Top 10 Sites of Crete
1. Venetian Harbour, Chania
The Venetians ruled Crete for more than 400 years from 1204 and built impressive harbours and dockyards for their trading vessels which were housed in purpose built boat houses known as “neoria”. Dating from the 15th century, they are still here today . The harbour in Chania houses 17 neoria.
2. City Walls, Heraklion
The Venetians were expert builders of defensive fortificatons. The old cities of Chania and Heraklion were protected by giant walls and moats and the walls in Heraklion are twenty miles long.
3. Rethymno Fortress
Built by the Venetians, it was later taken over by the Ottoman Turks when they took control of the island in the mid 17th century. They built a mosque inside the fortress which is still here although no longer a place of religious worship. The Ottomans governed Crete for nearly 300 years until the beginning of the 20th century and many of their buildings survive to this day, particularly in old town of Rethymno.
4. Knossos
The 4,000 year old Minoan civilization pre-dated the empire of Ancient Greece and stretched back to the age of Ancient Egypt. It was centered on Crete and many of these Minoan sites can be visited today. The most famous is Knossos, re-discovered at the beginning of the 19th century by British archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans. He spent the 35 years excavating the site and controversially re-constructed parts of its famous palace which is Crete’s most popular tourist site. Other Minoan sites include Phaestos and Gortyna which became the Roman capital of the island in the first century BC.
5. Heraklion Archeological Museum
Home of the world’s largest and most impressive collection of Minoan relics, sculptures and frescoes.
6. Samaria Gorge
Crete’s rugged mountainous landscape is cut through by dramatic cliffs and gorges and the most famous is the Samaria Gorge in the south west of the island. It the deepest in Europe and takes five hours to walk from top to bottom.
7. Cretan Wine Tour
Almost two dozen wineries are embedded in a landscape of shapely hills, sun baked slopes and lush valleys south west of Heraklion.
8. Crete’s southern coast
Hop on and off the regular boats that travel along the remote and rugged southern coastline staying in villages such as Loutro, Hora Sfakion, Sougia and Paleochora along the way, and visiting isolated beaches in between.
9. Georgioupoli
A pretty former fishing village and seaside town on north coast near Chania popular with tourists . It noted for its small offshore chapel of St Nicholas that can be visited at low tide.
10. Margarites
Small pottery village inland from Rethyminon. Take in visits to the nearby Arkadi Monastery and Melidoni Cave, both sites in the 19th century of dramatic massacres during Crete’s long fight for independence, and the captivating ancient Greek site of Eleutherna.
