63 Best Sights in Crete, Greece

The west side of the peninsula on which Rethymnon sits is taken up almost entirely with this massive fortress, strategically surrounded by the sea and thick ramparts. The high well-preserved walls enclose a vast empty space occupied by a few scattered buildings—a well-restored mosque, two churches, and abandoned barracks that once housed the town brothels—and are surrounded by fields of wildflowers in spring. After a small fortress on the site failed to thwart a 1571 attack of 40 pirate galleys, Venetians conscripted 100,000 forced laborers from the town and surrounding villages to build the huge compound. It didn't fulfill its purpose of keeping out the Turks: Rethymnon surrendered after a three-week siege in 1646.

This 16th-century, Venetian-era monastery on the north end of the Akrotiri Peninsula is said to be one of the oldest and largest remaining religious communities on Crete. Delightful frescoes cover the wall of the courtyard chapel, while a path leads down the flanks of a seaside ravine past several caves used as hermitages and churches to the remote, 11th-century Katholiko, the monastery of St. John the Hermit, who pursued his solitary life in a nearby cave. Follow the path down to the sea along a riverbank for another mile or so to a secluded cove that is the perfect place for a refreshing dip, the aptly named Katholiko Beach. The return walk requires a steep uphill climb.

Hassan Pascha Mosque, also known as the Janissaries Mosque, is the oldest Ottoman building in Crete, built at the water's edge when Turks captured the town in 1645 after a two-month siege. Its back courtyard, once home to a garden of palm trees, and its minaret were both bombed and destroyed during the Nazi occupation. It doesn't operate as a mosque nowadays—you can enter the building when the town uses it to host temporary art and trade exhibitions---but the presence of the domed structure at the edge of the shimmering sea lends Chania part of its exotic aura.

A restored Venetian palazzo almost in the shadow of the Neratze minaret houses a delightful collection of rustic furnishings, tools, weavings, and a re-creation of a traditional Cretan shopping street that provide a charming and vivid picture of what life on Crete was like until well into the 20th century.

The hill where the Venetians first settled rises above the east end of the harbor and it became the quarter of the local nobility. Their palaces, now partially in ruin from neglect and World War II bombings, still line the ridge above the harbor. Kastelli had been occupied much earlier; the Minoan city of Cydonia was sited here.

Fabulous, pine- and palm-fringed Kommos lies below the site of a Minoan harbor, once the port of Phaistos. At its far northern end lies the small resort of Kalamaki, where a few modest hotels and tavernas back the sand, but for the most part the beach is an unspoiled 2-km (1½-mile) stretch of white sand washed by clear waters and backed by hills shaded with tamarisk trees. Kommos is especially popular with nudists, and it's also a nesting ground for the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), so avoid taped-off areas where the females have laid their eggs. Lifeguards watch over the southern end of the beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers, toilets. Best for: nudists; solitude; sunset; swimming; walking.

Heraklion's inner harbor, where fishing boats land their catch and yachts are moored, is dominated by this massive fortress so named by the Turks but, in fact, built by the Venetians as the Castello del Molo in the 16th century and decorated with the three stone lions of St. Mark, the symbol of Venetian imperialism. On the east side of the fortress are the vaulted arsenal; here Venetian galleys were repaired and refitted, and timber, cheeses, and sweet malmsey wine were loaded for the three-week voyage to Venice. The view from the battlements takes in the inner as well as the outer harbor, where freighters and passenger ferries drop anchor; to the south rises Mt. Louktas and, to the west, the pointed peak of Mt. Stromboulas.

This delightful village on a mountainside above Agios Nikolaos is renowned for its weaving tradition, narrow lanes wide enough for only a donkey to pass, and whitewashed houses that surround a large, shady town square filled with café tables that afford views down green valleys planted with olive trees to the sea. The woven tablecloths and other wares are hard to miss—villagers drape them over every usable surface and hang them from storefronts and even trees. The lovely Byzantine church here, Panagia Kera, has an unusual shape, with three naves supported by heavy triangular buttresses. Built in the early years of Venetian occupation, it contains some of the liveliest and best-preserved medieval frescoes on the island, painted in the 13th century.

Crete's largest freshwater lake is inland from Georgioupoli with a scenic setting among mountains. The water is vodka-clear with turtles and fish, and many visitors hire pedalos and kayaks to get close to the aquatic wildlife. There are a handful of tavernas and cafés on the eastern shores and a paid parking as you enter the village, or, alternatively, it is a 20-minute walk from town. Try to arrive early as it is on the itinerary of many tour buses.

This ancient city in the hills just above Agios Nikolaos was built by the Doric Greeks in a dip between two rocky peaks and named for the mother of Artemis and Apollo---her image appears on coins found at the site. Lato reached its peak in the 3rd century BC, but was gradually abandoned, although its port near latter-day Agios Nikolaos was in use during Roman times. Make your way over the expanse of ancient masonry to the far end of the ongoing excavations for one of the best views in Crete: on a clear day you can see Santorini, 100 km (62 miles) across the Cretan sea, as well as inland across a seemingly endless panorama of mountains and valleys.

