Crete Island People & Culture

Agios Nikolaos is about 60-70km from Heraklion on the Greek island Crete. You have two main parallel touristic streets that lead to the port with many restaurants, a lake and many tourist shops. Very calm though, so nothing for party people. Above the lake you can have a drink in a bar with a covered terrace with a beautiful view over Agios Nikolaos

In the Sfakia aerea there is Frangocastello with its impressive fortress and enchanting beaches. The fortress was built by the Venetians in 1371, in a lonely spot, with no settlement around it, and was intended to protect this part of the southern coast from raids and to put down the uprisings of the local population. The people of Sfakia called it Frangocastello, that is "fortress of the Franks". It is rectangular in shape, with strong walls and a square tower in each corner. It is similar in construction to the lerapetra fortress.

Piskopianon (Piskopiano) is a quiet village just 2-3 km from the noisy Hersonissos (Chersonissos). In Hersonissos all you can see are hotels, souvenir shops and tourists (also the nightlife). So if you want to get a little glimpse of where and how the local people live, all you have to do is go those 2-3 km up the hill to Piskopiano. Of course this village also has some tavernas (I heard the food is good there), some hotels and shops. But it's so peaceful and quiet in the middle of the day. And the view from Piskopiano down to Hersonissos and the sea shore is quite nice. I also met some local women there, all dressed in black. They're happy to say hello to a tourist, but they don't like their pictures taken :)

My advice is: don't go there if it's very hot and you're not really that interested in arceological sites. I visited it in august, there were many people, souvenir selling shops and.. ruins. :)

Nice place on the west coast of the island of Crete. The West of this island is the least touristic (most big hotels are North).Agia Galini is a nice place to visit. A lot of Belgian and German people like to visit this place.

Make sure you know what time the ferry's leave, its a specific time each day. Also, its best to rent a car in Crete. Its a long distance, much farther than you would think, between cities and places to see. Go see Knossos Palace and Festos Palace, they are very interesting sites from the Minoan Culture, predating the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Great venezian fortress near to the harbour. Irakleion is called cultural capital of Crete but also it's joungs people centre of creativity. Huge university centre. Remember to take care of the transport by night - there r no night busses! Good place to make short trips to other sites on the island.

Chersonissos is a great holiday destinantion for young people, who want swimming and go out. The best pup in the town is the "Tempel Bar", it's an irish bar with great music. This summer there played a band, which called "Same Size Feet" and they were very good and funny!! :-)

One of the nicest harbours of Crete. Has delicious restaurants with a nice view over the old harbour where fresh fish is brought to shore in old boats. When you vistit Siteia, the old fortress is worth a visit, it has an magnificent view over the sea and the old town.

a relaxing, quiet area. bring books, hiking boots, games and playing cards! it's the last bit of civilization before passing thru the samaria gorge!

Take a trip to Hania and walk Samaria Gorge - it's the longest gorge in Europe! And look out for the fish and cross symbols near the end - according to Greek mythology, the Titans created the gorge by slashing the hillside with a sword, and placed the fish and the cross near the end to keep out evil spirits...

The palace of Knosos in Crete is a trip of a lifetime. You will travel back in time to the place where King Minos held Court. The ruins were excavated almost 80 years ago. The artifacts were taken from the site and put into the heraklion museum for safe keeping. Dont be surprised to see guards with submachine guns walking all over the place here. The ancient Minoans had actually found a process of Graining GOLD...one that we cannot figure out how they did it. Apparently the palace was destroyed by fire as evidenced by the charred teracotta jars found. There are also a bunch of incredible fresco's down into the ruins. The tile work is STILL mostly intact. The queens bathroom is actually very, very nice. It has dolphins (blue) on the walls and a nice bathtub. There is also a throne room, but the thrones for the King and Queen are not very impressive.. no gold or anything on the thrones. Just ...normal kind of chairs n a big room....nothing special really. but Had a great time going all over the place that entire day. The Minoans also had running water and sewer! Terracotta pipe can still be found in the ground and STILL provides some water! its actually flows from over 3000 yards away and from another hill. If you can go here - GO! I was there 35 years ago and its still fresh in my memory like it was yesterday! The local food is spectacular!

Nice town at the Island Crete. Lovely harbour and very much smal fish restaurants.

Hot, hot, hot. Great for a girlie holiday!! Stay away from the lookie lookies!!

Anything I say about Chania is not enough. The city is the most beautiful in Crete. You have to visit. During summer is crouded but it is the best time of the year to visit. Do not forget to go to Venizelos' graves and admire the view of the city.

My favourite place on earth - the fartherest point in Europe. Make this a definite stop off (Brad Pitt mentions it in 'Legends of the Fall').

While staying in Chania, defenately visit also Chora Sfakion in the south coast of Crete. Small, little, friendly city surrounred by mountains.

Don't stay here longer then a couple of days because it gets boring