Places to Explore In Crete

Discover the best places to explore in Crete with curated recommendations from our travel experts.

Agios Nikolaos

Ayios Nikolaos is clustered on a peninsula alongside the Gulf of Mirabello, a dramatic composition of bare mountains, islets, and deep blue sea. Behind the...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 9 Things To Do

Arkadi

As you approach Arkadi from the north, through the rolling lands at the base of Mt. Ida, one of the contenders in the dispute over...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Chania

Chania surrendered its role as capital of Crete to Heraklion in 1971, but this elegant city of eucalyptus-lined avenues, miles of waterfront promenades, and shady...

  • 6 Restaurants
  • 6 Hotels
  • 17 Things To Do

Elounda

From its origins as a sleepy fishing village, Elounda has transformed into the de rigueur destination for luxury resorts. The shores of the Gulf of...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Heraklion

In Minoan times, Crete's largest city, the fifth-largest city in Greece, was a harbor for Knossos, the grandest palace and effective power center of prehistoric...

  • 5 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 17 Things To Do

Knossos

Paintings of bull-leapers, sculptures of bare-breasted snake charmers, myths of minotaurs, and the oldest throne in Europe are just a few of the wonders that...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Lasithi Plateau

The Lasithi Plateau, 2,800 feet high and the biggest of the upland plains of Crete, lies behind a wall of barren mountains. Windmills for pumping...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Malia

In its effort to serve mass tourism, the town of Malia has submerged whatever character it might once have had. The sandy beach, overlooked by...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Matala

Renowned in the 1960s as a stopover on the hippie trail, with Joni Mitchell immortalizing it in song, Matala today is a small, low-key beach...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Palace of Phaistos

On a steep hill overlooking olive groves and the sea on one side, and high mountain peaks on the other, the second-largest Minoan palace was...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

Rethymnon

Rethymnon is Crete's third-largest town, after Heraklion and Chania. The population (about 40,000) steadily increases as the town expands—a new quarter follows the coast to...

  • 5 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 10 Things To Do

Vai

The appeal of the surrounding, fertile coastal plain was not lost on the ancient Minoans, who left behind ruins that are not as grand as...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

Vori

Vori, the closest town to Phaistos and Ayia Triada, is a pleasant farming community of whitewashed houses on narrow lanes; you might enjoy stopping here...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Vrisses

This appealing old village is famous throughout Crete for its thick, creamy yogurt—best eaten with a large spoonful of honey on top—that is served in...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Explore Crete

Sights 61

Shopping 7

Nightlife 4

Restaurants 26

Hotels 24
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Fodor's Essential Greece: with the Best of the Islands
Fodor's Essential Greece: with the Best of the Islands
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Fodor's Essential Greek Islands: with the Best of Athens
Fodor's Essential Greek Islands: with the Best of Athens
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