A gathering place for the island's Venetian nobility, this open-air arcade, with a meeting hall above, was built in the early 17th century by Francesco Basilicata, an Italian architect. Restored to its original Palladian elegance, it adjoins the old Venetian Armory, now the City Hall.

Six bastions shaped like arrowheads jut out from the well-preserved Venetian walls. Martinengo is the largest, designed by Micheli Sanmicheli in the 16th century to keep out Barbary pirates and Turkish invaders. When the Turks overran Crete in 1648, the garrison at Heraklion held out for another 21 years in one of the longest sieges in European history. General Francesco Morosini finally surrendered the city to the Turkish Grand Vizier in September 1669. He was allowed to sail home to Venice with the city's archives and such precious relics as the skull of Agios Titos—which was not returned until 1966. Literary pilgrims come to the Martinengo to visit the burial place of writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The grave is a plain stone slab marked by a weathered wooden cross. The inscription, from his writings, reads: "I fear nothing, I hope for nothing, I am free." 

One of Heraklion's oldest monuments, dating from the 13th century, has been rebuilt many times over the years and has done duty as a church, monastery, mosque, and movie theater. St. Peter's is now an exhibition hall and its 15th-century frescoes, the oldest in the city, have been beautifully restored.

In the foothills of Mt. Ida, Eleutherna was founded in the 9th century BC. It was one of the most important ancient cities, even minting its own coins. At a natural crossroad between Knossos to the east and Cydonia to the northwest, it controlled the ports of Stavromenos and Panormos and was near to the sacred cave of Idaion Andron, another one of the alleged birthplaces of Zeus. An archaeological-site museum was opened in 2016 in a modern building and it has been designed to be updated as new discoveries and finds are made. Housing objects from prehistoric through to Byzantine eras, the current collection spans 3000 BC to AD 1300, presented in a multimedia fashion. The archaeological site itself is accessible on rough stone paths with two large canopies covering the most important excavations. The Orthi Petra cemetery includes a funeral pyre for a warrior from 730–710 BC, and it corroborates Homer's description in The Iliad of a similar burial. Elsewhere, roads, villas, public buildings, baths, and cisterns are to be seen, along with magnificent views of the countryside.

In a handsome Venetian building that was once a soap factory, there is now an airy space given over to contemporary art. Interesting and provocative, the museum has a permanent collection of over 500 works by Greek artists covering a range of genres from 1950 onward. Temporary exhibitions from artists all over the world feature, as do an assembly of works from Rethymnian Lefteris Kanakakis.

A rich collection of Cretan folk items showcases exquisite weavings and pottery, basketry, farm implements, household furnishings, and clothing, all well displayed and descriptively labeled in a well-designed building 15 km (9 miles) inland from Matala in the sleepy hamlet of Vori.

Housed in a former electricity plant, this provides a nice trip out for the whole family. Focusing on the wildlife of Crete and the wider Mediterranean, it is presented in a fun and informative manner. Four levels cover prehistory, with huge animated dinosaurs, through to modern day, with live reptiles and small mammals in glass tanks. The basement area contains a special interactive area for kids where they can discover nature hands-on, and a seismic table that re-creates earthquakes from the past.

The most visible sign of the Turkish occupation of Rethymnon is the graceful minaret, one of the few to survive in Greece, that rises above the Neratze. This large stone structure looming over the narrow lanes of the city center was a monastery, then a church under the Venetians, and was subsequently converted to a mosque under the Ottomans before being transformed into today's concert hall.

A sunken, ancient city is visible just beneath the turquoise waters off a causeway that leads to the Spinalonga Peninsula (not to be confused with the island of the same name), an undeveloped headland. Don't imagine you are going to discover Atlantis, but the outlines of a Roman settlement on the seabed and the warm, shallow waters make for an enjoyable diversion from the hotel pool. A mosaic floor from an early Christian basilica with a striking fish motif can also be seen about 90 meters (300 feet) on shore.

Like the palaces of Knossos and Phaistos, the Palace of Malia was built around 1900 BC; it was less sophisticated both in architecture and decoration, but the layout is similar. The palace appears to have been destroyed by an earthquake around 1700 BC, and rebuilt 50 years later. Across the west court, along one of the paved raised walkways, is a double row of round granaries sunk into the ground, which were almost certainly roofed. East of the granaries is the south doorway, beyond which is the large, circular limestone table, or kernos (on which were placed offerings to a Minoan deity), with a large hollow at its center and 34 smaller ones around the edge. The central court has a shallow pit at its center, perhaps the location of an altar. To the west of the central court are the remains of an imposing staircase leading up to a second floor, and a terrace, most likely used for religious ceremonies; behind is a long corridor with storerooms to the side. In the north wing is a large pillared hall, part of a set of public rooms. The domestic apartments appear to have been in the northwest corner of the palace, entered through a narrow dogleg passage. They are connected by a smaller northern court, through which you can leave the palace by the north entrance, passing two giant old pithoi (large earthenware jars for storage of wine or oil). Excavation at the site continues, which is revealing a sizable town surrounding the palace.

