Cable Car

You may have already spotted it gliding above the cliffs—or at least heard of it—the Fira cable car is one of Santorini’s most iconic ways to get around. It links the town, perched more than two hundred meters above the sea, to the old port below, covering in just a few minutes a climb that people once made either on donkey back or by tackling the six hundred steps of the Karavolades staircase.

The cable car is a relatively recent chapter in the island’s story. It was funded and donated by the Nomikos Foundation in the late 1970s to make the journey between the port and the capital easier. Inaugurated in 1982, it changed the way visitors arrived, especially cruise passengers, who can now reach Fira in just three to five minutes while taking in sweeping views of the caldera, the volcanic cliffs, and the white houses clinging to the rim. Each cabin holds six people, but the system can carry more than a thousand passengers per hour.

If you decide to walk instead, you’ll need stamina for the steep six hundred steps. At the bottom, you’ll find the old port of Fira, also called Gialos or Scala Pier. Once the hub of Santorini’s maritime trade, it gradually gave way to Athinios, the island’s main port today. Now Gialos is mostly alive with cruise ships and small boats heading to the volcanic islets, while its quays, lined with tavernas and cafés, make for a picturesque stop with the towering cliffs as a backdrop.

Together, the cable car and the old port form an inseparable pair: one preserving the memory of Santorini’s seafaring past, the other offering a modern, panoramic link between the sea and the town. In just a few minutes’ ride, you travel between history and the present day.