Anyone visiting Santorini should definitely check out these instagrammable places. Santorini is probably the most romantic island in Greece, so it is full of beautiful photo spots. Perfect opportunity to liven up your instagram gallery!
PS: Are you planning a romantic getaway to Santorini with your loved one? Check out these unforgettable things to do in Santorini, especially for couples.
Map of most instagrammable places in Santorini
Santorini is such a beautiful island, that it’s hard to choose where to start taking pictures. To make things easy for you, I have put together a map of my favourite instagrammable places in Santorini:
If you’re only visiting Santorini for one day, I would definitely spend the full day in Oia. But if you have more time in Santorini then the walk from Fira to Imerovigli is also full of instagrammable spots.
The instagrammable spots of Oia are marked blue on the map, and the instagrammable places between Fira and Imerovigli are marked purple.
Instagrammable places in Oia
Blue Dome in Oia (Anastasis church)
By far the most iconic instagram spot in Santorini is the Blue Dome next to the sea in Oia, also called Anastasis Church.
When we visited in 2018, everyone was taking their pictures while standing on the rooftop next to the Blue Dome. But these days I see people taking their instagram pictures from the stairs instead, so I’m not sure if it’s still possible to climb the rooftop.
How to get to the Blue Dome in Oia?
To get to the Anastasis Church (Blue Dome) in Oia, you need to find the Bulgari Alexandros store in the centre of Oia first. If the store is on your left-hand side, you’ll need to turn left down a small pathway right before the store. If the store is on your right-hand side, you’ll need to turn right after the Bulgari store to go down the small pathway.
When you walk down this path next to the Bulgari store, you will stumble across a door where you can choose to go either right or left. To get close to the Blue dome, you should choose the path in your right.
When to visit the Blue Dome in Oia?
Chances are that you’re visiting Oia in the summer, which is a very busy time for the Blue Domes. When we visited in September, we arrived before 7 am and we already had to queue.
There was already someone doing her photo shoot, and one other waiting in front of us, so it wasn’t too bad. The closer you get there to 7 am, the more beautiful the sunrise light will be.
When we came back half an hour later, the queues were still not too bad, so we decided to give it another chance. It was before 8 am, but the sunlight was already a lot brighter. So if you don’t want to queue too long, you should definitely be there between 7 am and 8 am.
Three Blue Domes of Santorini in Oia
The Anastasis church is actually only one of three Blue Domes in Oia, so if you just keep walking down the same stairs, you will come across the others as well. The next Blue Dome that crosses your path after the Anastasis church is literally called the “Blue Dome Church Santorini”:
If you just keep on walking, you’ll reach the spot that’s marked as the “Three Domes of Santorini” photo spot in Google Maps. That’s a pretty sweet spot to reach, but again, expect to queue before you can take your picture from here:
As you can see in my pictures, it’s hard to get the balance right between shade and light in the morning. That’s why our legs look like they’ve been cut in half, but the wonderful Santorini views more than make up for this.
Saint George church in Oia
Now that you’ve seen the best Oia has to offer, there’s one more instagrammable place to go to: The Saint George Church. Other than what you would expect in Greece, this church is yellow (not white) and blue 🙂
Instagrammable places on the walk from Fira to Imerovigli
The walk from Fira to Imerovigli is also full of instagrammable places. While the highlight of this walk is the Anastasi church in Imerovigli, I’ll just take you through the walk from beginning to end. There are a few hidden gems I will show you, so stay tuned!
Fira
Oia might be the most famous city in Santorini, but Fira is the capital city. The white houses of Fira on the cliff next to the sea look amazing, but I wasn’t able to find any blue domes here.
Just have a look at these Fira views from the Marinatou (left) and the Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral (right) to get the idea:
Footpath between Fira and Imerovigli
To start the walk from Fira to Imerovigli, you’ll need to climb the cobble stone stairs up the hill alongside the sea. Don’t let the pretty cobble stones fool you though – they are super slippery. In fact, I fell when my heels slipped away, but I got away with just a bruise and some minor scratches. You might want to wear footwear with better grip when doing this walk…
As you leave Fira behind you, you’ll come across the most amazing streets with great views:
The Three Bells of Fira
Before you know it, you will spot your first Blue Dome of the Fira – Imerovigli walk. This is the Virgin Mary Orthodox church – also known as “The Three Bells of Fira”. I have marked this spot on the map as “Viewpoint of Bluedome Church”.
The views from this instagrammable spot are amazing, but it’s definitely not a hidden gem. Just as we arrived, a bus full of tourists disembarked. Luckily we still found a quiet spot on the wall:
Anastasi church in Imerovigli
The absolute highlight of the Fira – Imerovigli walk is the Anastasi church in Imerovigli. While the church looks absolutely stunning from the front, this is also where you will encounter most tourists. What most tourists don’t know, is that there is a stairs from where you can be right next to the blue dome:
I was so surprised to see that we were the only ones who found this hidden gem! We only arrived in the afternoon, but we had the place to ourselves for at least an hour:
As if that Blue Dome spot of the Anastasi church in Imerovigli wasn’t cool enough, there’s also a wavy rooftop in front of the Anastasi church:
Add to your bucket list:
Travel Photography for Couples
Learn more about taking your own travel pictures as a couple in my book:
As a travel couple, do you ever wish to travel back to a place, just to take better pictures together? I sure know I do! That’s why in this book, I am sharing everything we wish we knew about taking pictures together when we first started travelling as a couple. Read more…
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