Welcome in the heart of Oia. What you see on this page is exactly what you get at Chelidonia Villas: panorama and privacy. Each of our terraces displays the full caldera panorama from a sightly different angle. We are not a hotel complex, but a set of carefully renovated historic buildings in the center of Oia. This part of town has been known as "Chelidonia" - Swallows' Bay - as long as everybody here can remember.
Chelidonia bay panorama from above

Chelidonia Villas are spread out over the bay. There are hardly any other direct neighbours around. This part of town looking directly at the sea is much less populated than the rest of centreville Oia. People you might meet on the stairs are two Greek architects, a novelist, the owner of Greece's leading daily news paper, other guests and of course: us. We could never imagine to live somewhere else.

At the cliffs

"A Shining Arc in the Aegean"when the moonlight turns the sea into the colour of molten lead.From the left there are the lights of Imerovigli, Thira and Prophet Elias. The rising sun will send her first beams to Chelidonia terraces from there a few hours later. The title is derived from a reportage on Oia in the New York Times. Chris Hedges came to relax at Chelidonia after completing his memoirs on fifteen years as a war field reporter. .
Full New NYT article on Oia

All is covered by wild marguerites in early spring. About the same time red stone flowers come in and our beloved swallows flock together. A few weeks later when the bougainvilleas start blooming on Chelidonia terraces the umbrellas are needed as the glory of spring suddenly has turned into summer's blaze. On clear days the White Mountains of Crete materialize on the horizon between Cape Akrotiri - the southernmost point - and neighbouring anti-island Thirasia.