Shopping

Even if you are not a keen consumer, the shop windows in Santorini will definitely catch your attention.

A wonderland of shopping opportunities

Fira is the central market of the island, with its crowded alleys being full of shops that satisfy even the most fastidious tastes. In Fira you will find the gold street, or as the real name is Ypapantis street, that is considered one of the biggest gold markets in Greece. In the shops of gold street you will find the latest design jewelry collections of famous Greek and foreign houses, and you will come up with ideas for presents both for yourself and for your beloved ones. In Fira you can find many shops with handmade jewelry made of silver and other precious materials, in definitely more budget prices. In every shopping street of the island’s capital, you will find the latest trends of international fashion as far as clothes, shoes and accessories is concerned, coming from great fashion houses. In the center of Fira there is also a big cosmetics store offering a wide variety of perfumes and sun creams.

It would be an omission not to mention the art-loving side of Santorini’s market, since in Fira, as well as in the rest of the island, there are numerous shops that have works of art made by great artists. In the “Fabrica” shopping center in Fira you will find the gallery of the famous artist Yiorgos Kypris, with modern sculptures made of glass and metal, as well as unique handmade lawyerly. In the same shopping center you can also buy paintings by the Theran artist Christoforos Asimis. Besides Fira, creations of plastic art are being sold in other areas of the island. In Messaria, you will find marble sculptures by Grigoris Kouskouris. At the crossroad to Akrotiri and in Firostefani you can find pottery by Andreas Makaris and Andreas Alifragis respectively; and, in a traditional building of the 18th century in Megalochori works of art by Ioanna Babaris.

The market of Oia is equally important, even though less shiny and more ethnic compared to that of Fira. In the picturesque little shops of the village you may find objects and works of art coming from different cultures; you won’t be indifferent to these. You can stop at Dimitris Koliousis’ religious paintings workshop and at the art galleries of Vassilis Kyrkos and Stavros Galanopoulos along Oia’s main pedestrian street. Finally, in Finikia you may find paintings by Frederica Nomikou.

Furthermore, in Oia, as well as in every part of the island, you can buy textiles from the traditional weaving mill and all kinds of souvenirs, which will remind you of your visit to Santorini.