The last and smallest of the Minoan palaces to be unearthed, Zakros is still an impressive site of over 150 rooms. It probably acted as a religious and administrative center, and also as a gateway to the East and to Africa, a view supported by an elephant tusk and Canaanite jars found on-site. Initially built circa 1900 BC and destroyed by fire around 1450 BC, the excavations were some of the most important in Crete as the palace had been preserved over time, untouched by robbers. The artifacts are displayed in the Archaeological Museums of Sitia and Heraklion.

An hour's hike away is the barren beauty of the valley that leads from Ano to Kato Zakros. Numerous caves dug into the sheer sides were the burial ground for the Minoan inhabitants of the area, leading to the gruesome name today—Gorge of the Dead.

A sprawling Minoan town, formerly known as Roussolakkos, is currently being excavated by archaeologists. Palaikastro is missing any Knossos-type drama; here, for instance, there is no large palace structure, but you get a strong sense of everyday life amid the stony ruins of streets, squares, and shops.

Nearby, Chiona and Kouremenos beaches make for pleasant diversions after clambering over the excavations.

Even the classical Greeks recognized the beauty of this palm grove at the eastern end of the island, which is unique in Europe. It stood in for the Caribbean in a famous television commercial for a chocolate bar, and it's easy to see why. Indeed, the sandy stretch with nearby islets in clear turquoise water is such a stunner that many bus tours come all the way east just to show off the sand and palms, so Vai can get jammed in the summer. If the sand in front of the grove of 5,000 palms is too crowded, follow the path south over the headland to a slightly less crowded cove, Psili Ammos, or better still head north to Erimoupolis, overlooked by the ancient kastro of Poli Itanou. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

The city's biggest square is paved in marble and dotted with fountains. The Archaeological Museum is off the north end of the square; at the west side is the beginning of Daidalou, the main thoroughfare, which follows the line of an early fortification wall and is now a pedestrian walkway lined with tavernas, bars, boutiques, jewelers, and souvenir shops.

This square is graced with a Venetian fountain and an elegant Turkish stone kiosk. Odos 1866, which runs north from the square, houses Heraklion's lively open-air market, where fruit and vegetable stands and souvenir vendors alternate with butchers' displays of whole lambs and pigs' feet.

This beautiful crescent of sand, Kokkini Ammos in Greek, is accessible by a 30-minute walk across a rocky promontory on a path from town. The trek includes a scramble up and over a headland and some steep climbs and descents, though it is manageable with moderate exertion. Your reward is a lovely, unspoiled crescent of golden sand washed by clear waters that is especially popular with nudists. Surf in the small bay can be rough, with riptides. Shade is scarce, though a small bar called Mojito rents umbrellas and offers simple snacks. At the northern edge of the beach are many carved rocks with Minoan and Egyptian figures; they are not ancient but the creation of a modern Belgian sculptor. Amenities: food and drink (sometimes); parking (no fee). Best for: nudists; solitude; swimming; walking.

If this cove at the northern end of the Akrotiri Peninsula, about 15 km (9 miles) east of Chania, looks familiar, you may recognize it as the location of the 1964 movie Zorba the Greek. The onetime fishing village has grown a bit since then but it's still a charming place, especially with this white-sand beach on a lagoon backed by a steep mountain (it was here that Zorba did his Sirtaki dance); a slightly wilder, less crowded beach is just to the west. Amenities: food and drink; parking (free); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

"The Lions," a stately marble Renaissance fountain, remains a beloved town landmark. It is the heart of Heraklion's town center—on Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, a triangular pedestrian zone filled with cafés and named after the Cretan statesman who united the island with Greece in 1913. The square is also known simply as Ta Liontaria or Plateia Liontarion and was the center of the colony founded in the 13th century, when Venice colonized Crete, and Heraklion became an important port of call on the trade routes to the Middle East.

As you follow the harbor front east from the mosque, you come to a long line of Venetian arsenali (warehouses) from the 16th and 17th centuries, used to store wares and repair craft. Overall, there were 23—five in the Moro to the east, named after the general who commissioned them, 17 on the north shore of the harbor, and the Grand Arsenal separate to the west.

The seawalls swing around to enclose the harbor and end at the old lighthouse that stands at the east side of the harbor entrance; from here you get a magnificent view of the town, with the imposing White Mountains looming behind the animated harbor.

Rethymnon's small inner harbor, with its restored 19th-century 9-meter-tall (30-foot-tall) Egyptian lighthouse, comes to life in warm weather, when restaurant tables clutter the quayside and fishing craft and pleasure boats are crammed chockablock into the minute space.