General Information for Chania The city is divided in two parts: the old and the new with wide streets and beautiful buildings. The scenic back streets of the old city attract many visitors who stroll to Neoria, the Marine Museum and the wharf. The old harbor is one of Crete's prettier places, since great amounts of money have been spent for restoration of the old buildings and some of them are transformed into modern lodgings, elegant restaurants, cafes, bars and other shops. Every neighborhood of the city offers its own attractions (e.g. Evraiki will impress you with the old Vemetian church of Saint Francis which has been transformed today into the Archeological Museum. At Halepa, the tall fensed enclosures hiding behind them forgotten mansions with lovely palm and banana trees, etc.
Other sights worth seeing: the Municipal Garden, the Municipal Market and Gallery which is housed at the City Hall Building and where you can see Elefterios Venizelos' personal library. Among others: visit Topana, the western district (where during the Turkish period high society lived). Hania comes alive in the evening. The harbor lights reflected into the calm sea, the ancient paved walks crowded with people, music sounds everywhere, cafes and bars await you to revel in, till exhaustion. From Hania the road west takes you to Kastelli (Kissamou). You will go through coastal cosmopolitan regions throbbing of life all summer long. Your real wandering starts at Kastelli, the busy port where the caiques leave for the small island of Ghramvoussa, at the edge of the peninsula. Visit it, then go to Falassarna, where you are going to see the ruins of the ancient city and swim in one of the best beaches of the island. If you like to continue, the road takes you through small rural villages and the verdant landscape becomes savage as you approach the Topoliano gorge, you traverse it and the road brings you to Hryssoskalitissa and Elaphonissi. The Monastery (of Hryssoskalitissa) is built on a white hill and offers an amazing view towards the Libyan coast.A little further south, Elaphonissi, covered in all shades of pink, invites you. Immerse yourself in the indolent charm of its vast sandy beach. In the nome of Hania there are approximately four hundred fifty isles, most of them remote and uninhabited. The surrounding villages will charm you as well with their astounding appeal. Seashores: Nearest the city good beaches with clear waters, Almyritha (2 1/2 miles); Kalathas (about the same distance), Chryssi Akti, Aghioi Apostoloi, Stalo, Aghia Marina, Platanias and the Nea Chora Beach (appr. 3 miles) which every year is presented with the blue flag for cleansiness and facilitation. |
