Santorini Tomato Museum: All You Need to Know | Santorini Secrets
Santorini Tomato Museum: All You Need to Know
It may come as a surprise but Santorini had one of the largest tomato production lines in Greece and in ...
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Published: July 10, 2024•Updated: April 28, 2025•By Pavlos Inglesis•6 min read
It may come as a surprise but Santorini had one of the largest tomato production lines in Greece and in Balkans back in the 20th century. The economy of Greece was very different before the 1980s when tourism barely existed on the island of Santorini and the money were basically coming from agriculture, fishing and shipping. The largest factory of its kind in Greece, has now been transformed into the Santorini Tomato Industrial Museum which is also hosting lots of cultural events for the island every year along with the Santorini Art Factory and local Festivals in a beautiful fully restored space. Along with the Santorini Wine Museum, this is definitely worth your visit while on the island of Santorini.
Santorini Tomato Museum is located in Vlychada in a beautiful restored building that (obviously) used to be an old tomato factory
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Santorini Tomato Industrial Museum Tickets Prices: Full (10€) , Reduced (6€) – for Children 12-18 years old, Unemployed, Seniors Over 65 years old, Disabled people with their escorts
Free Admission to Santorini Tomato Industrial Museum: children up to 18 years old
Online Tickets: you don’t have to pre-book your tickets online as there is never a queue or large crowds; the museum does not have that many visitors as not that many people know about it
How long does it take to visit the Santorini Tomato Museum: you need at least 1 hour to see the whole factory
Opening Hours April, May and October: CLOSED Monday 10:00-16:00 Tuesday 10:00-16:00 Wednesday 10:00-16:00 Thursday 10:00-16:00 Friday 10:00-16:00 Saturday 10:00-16:00 Sunday
Santorini Tomato Industrial Museum is CLOSED on: 1 January 25 March 1 May Greek Easter Sunday 25 December 26 December
Last Entrance: it’s always 45 minutes before closing
Best Time to go to the Santorini Tomato Museum: anytime is fine to be honest so if you are in Vlychada you can just pop in and learn a bit about the tomato production of the island; you may also want to combine your visit with one of their cultural events that mainly happen in the summer months of June, July and August
How to Get to the Santorini Tomato Museum: the “Vlychada Bus” from Fira will take you there in about 20 minutes (check the Santorini buses)
Where to Eat after your Santorini Tomato Museum visit: there are only a few options just down to Vlychada small harbour such as: To Psaraki (my personal favourite with some of the best seafood on the island), To Steki tou Psara and Aura
SANTORINI TOMATO MUSEUM
It’s very easy to get to the Santorini Tomato Industrial Museum as there is a direct local bus from Fira (20 mins ride) but you can also take a taxi or you can even drive with your own car.
The Tomato Museum is in the old D. Nomikos factory and has a lovely terrace and cafe.The Santorini Tomato Industrial Museum is a few meters away from the lovely Vlychada beach which is one of the best beaches in Santorini.As you arrive in Santorini, you will find a large space to park your car; it’s never busy and it’s freeThere are 2 main buildings in the Tomato Museum: the main Museum itself and the Santorini Arts Factory (SAF) opposite the main building which hosts cultural events and workshopsThere are lots of handmade baskets all over the place, a reminder of how the tomatoes were actually collected and stored back in the daythe opening hours of both buildings of the Museum are posted just outside of the main buildingThe handmade baskets were very popular all over Greece back in the day and were also used to collect the olives from the olive trees (been there, done that at my wife’s village!)The main building of the museum has all sorts of machinery that were fully operational back in the dayI am not going to lie to you and say this is the most exciting museum in the world; it’s just an old tomato factory There are lots of tools in the Santorini Tomato Museum The old tomato factory of D. Nomikos was transformed into a museum in 2014 offering an opportunity to the public to see first hand how the small-fruited (cherry) tomato of Santorini was processed and cannedSome of the machinery of the Tomato Museum date back to 1890The Museum offers an audio-visual guide with stories from people who used to work in the factoryThese were the first cans ever produced; Santorini cherry tomato is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product since 2006 which basically means it is a unique product that only exists on the island of Santorini.The Museum (through SAF) offers lots of activities and workshops to the local communityPretty much all schools of the island visit the factory frequentlyThere are lots of kids’ workshops in the Museum (and the SAF); they are all promoted through the main website of the Museum
Tags:GreeceSantorini
Last updated: April 28, 2025
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AUTHOR
PI
Pavlos Inglesis
Born and raised in Oia, Santorini
Native Greek islander and local guide with deep knowledge of Greek culture, history, and traditions. Pavlos provides authentic insights into the real Greece beyond the tourist facade.
Local CultureGreek HistoryTraditional CuisineIsland Life
