Venetian Old Town of Chania
Chania’s Venetian Harbor was built in the 14th century for commercial
purposes and for protection against pirate raids. Today it is a point of
reference for the city of Chania, filled with cafes, restaurants and tavernas,
bars, pastry stores and art shops as well as monuments referring to various
historical periods. Cretan, Ottoman and Venetian elements, beautiful narrow
alleys across the old town and amazing architecture.
Firkas Venetian Fortress
On the northwest side of the harbor of the city of Chania, the Venetians built
the Revellino del Porto, a fortification capable of preventing any enemy
danger to the harbor. Its construction began around the middle of the 16th
century and was completed a few years before the city fell to the Turks in
1645.
Maritime Museum of Chania
It is the imposing red building at the entrance of the historic Venetian Fortress
Firkas. It was founded in 1973 with the aim of promoting the naval tradition
and history of Crete. It is the second museum of its kind in Greece, both in
terms of age and content, after the Maritime Museum located in Piraeus.
The Maritime Museum of Crete in its permanent exhibition includes 2,500
exhibits. In it you will see heirlooms, objects pulled from the bottom, paintings,
maps, photographic material, models of ships, various naval instruments, etc.
The archaeological Museum of Chania
The new premises of the Archaeological Museum of Chania are located in the
suburb of Chalepa, the second most historic part of Chania after the Venetian
Old Town. Chalepa, was the centre of political and diplomatic ferment from
the mid-19th to the early 20th century and imposing private villas were built,
which later housed the Consulates of the four “Protector Powers”.
The Permanent Exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Chania is set out
in galleries on the ground floor and part of the upper floor of the building.
The Temporary Exhibition Gallery is located on the ground floor, as are the
Museum shop and offices. The upper floor houses the Konstantinos, Marika
and Kyriakos Mitsotakis Collection and the café, which offers a panoramic
view of the Sea of Crete and the city of Chania.
Museum-Venizelos Residence
The paternal house of Eleftherios Venizelos in Chalepa Chania was the home
of his life for more than thirty years, from 1880 until 1910 and occasionally
from 1927 to 1935. In the two-storey house, according to the original plan of
1880, with the service rooms and the bedrooms on the ground floor and the
reception rooms on the first floor, except the internal wooden staircase, it also
leads straight from the garden and a stone one, exterior, with two sides.
The Residence – Museum “Eleftherios K. Venizelos” is classified as an
authentic (documentary) home, since it is recounting the life of a personage
and it is preserving authentic items, most of them in their original position. The
Residence-Museum is not just a building containing collections or the original
furniture of a bygone era, but as a result of a collective and integrated
museological project, has developed the ability to recall the past, which in turn
gives to the monument great social and political significance.
Note: The tour guide in Eleftherios Venizelos Museum is held by the
employees of the museum, who are historians, archaeologists and tour guides
themselves.
St Mary Magdalene church- Chalepa
In a big plot surrounding the church with trees and a garden, opposite the
house of the then High Commissioner of Crete, Prince George and the house
of Eleftherios Venizelos, St Magdalene was built in 1901 by Prince George
himself, however funded by the Grand Duke George of Russia. The reason
was to honor the former’s sister and the latter’s wife, Maria the Grande
Duchesse of Russia. In 1903 the church was officially dedicated to Maria
Magdalene.
Kournas Lake
Kournas lake is the largest natural lake in Crete.
It is located 44 km east of the city of Chania, very close to the village of
Kournas. It has a circular shape, with a maximum length of 1080m, a
maximum width of 880m and a maximum depth of 22.5m.
In summer, a walk around the lake, with its turquoise waters, usually takes
less than an hour (3.5 km). On one side of the lake there are cafes and
taverns overlooking the lake. Next to the cafes, in summer, with the receding
waters, small sandy beaches are formed, where guests can swim.
Monastery of Chrisopigi
The Patriarchal Monastery of Chrysopigi was founded in Chania during the
last period of the Venetian Era (end of 16th century) and is dedicated to
Panagia Zoodocho Pigi. Every year thousands of pilgrims come to kneel in
front of the miraculous icon of Panagia.
German military cemetery Maleme
Here is the airport, which was the landing point of the German paratroopers,
during the Battle of Crete, the "Operation Mercury", as Hitler had named it.
The Battle of Crete began on the morning of May 20, 1941 and ended twelve
days later, on June 1, with the occupation of Crete. On the first day of the
battle, the planes constantly dropped paratroopers, who were killed by
Cretans who fought with mangroves, stones, knives and few weapons, the
few Greek army and the allies of English, Australians and New Zealanders.
Samaria Gorge National Park
Samaria Gorge lies inside Samaria National Park, and it is an UNESCO
Biosphere Reserve, located in the White Mountains of Crete.
It is named after an old village located inside the gorge, which was
abandoned in 1962, when the area was declared a National Park, mostly as a
refuge for the endangered Capra Aegagrus Cretica, also known as Kri Kri.
The starting point is at Xyloskalo at an altitude of 1250m, ending up at the
coastal village named Agia Roumeli.
Vryses village (Apokoronas area)
Vrisses is a small picturesque town with less than 1000 inhabitants, close to
Chania city. It is a relatively modern settlement, but the area has been
inhabited since the Minoan era. There are two rivers which merge in the
center of the village, Boutakas and Vryssiannos, while on the Boutakas river
lies the ancient bridge known as the “Greek Arch”, one of the oldest surviving
bridges in Greece. A large park has been formed at the point of the rivers,
where one can enjoy coffee and food under the fuge plane trees.
Georgioupoli
It is a small coastal town, between Rethymnon and Chania, situated in a
valley full with rivers and springs. One can cross a beautiful road and square
with numerous eucalyptus and cypress trees. The square is full of restaurants,
cafes and tourist shops, while at the exit of its biggest river, Almyros, one can
see the beautiful harbor of the area. A chapel, dedicated to St Nicholas is built
on the end of a small pier and it looks like it is floating on the sea surface.
