CHANIA town in CRETE island.

Chania, as any of its residents will tell you, is the spiritual capital of Crete, even if the title is officially bestowed on Heraclion urban sprawl. With its shimmering waterfront, crumbling masonry and web of alleys, it is an extraordinarily attractive city, especially if you can catch it in spring when the Lefka ori snowcapped peaks seem to hover above the roofs.

The permanent population - fast expanding into hills and coastal suburbs - always outnumbers the tourists and visitors. It all adds up to a city worth getting to know, where you'll almost certainly stay longer than intended, making use of plentiful accommodation, excellent markets, stores and nightlife, and most other facilities you could hope for.

The city of Chania read more...

The Old City of Chania.

South from the harbor square, up Halidhon, lie the less picturesque but more lively parts of the old city. First, though, just a short way up on the right, is Chania's Archeological Museum (Mon-Fri 8.30am-3pm), housed in the Venetian-built church of San Francesco. Though it doesn't look much now, with its campanile gone and a crumbling facade, this building was once  read more...

Chania  harbor and around

The harbor comes into its own at night, when the lights from bars and  restaurants reflect in the water and the animated crowds - locals as much as tourists - parade in a ritualistic volta of apparently perpetual motion. There are stalls set up on the waterside, and buckers serenading the passers-by.

Walk straight on from Platia Sindrivani, and you chance upon the curious, domed profile of the Mosque of the Janissaries. Built in 1645, the year Chania fell   read more...

 As Kydonia, it was a Minoan community of obscure status: only scattered remnants have so far been brought to light, but many believe that there's a major palace still to be discovered somewhere in the vicinity.After the collapse of the Minoan palace culture, it grew into one of the island's most important cities- well enough know for its citizens to warrant a mention in Homer's Odyssey- and remained so through the classical Greek era. read more ...

The museum is housed in the katholikon of the Venetian monastery of St. Francis. During the period of the Turkish occupation it was the Muslim mosque of Yussuf Pasha, while in modern times it was used as a cinema or a storehouse for military equipment. Since 1963 it has been functioning as the Archaeological Museum of Chania read more....

Platanias is a tourist resort 10 Km outside of the city of Chania, on the highway to Kastelli. It lays beside river Iardanos (which means holy water according to Homer) or Platania. It has been named after the sycamores that were in the riverbank.
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Agia Marina Crete

Agia Marina is 9 km away from Chania in the way to Kastelli. It took its name from the church which is located on the small hill of the old village. The endless olive plantations, orangeries and all kinds of fruit-bearing trees .
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