What Happens After Santorini’s Most Photographed Hour?

What is there to notice in Santorini when the sunset stops “stealing” everyone’s attention? How about…everything? Santorini is a well-visited, quaint, rich in its own identity, volcanic island. There is always something to notice around this place. From its ground, to its rituals. And may we start with wine? 

You might have already noticed the vines, although perhaps you did not recognise them immediately. They stay close to the ground, woven into baskets, protecting their grapes from the wind and strong sun. Their circular shape justifies their name, kouloura (folk word for spiral, or coil).

There is something quite moving about this. Even the way wine grows here tells you you have arrived in a particular kind of place. A demanding one, with people who have spent generations learning its particularities. 

And then comes the pleasure of drinking it. A glass of Assyrtiko becomes a good way to immerse in locality, or order something to accompany it. Santorini’s land has found another way into your evening. This time, you can taste it. 

The Island Continues Around The Table

After sunset, there is the very important matter of appetite. Where are we eating? What are we trying? Are we going to get another tantalizing cocktail? And how hungry are we, really, because everything sounds rather persuasive. 

At Domes Novos Santorini, Maitr & Margarita brings its Thessaloniki origins into conversation with the Cyclades. By now you know, if it’s in our Inner Circle, it’s worth trying. Seasonal ingredients and an affection for Greek cooking give the evening somewhere delicious to go. The landscape you spent the afternoon admiring becomes a starting point for another kind of curiosity, about what grows here, what belongs on the table, and how familiar flavours can take a different direction.

These are perfectly good reasons to remember Santorini.

What Happens After Santorini’s Most Photographed Hour?

By this point, you may have started noticing the island’s textures. The roughness, the earthy colours, the way curved forms soften a landscape with such dramatic edges.

Domes Novos carries something of this character into its architecture, bringing Cycladic design and volcanic textures into the spaces you inhabit. Returning to your suite or villa, you still have a sense of where you are. There is continuity between the island outside and the place in which you settle for the night.

Your private pool and terrace deserve some attention here. The realisation that you have somewhere lovely to return to, and enough time to enjoy it. The hotel’s setting in Tholos allows for this more spacious rhythm, while the shuttle to Oia keeps its famous streets within reach. You can follow your curiosity into the village and let the evening find its own ending back at the hotel.

And Then, There Is Another Morning

Santorini is very good at making you anticipate the end of the day. But what about its beginning?

At Domes Novos, yoga or painting spots, little gardens and an atmosphere of calm offer somewhere to meet the morning with a little more attention. There is a gym for those who enjoy keeping movement in their holiday routine, and Soma Spa “The Refined” for when the body would appreciate some care of its own. A massage, a facial, time in the indoor pool or sauna. Families have their own rhythms, too, with the kids club adding possibilities for younger guests alongside time spent together. 

The sunset will, quite understandably, have its audience again tonight. By then, you will have discovered how much there is to enjoy before and after it. Wherever you turn your gaze, however long you look, there will be a lot to see.