkways and cannot enter buildings. The site is dimly lit under the roof, which makes photography difficult.

Nearby

Red Beach lies below the site; Fira and the caldera villages are north.