Crete sightseeing: Crete is the most south and biggest island of Greece. Crete has a coastline of approximately 1050 kilometres. Crete is so big, that there is always something for everybody to enjoy. The island is divided in four districts: Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion and Lassithi. In Chania you can find the Samaria gorge. This gorge is a must for hikers. At the Gulf of Kissamos you will find splendid beaches. The city of Chania is definitely worth a visit. Rethymnon is a very pleasant old town with a Venetian old harbour and many nice terraces to have a refreshment! The old city of Knossos lies in the district of Heraklion. You will find in this part of Greece most tourist resorts. Lasitthi is surrounded by sandy beaches and in the Northeast of Crete you will find Vai: a beautiful beach with a forest of palm trees. In general the roads are in a good state on Crete, over the length of Crete runs the highway E75. GEOLOGY OF CRETE: Crete is 260 kilometres long, 60 kilometres on its widest and 12 kilometres on its narrowest point. Crete has a total of 8300 square meters. Crete has a Mediterranean climate: hot, dry summers and a wet winter with occasional sunny weather. The coastline of Crete is 1050 kilometres (including all the bays). The highest mountain on Crete is the Ida Psiloritis. Crete exist of three mountains chains: Ida has a height of 2456 metres, Lefka Oris 2452 meters and the Oros Dikti is 2148 meters high. Apart from these mountains Crete has many more smaller mountain chains.

ECONOMY: Crete is an important agricultural area for Greece. Almost 50 % of the island exists of harvesting olives. Fifteen percent exist of the harvest of grapes. This is how the wine and raisin industry was created. Crete exports olive oil, grapes, raisins, wine and oranges. Crete has almost no other industries, except for the tourism and agricultural industry.

AGIA GALINI: A beautiful, but in the summer very busy, beach resort, in the south of Crete.

AGIA ROUMELI: Agia Roumeli is for a lot of people the ending of the Samaria gorge (18 km) and for others the beginning of a tour to the small entrance of the gorge (3 km). From Agia Roumeli several ferries leave to Sfakia, to bring visitors of the Samaria gorge back to their touring busses at the end of their excursion.

AGIOS NIKOLAOS: Agios Nikolaos is the capital of the state Lassitthi. It is a scenic town to wander about. Limni Voulismeni is a lake in the centre of the town. The little lake has a depth of about 300 metres. According to the myth, Aphrodite (Goddess of Beauty) drowned in this lake. Around the lake you can find pleasant taverns and terraces for a drink or a meal. From the harbour of Agios Nikolaos ferries leave everyday at 10.00 o’clock towards the island of Spinalonga.

AKROTIRI: Akrotiri is a little island on the east side of the city of Chania. On this little island you can find the beautiful monastery Agia Triada from the 17th century.

ANOJIA:This village has been visited by many tourists, which is not so surprising, because Anoija has a lot of traditions. Many Greek dancers and “lira” players originated from here. The village lays on the north foot of the Ida on a height of 780 metres. During the summer months you can enjoy several dance and music festivals. A lira is a kind of violin from Crete.

ANO VIANOS:Ano Vianos is a pleasant village, actually it is a narrow street. The small streets next to the main street are really worth a visit. In the centre of the village you find nice terraces around a very big old tree.

ARKADIA: Arkadia is an important sanctuary for Crete. Priests’ women and children choose to scarifice themselves here in 1866. When the Turkish army had reached the entrance of the monastery, they sacrificed themselves by letting gunpowder explode. Arkadia served in the time of the Turkish occupation as an illegal school for Cretan culture and religion.

CHANIA:Chania is situated 122 kilometres to the west from Heraklion. It is a beautiful town to visit, the town has 60.000 inhabitants. There are a lot of old Venetian houses on the beautiful harbour of the town. Chania is the old capital of Crete. There are a lot of interesting things to see and visit in Chania, for example: the agrologic museum, the matimic museum. The antique fire tower at the harbour, the Firkas fort build in 1629 en a Minoan villa. You can also visit some beautiful churches in Chania, like the Agios Nikolaos church, the cathedral and the mosque of Hassan Pasja.

CHERSONISSOS: Chersonissos is most busy tourist resort on the island. If you like a quiet, peaceful holiday, this would not appeal! It is a nice little town to visit at night. The main street exists mainly from shops, discos, bars and restaurants. The old villages Koutouloufari, Piskopiano and Old Hersonissos are worth a visit, they still have the old Greek atmosphere and you can have a lovely meal in one of the many taverns in the old villages.

