GREEK ISLAND FILM LOCATIONS

Spetses, Saronics

Little Spetses, two hours from Athens by sea, is a place where the scents of jasmine and pine mingle in the air and waft down over the terracotta roofs of the kapetanospita (captains’ houses) in the historic centre. Its picture-book charms have drawn the eyes of Hollywood multiple times, most recently in The Lost Daughter, starring Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson, and Glass Onion, featuring Daniel Craig and Kate Hudson.

Skopelos, Sporades

The emerald isle of Skopelos was ushered into the spotlight in 2008 with the release of the hit musical film Mamma Mia!, featuring songs from the pop group ABBA and starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. The wedding scene, with its pretty, white chapel perched precariously between trees atop a rocky, seawashed pinnacle, was filmed at the church of Agios Ioannis on the northeast coast.

Corfu, Ionians

Parts of the 1981 James Bond instalment For Your Eyes Only were filmed on the Ionian island of Corfu, in among the olive and cypress trees. The Achilleion palace, in Gastouri, was used for the casino scene. More recently, Benitses, the pretty harbour village south of Corfu Town and north of Messonghi, was used for the waterfront scenes in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.

Santorini, Cyclades

On the northern tip of Santorini, the charming town of Oia — famed for its jumble of traditional white houses clinging to a steep slope of a caldera — offers such a dramatic natural setting that it feels almost tailormade for the silver screen. In the 2003 film Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Angelina Jolie can be seen taking part in a jet ski chase in the waters overlooked by the town’s vertiginous cliffs.

The church of Agios Ioannis, on Skopelos, which was featured in the film Mamma Mia! Below: The church of Agios Ioannis was used for the film’s wedding scene; Oia, on Santorini, had a starring role in a Tomb Raider film