Santorini, one of the best-known of the Cyclades, differs from the other islands in the group thanks to its geological morphology, the result of action by a now dormant volcano. The landscape on the western side of the island, where towering cliffs crowned by tiny and blindingly- white houses plunge straight into the depths of the sea.

The steep coastline of the west is countered by the vast beaches of the east side, some of them sandy and others with pebbles.