I recently got back from my second visit to the amazing Island of Crete in Greece. Full of history, architecture, beautiful landscapes, amazing food, and friendly people; Crete is basically one of my dream destinations for a low-key, relaxing vacation!
I was posting some suggestions for amazing things to do in Chania and area, and in the western side of the island, on my instagram, when I realized my post was going to be so long with all the activities! So I decided to write my blog post first and just recap that in my instagram post!! If you follow me regularly you know I love living like a local, and frequenting low-key attractions and off-the-beaten path activities, so my recommendations are all based on my favourite amazing things to do in Chania and area!
Chania is on the north side of the island, almost all the way to the west. Surrounded by the White Mountains to the south and absolutely stunning peninsulas to the west and east, it was occupied by the Venetians from the 1200s to 1600s and the walled fortress and lighthouse were built in the 1300s. One of the most “Italian” places in Greece – how could I not love it!! However, Venetians weren’t the only people to occupy or build in the area – it’s also been home to Turks, Egyptians!!, Dorians, Greeks, and other civilizations! I’m not going to discuss much of the history, except where it concerns things to do, but I always suggest you learn about the history of a place before visiting it and I’ll leave links at the bottom for more info.
Chania Lighthouse and breakwater and bastion.
One of my favourite places to just be is the breakwater and lighthouse at the mouth of Chania old town harbour. Chania has many harbours due the shape of the land and the peninsulas, but this is the one right at the end of the Turkish neighbourhood of Splantzia and accessible by foot from the main old town shops. On any given day you’ll see a mix of tourists and locals around the harbour and at the breakwater. Explore the bastion and around the lighthouse at least once and take some cute pictures (it’s free – as are most ruins in Chania) – but if you want to relax, read, or just sit in the sun but not on a beach, wander along the breakwater until you find a wider spot and just sit and soak up the atmosphere.
Chania old town and the top of the western wall
No guide to Chania would be complete without mentioning the old town – it’s the “tourist trap” area of the city, but it’s still filled with beautiful buildings, winding pedestrian streets, and cool fountains! Even just a couple streets away from the central pedestrian area of Chalidon street and Plaza El. Venizelou you’ll find local artisans, restaurants and cafés on the most beautiful, steep, winding streets. The waterfront restaurants are tourist traps, but the ones a few streets in are frequented by both locals and tourists and offer the same Greek food with better service and atmosphere, even if they don’t all have that view of the harbour. The indoor market is in this area as well, and while it’s closed for renovations for a couple years, I was there on my first trip and highly recommend checking it out at least once, just to say you’ve been there.
At the edge of Old Town, you’ll find the ruins of the Minoan city of Kidonia. While Kidonia would have taken up many city blocks, there are only a few areas where the ruins are excavated, but they are all just seen from the street (no museum fees for this city)! The best site is on Kanevarou because it has interpretive signs and a map of the city, but if you wander around you’ll see smaller areas, too.
My favourite place to just sit and enjoy the sun isn’t a beach (even though there’s miles of beaches in Chania), it’s actually a bit of a hidden gem. Many parts of the old city wall are still around the old town and a part of the western wall has a secret park at the top! This amazing thing to do in Chania also has a park in the moat, too, but I’ve actually never seen anyone but sports teams in the moat park. Head west on Portou and take Meletiou Piga until you see the stairs at the right. Head up the stairs to West Venetian Walls! Even if parts are gated off for repairs, like the bastion, there’s always a spot to sit on the grass or a bench, write in your travel journal, catch up on instagram, or just enjoy a drink or picnic. You’ll probably see a bunch of adorable cats, too!
Splantzia neighbourhood
Splantzia is one of the coolest districts in Chania. Right between Old Town and Koum Kapi, the main feature is the square and Agios Nikolaos Church, but all of the historic Turkish district is amazing! Winding streets, a square full of restaurant patios, independent stores, coffee shops, and the most popular local restaurants in town. This is also the area where you’ll find the most vegan-friendly options like the Italian pasta restaurant, crepe place, vegetarian Greek place, and vegan juice bar! It’s an amazing place to just wander and check out the architecture but since it’s located right next to Old Town, it’s also a fabulous place to stay. Our second trip to Chania, we stayed on one of the streets coming off of Splantzia square and we had an amazing one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a beautiful, plant-filled terrace. It’s also where we found the Saturday morning market where locals go to buy veggies and fruit.
The beaches west of downtown Chania
Most of the kilometers of beaches in Chania start just west of downtown Chania (there are only a few beaches dotted around the east sections). The beaches in the west of the city start at Nea Chora and almost flow from one beach to another but they have different activities and attractions – some have restaurants, some have volleyball, some have swimming and watersports, some have sand dune trails, and some are just for sunbathing. My favourite beaches are Hrisi Akti or “Golden Beach” for the low key beach side cafés which were much more enjoyable than the cramped Nea Chora options, and Iguana Beach (a popular local beach that is part of Agii Apostoli) for the wide sandy area and the swimming cove. Don’t get your hopes up like i did, though, there are no iguanas at Iguana Beach – it’s just a name, and despite researching the beach I haven’t found the reason for the name.
I like to think it’s because the peninsula with the churches on it kind of looks like a sunning iguana if you squint. Iguana Beach is about 3km from Chania Old Town but there is transit to there if you don’t feel like walking that far. Hrisi Akti is much closer and you can take the pedestrian path from Nea Chora. If you walk to Hrisi Akti, be sure to cross the cool wooden pedestrian bridge at the bottom of Georgiakakidon.
Historical sites around the Chania area
Some of the historic ruins and sites are right in Chania (like the amazing Minoan ruins mentioned above) and some are outside of the municipality of Chania. If you have a car or are willing to take a few buses, there are some great places to visit. We wanted to take a rainy day drive one day, and we toured the archaeological ruins behind Agios Georgios Mormoris in Nerokouros, the Archaeological Site of Aptera east of Aptera and north of Kalami, and the Monastiri Agios Georgios near Vryses.
It’s almost impossible to see all the sites and ruins in the area so try to pick either one to see every couple of days or a few in a similar area to see on one day. Because we didn’t plan our day and just drove around we missed a lot of nearby attractions like the Hydrometric Bridge and the Venetian watermill of Stylos, both less than 5kms from where we stopped for coffee on the way to Monastiri Agios Georgios, so if i had one tip for driving around Chania, it would be to check Google Maps for attractions near your destination attraction!
All of Greece is absolutely stunning, breathtaking and awe inspiring, especially the historic sites where you see the remains of the Greek, Venetian, Minoan, and other civilizations. Crete holds a special place in my heart though – i’ve been there twice and i just love it more every time, especially Chania and the western area of the Island. I’ve got plans to go again to see more around Chania: Phalasarna, hike the Samaria Gorge, visit the Olive Museum and olive tree at Ano Vouves, and visit Balos beach on the ferry from Kissamos.
For some more information on the amazing things to do in Chania and area, check out:
Chania Tourism
Exploring Western Crete’s Archaeological Treasures from the WorldHistory.org site
The Chania entry at encyclopedia Britannica
Crete Travel’s guide to Chania
and for great tours:
Get Your Guide’s list of Chania Tours and Activities
If you’ve been to Crete or are looking for travel tips for your visit there, comment below!