Things to Do

A long-running open-air jazz festival at the Cine Kamari cinema on Kamari Beach — the black-sand beach next to Perissa, over the Mesa Vouno headland. Jazz, fusion and funk acts under the stars across four nights; the 2026 edition runs 25–28 July. Dates shift year to year, so check the current programme.

Santorini's long-running classical-music festival — the 2026 edition marks its 40th anniversary — a series of chamber-music evenings held inside the 17th-century Megaro Gyzi cultural centre in Fira, with Greek and international soloists and ensembles. Admission is free, and the 2026 programme runs across four nights in early-to-mid August (3, 6, 10 and 13 August). A refined, caldera-side cultural evening — a very different Santorini night from the beach bars, and an easy trip up from Perissa.

Perissa's own patron feast — the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Ýpsosis tou Timíou Stavroú), kept on 14 September at the village's whitewashed Church of the Holy Cross. It is the local name-day and panigyri: a church service and village gathering rather than a big staged event, but the traditional heart of Perissa's calendar.

Santorini's signature spectacle — a fireworks show over the caldera that re-enacts the island's volcanic eruption, launched from near the volcano across the water and watched from the caldera-rim towns (Fira, Imerovigli) and from boats out on the water; recent editions have added a drone light show. Held on the third weekend of September (around 19 September in 2026). It plays out on the caldera side of the island, so it's an evening trip from Perissa, but it's Santorini's most dramatic annual event.

Santorini's premier sports-tourism event — running races and an open-water swim set against the caldera, with routes and viewpoints around Oia, Imerovigli and Fira. It draws amateur and elite athletes each October for a long weekend; the 2026 edition is set for 16–18 October.