Santorini

The most photographed village in the Cyclades stacks its white houses and blue domes on the caldera rim. Walk it on lead early in the morning, before the crowds; at sunset the crush in the lanes becomes trying for a dog.

Ten kilometres of ridgeline between the two villages, with the caldera below all the way: one of the finest walks in the Mediterranean. Doable with a leashed dog, only early in the morning and with plenty of water, the route has no shade.

The "Aegean Pompeii", a Minoan town frozen by the eruption 3,600 years ago, is visited under a modern canopy with raised walkways. As at Greek archaeological sites generally, dogs are not admitted: plan to visit in turns.

The long black sand beach of the southeast, backed by the Mesa Vouno rock, is lined with laid-back tavernas. Away from the organised sunbed zones and outside peak summer, it makes a pleasant walk with a leashed dog, though black sand heats up fast in the sun.

Perched on the Mesa Vouno ridge, the ancient city mixes Doric, Hellenistic and Roman remains above the Aegean. The archaeological site does not accept dogs, but the switchback road up already offers striking panoramas.

The island's former capital, this hilltop village wrapped around its Venetian kastro remains surprisingly peaceful. Its stepped lanes climb on lead to a 360-degree panorama over the caldera and vineyards, far from the Oia crush.