The Caldera Edge
Fira's caldera edge — the paved walkway running along the rim above the 300-metre drop to the water — is the island's main promenade, lined with restaurants and bars on one side and an essentially vertical view on the other. The light here at sunset is predictably spectacular; the light at any other time is simply very good. The cable car descends from the rim to the old port below, where tenders bring passengers from cruise ships and small fishing boats tie up. The donkey path beside it offers the same journey with more atmosphere and considerably more effort.
The Museum of Prehistoric Thera
The Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira holds the most important collection of Minoan-era artefacts from the excavations at Akrotiri — the Bronze Age city buried by the eruption of approximately 1630 BC. The frescoes here, particularly the Boxing Boys and the Lilies frescoes, represent the height of Minoan artistic achievement: vivid, naturalistic, painted at full scale for rooms that have not existed for 3,600 years. The museum is small enough to see in ninety minutes and provides the context that the Akrotiri site itself, however extraordinary, cannot communicate alone.
Eating in Fira
Fira's restaurant strip on the caldera edge is expensive and primarily serves the cruise-ship crowd who arrive between 10am and 5pm. The restaurants on the inland streets — the Agora, the streets behind the main square — are cheaper and often better: family tavernas serving local dishes alongside the international menu that dominates the rim. The Santorinian tomatoes (cherry-size, intensely sweet, grown in the volcanic soil without irrigation) and the local fava (split peas grown on the island, with a specific mineral flavour) are the ingredients most worth ordering in any form.
Fira as a Base
Fira is the most practical base on the island. The main bus terminal connects to Perissa (for the black beach), Akrotiri (for the archaeological site and Red Beach), Oia, and the airport. Car and ATV hire is available throughout the main street. The island's roads are narrow and Santorinian driving customs are relaxed; a compact car or a small motorcycle is the correct instrument for reaching the places the bus does not serve. Accommodation in Fira ranges from budget rooms in the inland streets to caldera-view hotels that compete with Oia's cave properties on price and spectacle.
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