Santorini Agios Nikolaos Monastery

Location: Firostefani

The Monastery of Agios Nikolaos in Santorini: The historical female Monastery of Agios Nikolaos is located between the villages of Firostefani and Imerovigli in Santorini. The monastery is dedicated to three saints, Agios Panteleimon, Zoodoxos Pighi (which means life-giving source in Greek) and Agios Nikolaos.

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This monastery was originally founded on December 6th in 1651 and it was the second monastery built in Santorini. The Gizi family, one of the few Orthodox families who lived inside the Venetian Castle of Skaros, decided to turn their private chapel into a monastery, which eventually remained on that position till 1815. That year, the archbishop of Santorini gave permission to move the monastery to its present location, where the small chapel of Zoodohos Pighi was located.

The construction of the new monastery lasted till 1820. Today, the large halls of the Monastery of Agios Nikolaos host a folklore museum and an ecclesiastical museum with rare Byzantine icons. The icon of Agios Nikolaos, in particular, is very important and so is the wooden iconostasis of the katholikon, the main church of the monastery.

How to get there

The Monastery of Agios Nikolaos is located between the villages of Firostefani and Imerovigli.

Private transfers: We recommend using an online pre-booked Santorini transfer service, which provides transfer by taxi, minibus or private VIP car and arranging a pickup directly from your hotel. Alternatively, there’s the option of arranging a pickup by a local driver directly at the following numbers: 0030 690 679 4316, 0030 22860 22555.

Car rental: There’s the option of renting a car in Santorini with as little as 14.5 euro per day and pick it up directly from your hotel. You can then visit the Monastery of Agios Nikolaos but also many other places of interest in Santorini.

Public transfers: In Firostefani lies the second stop of the bus route Fira > Oia. Fira is where the central bus station of the island is located. There are bus connections between this bus station and the most areas of the island. There are buses to Oia approximately every hour. Consider that time schedules might change according to the season. Check the official timetables here.
Tip: Since buses don’t always stop in every scheduled stop of their itinerary, our advice to visitors is to inform the driver about their final destination, so that he makes a stop there.