🇮🇹 Milan Malpensa → 🇬🇷 Santorini · 1 week

Oia sunset from the Byzantine Castle ruins: arrive at least 90 minutes early (the crowd is enormous in high season) and position yourself on the castle walls rather than the main terrace — better sightlines, less jostling. Alternatively, watch the same sunset from Imerovigli for half the crowd.

Assyrtiko wine tasting at Santo Wines or Estate Argyros: Santorini's volcanic-soil Assyrtiko is one of the world's great white wines and costs a fraction of what you'd pay in a restaurant — book a tasting session at Estate Argyros in Episkopi Gonia for a proper winemaker experience, not a tourist tasting room.

Ancient Akrotiri archaeological site: this Bronze Age Minoan city buried by the eruption is extraordinary — often called the 'Greek Pompeii'. Visit when it opens at 8am before the heat and crowds build; the on-site museum is included in the ticket (€12).

Perissa black-sand beach on the south coast: avoid the tourist-trap sun-lounger beaches near Fira and head to Perissa — the black volcanic sand is genuinely striking, the tavernas are cheaper, and you can walk to Mesa Vouno (the ancient Mesa Vouno path leads up to Ancient Thira ruins for free).