DIA:  Dia is an inhabited island, before the coast of Gournes. Dia has is a nature resort reserved only for the Kri Kri goats. There are daily ferries leaving to this island. Around the island Dia there are quaint little bays where you can swim and snorkel.

DIKTI CAVE: From the village Prygou you can visit the birthplace of the upper god Zeus: the Dikti cave, according to the myth Zeus was born in this beautiful cave. You can ride on a donkey to this beautiful cave, but you can also travel by foot.

DIONISSI: Dionissi is a gathering place for birds that migrate to Africa for the winter. It is a small group of islands off the coast of Sitia.

ELEFONISSI: Elefonissi is one of the most beautiful beaches of Crete. The sand of this beach is not yellow, but pink! It is a wide sandy beach with a lot of shallow bays. There are little islands in the bays where you can walk to through the seawater. The water is clear blue. Elefonissi has a magnificent panoramic view!

ELOUNDA:Elounda is an interesting place to visit, in the summer ferries leave every 10 minutes to the “leper” island Spinalonga. Elounda has a drowned city named Olou. Because of the change of the seawater level the houses disappeared under the water. In the seventies, the TV series “Who pays the ferryman” was also taped here. Because of the TV series Elounda got a lot of publicity in those years and actually because of that also Crete…

FESTOS:Sixty kilometres south from Heraklion you will find the Minoan palace Festos (2200-1700 before Christ). The famous plate of Festos was found here. Even until now, the marks on the plate have never been translated,

FODELE: In Fodele the famous painter “El Greco” was born. You can visit the “El Greco” museum in Fodele. On the main street you will find pleasant little terraces and old Greek ladies will sell their handmade cloths here.

FOURFARAS: Fourfaras is the gathering point for hikers who want to climb the Psiloritis mountain. You also find a church with old pieces of fresco’s from the 14^th century in Fourfaras.

FRANGGOKASTELLO: Franggokatello is a fortress from the Venetian times, this fortress was built in 1371. It is beautifully situated by the sea. From the sea you can see the fortress.

GAVDOS: Gavdos is a little island about 50 kilometres under Paleogora. Ferries leave towards the island on a daily base. The island has about 200 inhabitants. It is worth paying a visit to this island!

GONIAS MARIA: Gonias Maria is a monastery in the south east of the little island Rodopou.   

GORTYS: In Gortys, the Doriers build a city in the 8th century before Christ. Here you will find antiques from the Roman times, but also from the 6th century after Christ. A very interesting visit!

GOURNIA: Gournia is a Minoan city from 1600 before Christ. This is one of the few agrological Minoan findings that is recovered completely.

GRAMVOUSSA: Gramvoussa is an island on the North West part of Crete. It is connected to Crete with sand banks.

IDA MOUNTAIN (PSILORITIS): The Ida is the highest mountain on Crete: 2456 metres. The name of the peak is also called Psiloritis.

IERAPETRA: Ierapetra is reasonable big city in South east of Crete. It is a popular holiday resort. Ferries departure form Ierapetra daily to the beautiful island Geidoeronissi (Monkey Island): almost nobody lives on the island. There are only some taverns, but they are mostly open in the daytime. It is worth to stay a night on this island! In the harbour of the city is a Venetian fortress. Just outside the boulevard are some beautiful beaches.

HERAKLION: Heraklion is the capital of Crete. Heraklion has about 200.000 inhabitants and the city is still growing. From the harbour ferries leave to all destinations in Greece, but also outside of Greece, like Italy.  The Venetian fortress, the old city walls, the arsenal and Chania gate are worth paying a visit! There are also nice shops and restaurant, bars etc in the centre of Heraklion. From the centre of Heraklion buses leave every day to destinations all over the island. This is the biggest bus station on Crete. The airport of Heraklion is one of the busiest airports of Greece. Especially during the summer it is crowded with people on the airport. In the winter it is nice and quit. At the archaeological museum in Heraklion you can admire a lot of antiques from Knossos, Malia, Zakros en Festos. If you fancy a visit to the archaeological museum, you should first visit Knossos. You get a much better view about all the antiques found at Knossos. In the summer, on a cloudy day, it can be very busy! The Nikos Kazandzakis grave is also interesting. On his gravestone is written: “I fear nothing, I hope nothing, I am free”. The view from the grave is magnificent. You see the city and the mountains around Heraklion. Nikos Kazantzakis was born on the 18th February 1883 in Heraklion. A philosof who studied in Athens and Paris. He was minister after the repatriation of Greece. After that he worked for UNESCO. Nikos Kazantzakis wrote several books. The most famous is Zorbas the Greek. A famous film has been made from this book. In 1952 he was presented for the Nobel price. In 1957 he was buried in Heraklion under great interest.  Every Saturday morning there is a market in Heraklion. The market is on the harbour of Heraklion. This market is also called the gypsy market.
You can buy here fruit and vegetables , but the gypsies sell also clothes here.

