Panarea

The smallest of the inhabited Aeolian Islands, Panarea has an almost entirely car-free terrain of whitewashed cubic houses, bougainvillea-covered terraces, and vineyards that give it an Aegean quality distinct from the other islands. The rocky promontory of Punta Milazzese holds a Bronze Age village site above a cove of exceptional water clarity. Hydrothermal vents on the seabed east of the island create underwater columns of bubbles visible to snorkelers.