When my wife and I were honeymooning in Santorini, we knew that we had to take that picture of the famous 3 blue domes.
Yes, Santorini has dozens of blue-domed churches, but there’s only ONE place where you can take that famous picture you see on virtually every Santorini postcard. You know the one I’m talking about:
You would think that such a famous landmark would be clearly signposted along the main tourist belt – no such luck. It turns out that while the blue domes are relatively easy to find, finding the right spot to take that exact postcard shot isn’t.
Google wasn’t much help either. A search for directions returned contradicting advice, some sites leading us to blue domes that were nice, but they weren’t the right ones.
Finally, after about 30 minutes of clambering around the narrow streets and steep steps, we found the domes we were looking for. To save you the trouble, I’ve laid out the steps to find them here:
First, you have to find your way to Oia (pronounced ee-yuh) which is a town in Santorini famous for its spectacular sunsets. To get there, I’d suggest taking a bus from the central bus station in Fira, which takes about 30 minutes and costs 1.80 Euro (As of May 2017).
The bus will drop you in a small square in Oia, and from there it’s a short walk uphill to Oia’s Main Square. You’ll know you’re at the Main Square because 1) There will be crowds of tourists and newlyweds taking photos, and 2) You’ll see the Ekklisia Panagia Platsani, a Greek Orthodox Church. It looks like this:
With the Ekklisia Panagia Platsani behind you, you’ll want to turn RIGHT and head down the street.
In about 50 metres, you’ll pass the front of a church which has a bell tower with 3 bells to your left.
Keep walking until you see a Bulgari Alexandros signboard ahead of you, right across a Gold & Silver store:
Right before the Bulgari store, there’s a small pathway to your left that’s almost unnoticeable from the main street. Turn left and follow the pathway down:
You’ll reach a brown door with a fork in the road.
From here, you can decide if you want to go left or right. The left path offers a more zoomed-out shot, while the right path offers you a closer look. Personally, I prefer the right one since it bypasses an ugly roof that gets in the way of your picture.
Follow the path down… and here are the blue domes!
If you prefer, here are the GPS coordinates of the place where I took the photos: 36.461245, 25.375832.
It takes a bit of hunting, but it’s worth it. Take some great pictures, and have a lovely trip in Santorini!
Credit: Kenneth J Garcia
Hi Lionel,
The picture of the three blue domes looks so much better with both of you in front of them.
Enjoy the nooks and crannies of Santorini and don’t just tick off the tourist spots.
Hey, do they still rent out those Smart Crossblade’s rental cars? Take one and zoom over to the Emporio Village and climb up to the church or visit Monastery of Profitis Ilias for stunning views.
But I am sure you anyway do have somehow access to Tripadvisor to find insider tips.
Have a stress free time on Santorini.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You don’t know how Long I was walking around till I googled and your blog came out!!!!! Thank you so much!!! 💕💕💕💕
Aaawww thnxx a Lott for the info 🙂 V went to Oia Village n were disappointed as v cudnt find the right spot to get the postcard click in front of the domes. Somehow dint feel like leaving Santorini without that dream pic of mine n googled n fortunately read ur blog n v again went to Oia the next day n ur description tuk us their very easily n finally got “THE PIC”… thnq again….!!!! Ur writing along with the pics were very helpful 🙂