KAMARES CAVE: The Kamares Cave is a cave build on a 1500 metre height. The Cave dates from the Minoan century, and is situated just above the village of Kamares. You can visit this cave mostly in the summer, but sometimes the cave is also open in the winter.

KERA:  Close to the village of Kera you can visit the famous Kardiotissa monastery. This monastery was build at the beginning of the 14th century.

KNOSSOS: Knossos is the biggest Minoan palace. The palace was build around 2000 before Christ. People suspect that the palace was destroyed by the outburst of the volcano of Santorini (around 1450 before Christ). Knossos was discovered by the Englishman Sir Arthur Evans. Unfortunately he used a lot of imagination while rebuilding Knossos. The labyrinth en de King’s lounge stayed exactly intact. Knossos is opened the whole year.

KOKINI HANI: NIROU HANI: About three kilometres from Gournes, just outside Kokini Hani, you will the Minoan villa Nirou. This villa dates from 1500 before Christ.  

KRITSA: The village of Kritsa has an impressively beautiful Panajia Church (Holy Virgin of Mary). The church was rebuilt around the 14th and 15th century. The village of Kritsa is also nice; it is built on a hill, with a lot of narrow streets. You can buy here a lot of hand made craftwork. If you walk away from the narrow touristy streets, you will discover some of the old parts of Kritsa.  
 

LASITTHI: Lasitthi is situated 50 kilometres East from Heraklion. It is a mountain plateau on a height of almost a 1000 meter. Lasitthi is also called the weath barn of Crete. Once upon a time thousands of white windmills pumped the water out of the ground here. These were replaced in the fifties by diesel engines. Lasitthi is still worth a visit! The agriculture is still developing here. They are rebuilding the old white windmills to let the old Lasitthi “relive”.
 
PSIHRO:In Psihro you will find the beautiful Dikti cave. It will take you about 20 minutes to reach the cave by foot, but you can also go with a donkey! In

 AGIOS GEORGIOS: Agios Georgios is a nice resort with a lot of old little streets. The village has a folkloristic museum. In Agios Georgos you will also find the entrance of the Limnakaros. We will take you to this area during one of our jeep safaris. Don’t try to explore these roads on your own! It is a labyrinth of off road hills. The views from the top of the mountains will make you real dizzy!

LATO: Lato is a Dorian fortress, which was founded around 800 before Christ. There are several shops here that still date from the 4th century before Christ. Lato is opened the whole year.

LOUTRA: Loutra is one of the few places which are reachable only by sea on Crete. You will Loutra pass after walking the Samaria gorge. But is also worthwhile to visit Loutra on your own: beautiful blue sea water, lovely taverns and there is even a place to stay overnight!

MALIA: Malia is a busy tourist resort. Malia was one of the first big tourist resorts on Crete. You can buy lovely bunches of bananas here. Just outside of Malia is the Minoan palace that dates from 1900 before Christ.

MATALA: Matala was in the old ages the harbour of Festos. But Matala got more publicity in the sixties, when hippies went to live in the rocks by the sea. Still a lot of youngsters come here to see where the hippies lived. But don’t forget that the hippies left here already years ago! Matala is still a great place to visit.

MESSARA: Messara is the biggest plateau of Crete and is situated in the South of Crete. There a lot of plastic green houses here, where flowers, jerkins, tomatoes, melons, beans and olive grow. The olive oil from this area is called the best in the world. In the old days people called Messara the barn of Crete.  You can visit Messara the whole year.

MILATOS: Milatos is originally a fishermen’s village. By now, a lot is changed! Just like almost everywhere in Crete, there are a lot of hotels and apartments in Milatos now. But Milatos is still worth a visit! You can visit Milatos the whole year.

MIRES: This reasonable big village is the agricultural centre of the district of Mesara.

 
MOHOS: Mohos is a mountain village just before Lassithi. The drive to this village from Stalida is really amazing. You have a panoramic view over the whole bay of Chersonissos, Stalida en Malia. At the central square of the village there is a beautiful church with several taverns around it. The village has a delicious house wine.

NEAPOLI: This is the political capital of Lassiti. A town without noticeable tings to see, but it is nice just to drive trough Neapoli.

OMALOS: Omalos is a plateau in West Crete; it is situated at a height of 1000 metres. They plant mostly potatoes here. A lot of sheep men let their kettle graze here. Apart from that Omalos is known for the fact that in the South part lays the entrance of the Samaria gorge.  

