In the previous post I wrote all about our stay at the Domes Noruz Chania hotel, where we stayed during the second half of our trip to Crete. Now, it’s time to talk about the interesting things to do in the most beautiful area of Crete – Chania.

In fact, there are so many things that during the three days we visited in the area we couldn’t get to everything. Now we have another reason to return to Crete once again 😉

On the western side of the island lies the greenest province of Crete – the Chania Province, named for its famous capital city. Throughout the province are the most pristine and beautiful beaches Crete has to offer, spectacular natural scenery and of course – great local Greek food.

Although there’s an airport near the city of Chania, there aren’t regular charter flights from Israel all year long like there are to the main airport of the island, Heraklion. This is also the main reason that many people prefer to skip visiting this side of the island, and it’s really a pity. Even if you don’t have a direct flight to Chania, rent a car and enjoy a two-hour drive in front of stunning views. You really won’t regret this experience – trust me 🙂

{It's recommended to watch at the best quality – after pressing the “play” button, click on the small gear on the right-hand side of the screen and then click Quality}

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The Old City of Chania

The old city of Chania, which won the title of the most beautiful city in Crete, is really a gem preserved with a scent of the past. The walls of the old city more or less define the most interesting, and also the most touristy part of the city – the Venetian Quarter and the Turkish Quarter. The two quarters give us a glimpse of the history of the island, and the differences between them are evident mainly in the style of the buildings.

It’s especially fun to walk around the ancient Venetian port that looks like a postcard – dozens of restaurants facing the blue sea, part of which is part of an ancient wall, colorful boats tied to the dock and seagulls that adorn the sky. At the entrance to the port you can’t ignore two beautiful ancient buildings – the picturesque lighthouse, built more than 400 years ago, and the Turkish mosque known as the Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque {“The Sea Mosque”}, with the pink dome. Both are worth a close visit, where you can also read some historical details about each of the buildings.

From a culinary point of view, you can say that most of the restaurants in the old city are very touristy, but during our vacation in the city we found 3 restaurants that we enjoyed eating at very much :

The first, located in a small alley right next to the ancient synagogue of the city “Tree of Life”, is called ‘To XANI’ and serves authentic Cretan-Greek food. The atmosphere in the place is wonderful and so is the service, and a band that plays live Greek music made our meal even more enjoyable. This is an excellent restaurant if you feel like tasting the local flavors 🙂

The second – Salis, which we returned to twice, is right on the port and serves great food that combines authentic Greek cuisine with a more modern kitchen – a very successful cuisine fusion. Besides creative and interesting food, the restaurant serves a very large selection of wines from around the world which complement the dishes in a great way. In this restaurant the atmosphere is much more prestigious and so is the service, but the prices are very reasonable and accessible. In my opinion, it’s obligatory to eat there at least once when visiting the city!

The third restaurant, the Brew House, is also located excellently by the port and specializes in preparing various types of coffee. In this restaurant we didn’t eat a full meal, we just ordered coffee and dessert, but it was definitely one of the most corrupt and good desserts we ate on the trip – cheesecake with a base of Oreo cookies and hot salty-caramel sauce! And yes, it was just as good as it sounds!! 🙂

I've received an update that the restaurant is no longer working, at least not in the same location.

Speaking of culinary delights, I can’t help but express the great disappointment I had from the main market of Chania, also known as ‘Agora'. In all the guides I read before the trip, it said that you can’t miss this market – packed with many authentic and cheap restaurants and also food stands from which you can buy souvenirs to take home. When we got there, we discovered that this is a fairly touristy market, with very few restaurants and very few food stands, most of which is occupied by merchants of disappointing tourist products. In retrospect, it reminded me of the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam, which also had a huge hype for nothing.

Finally, if you want to do some shopping that’s a little more serious than the souvenir shops located along the port, you should know that a 10 minute walk from the port there’s a street called Dikeosinis, where you can find almost all of the popular Spanish chains {ZARA, Pull & Bear, Bershka, etc.}. Thank me later 😉

Balos Beach

The most famous and photographed beach in Crete is undoubtedly Balos Beach, which is north-west of the city of Chania, and there’s a good reason it has received this recognition.

This magnificent beach is characterized by long white sand dunes stretching over hundreds of meters of shallow turquoise waters, which separate the land of the island of Crete and a small island across.

Besides the fact that this is a beach that’s fun to swim in not only at the peak of the season {thanks to the shallow and warm water}, the view from the mountain from which the descent starts to the beach is magical and unique.

There are two ways to get to the beach : First, by a rented car and the second by boat from the nearby town of Kissamus. The road to the beach isn’t easy, because a large part of it passes through a rocky and unpaved road, so if you choose to get there independently you should rent a 4×4 car. We saw ordinary cars “survive” this bumpy road, but do yourself a favor and take a high vehicle to ease this difficult journey.

After parking in the parking lot there’s a walk for about 2 km on a steep path {full of vegetation and bugs…) until you reach the edge of the mountain from which you can enjoy the amazing view of the beach. After being impressed with the landscape prepare for some exercise because you have to go a ton of stairs to go down, followed by a short walk to the beach. It's not that bad considering the fact that you've reached one of the most beautiful beaches in Crete 🙂

It’s worth knowing that because of the publicity that the beach has accumulated in recent years, it’s very busy most of the day and therefore it’s better to get there early in the morning or towards evening.

Seitan Limania Beach

The Seitan Lemania beach, also known as Stefano Akrotiri, is one of the most unique beaches I’ve ever seen. Yes, I know that I just said that Balos beach is special and magical, but these really are two unusual beaches, and I’ve already been to some beautiful beaches in my life 🙂

Located in the northeast part of Akrotiri, this small and hidden beach is one of the three bays located between the steep cliffs of the peninsula. The name “Seitan Limania” combines the Turkish word “Seitan” with the Greek word “Limania”, which combined mean “The Satanic Harbor”. But don’t let it worry you, the beach is a little piece of paradise with white sand and sparkling turquoise water surrounded by huge rocks – and the sight created by this combination is nothing short of breathtaking.

We didn’t go down to the beach and decided to look at the amazing view from above, because the descent to the beach is very steep and I : A. Am a scaredy-cat. B. wasn’t prepared for sports activities that required sneakers 🙂

If you’re planning on spending a few hours at the beach, bring drinks and snacks with you because there’s no grocery or restaurant in the beach area.

And a few places we didn’t get to, but we’ll definitely return to them especially in the future :

Elafonissi Beach

Samaria Gorge

Have you been to Chania and have more interesting tips? Share them in the comments below 🙂

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