Emporio's Hidden Castle (Kasteli)

Santorini's best-known villages sit on the crater rim, but the quieter inland village of Emporio keeps something the cliffs of Fira and Oia have largely lost: a medieval settlement that still looks and functions as it was built. The Kasteli, or Castle of Emporio, is one of five fortified villages on the island, and it is the best preserved. Often called Emborio or Nimborio, the village lies in the south of Santorini, about twelve kilometres from Fira, among vineyards and low hills.

The settlement was built in the fifteenth century, during the Frankokratia, the period of Frankish and Venetian rule, when pirates were a constant danger in the Aegean. Instead of using a single wall, the builders turned the outer houses into the defences. The back walls of the houses form a continuous ring, with only a few narrow entrances, and inside the buildings are packed tightly together. The result is a compact maze of vaulted passages, stairways, courtyards and covered alleys, much of it still lived in, which gives the village its labyrinthine atmosphere.

Visitors enter through a low gate and quickly lose their sense of direction among arched tunnels and flights of steps. The walls are thick, built of local volcanic stone and plastered white, with small windows that cut down on heat and offered little scope for attack. Hidden within are a few small churches, among them the Church of Panagia Mesiani, and, on the edge of the castle, the remains of a tower that served as a lookout and was the strongest point of the defences. Houses with arched doorways open off the passages, and many have been restored with care.

There is no formal visit as such; this is a village, and walking through it feels like entering someone's neighbourhood, so a quiet and respectful approach is appropriate. There is no ticket, and the lanes are open to walk at any time of day. The best moments are in the morning, before the heat builds, or in the late afternoon when the white walls turn golden. The surfaces are uneven, with steps and ramps, so good shoes help.

Emporio lies far from the crowds of Oia, and it combines naturally with the nearby black-sand beaches of Perissa and Perivolos, the ancient site of Akrotiri and the island's wineries, all within a short drive.