PALIOCHORA: Paliochora is a big village that is build on a shore and has sea on two sides. From Gournes it is too far to drive there and to return in one day. You can better stay the night here (you can get information at Zorbas beach, if you wish). On the mountain in the village is a fantastic Venetian fortress. From the harbour leave ferries daily to: Gavdos, Sfakia, Elfonisi, Loutra and other locations. It is a beautiful place to visit on the South of Crete. You hardly find mass tourism here. Around dinner time they close the roads and all the taverns will put their tables on the streets!

 PREVELI: Preveli is a impressive old monastery, build above the sea. The old monastery is also build on the shore of the river Megalopotamos. It is a deserted monastery (Kato Preveli). You can make beautiful pictures here!

RETHIMNON: Rethimnon is a big city in West Crete. It is also capital of the district of Rethimnon. Rethimnon is situated between Heraklion and Chania.  It has a beautiful Venetian harbour, narrow streets, old minarets and old city walls. Rethimnon has a lot of Venetian and Neoclassic influences. Rethimnon also has an archaeological museum. Or visit the church and the square of the four torturers.
From the harbour there is a daily departure from several ferries to destinations on Greek islands. There also leaves regularly a ferry to Santorini.

SAMARIA: This gorge, 18 kilometres long, is one of the most impressive nature’s wonders of Crete. At the South of the plateau of Omalos begins the gorge and it ends in Agia Romeli. Please wear on this trip good hiking shoes! A lot of people still think that it is a simple walk! Four kilometres before the end of the gorge you will reach a path with steep rocky walls that go 700 metres straight up. You will feel very little if you walk on this path!

SFAKIA: Only since a few years ago, Sfakia can be reached by road. It is an impressive village with a lot of history. Sfakia has never been taken over by foreign troops during a war. All the old men of the village are sitting like macho’s on a chair outside in the traditional black clothes of this area.

SITIA: Sitia is the most east city from the North coast. The city has a harbour with ferries with daily departures to: Piraeus, Santorini and Rhodes. In the summer several other ferries go to several other destinations. There is Venetian fortress you can visit. Sitia has a small archaeological museum.   

SKOTINO CAVE: You will find the Skotino cave at a 5 kilometre distance from Gournes. It is a beautiful cave. You can reach the cave by foot easily. This big cave was an important sanctuary from the Minoan times. The cave was also studied by the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, who also discovered Knossos. On the 26th of July a national celebration is celebrated at the cave.

 SOUDA: Souda is a big bay, where a lot of marine boats are situated. The ferries line Piraeus - Chania is also situated here.

SPINALONGA: A beautiful island in the gulf of Mirabello. On Spinalonga you can find Venetian, Turkish and Greek building styles. In the old days this island was a leper colony. In 1954 the last inhabitant left the island. Daily ferries depart from Agios Nikolaos and Elounda to the Spinalonga.

THRAPSANO: This village is knows for its lovely hand made clay pots. The pots are made by Cretan tradition.  

TIMBAKI: An agricultural village with a nice market. You can visit Timbaki the whole year.

TOPLOU: In Toplou you will find the beautiful monastery that from the outside more looks like a castle. Inside the walls you will find a magnificent church: “Panagia Akrotiriani”, with an icon from 1700. You will find the village of Toplou between Sitia and Vai

VALLEY OF THE DEATH: This hiking trip begins from the centre of the village Zakros (ask us at Zorbas beach for more information). The name of this gorge is based on all the gates you can find in the gorge. During the pre-Christian times the death were buried here.

VAI: Every year thousands of tourists come to Vai to photograph palm trees. On Vai you will find Europe’s only palm tree forest. On the beach you have a nice view over the palm tree forest.  

WHITE MOUNTAINS: The Greek name for these white mountains is “lefka ori”. These mountains are always white during the winter. Even until the beginning of June you will see from a far distance the white parts of snow on the mountains. These mountains are very rough. The Samaria gorge runs trough these mountains.

ZAKROS: Zakros is one of the four Minoan palaces of Crete. Around 1600 before Christ Zakros had the biggest fleet from that time. Nowadays they still make archaeological findings. They still dig for new treasures at this spot. A lot of antiques from the Minoan times were found here...

Apartments for rent on Crete Greece: Zorbas apartments in Gournes, Crete, Greece offers you 10 apartments, suitable for one to six persons.

Prices apartments on Crete: on this page you are able to find out more about our prices for apartments during summer and winter 2008. We also provide more information about transfers to and from Zorbas apartments. You can choose accommodation on Crete, accommodation including breakfast, or half board accommodation on Crete.

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