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Hania

Hania is Hollywood Moussaka. Apart from being the largest city in Western Crete, it's
swamped with beautiful Venetian and Turkish buildings and this, along with its harbourside setting, white onion-domed churches, and winding paved laneways make it ideal camera-bait. Any location scout or photographer searching for Greek appeal ends up, sooner or late, at Hania town square looking through a viewfinder. Add to its photogenic and esoteric appeal a number of colourful markets and a wonderful eating culture and you'll see why most visitors to Crete put the city on their itinerary.

There are a number of museums worth visiting, including the Archeological, Naval and Folklore museums. The Public Market, a turn-of-the-century building housing grocery stores, butchers' shops, a fish market and vegetable shops, and the Public Gardens next door are also worth a look but Hania's biggest drawcard is it natural assets and architecture. Check out the Venetian quarter of town and the massive fortifications and lighthouse, also built by the Venetians, for an exercise in historical charm.

From Plateia 1866, the main city square, it's a short walk northward to the Venetian Port, and a promenade that follows the semicircular curve of the harbour itself. As the road bends round to the fortress on the headland, the main hotel area is on the left, as you face the harbour. The headland separates the Venetian Port from the crowded town beach in the quarter called the Nea Hora. Zambeliou, down near the harbour, was once Hania's main thouroughfare, but is now a winding street lined with craft shops, hotels and tavernas. Many of the Venetian townhouses along the magnificent harbour have been restored and converted into domatia (cheap accommodation), restaurants, cafes and shops.

You can fly to Hania from mainland Athens on any number of domestic flights, take a ferry from Piraeus or bus it from Iraklio. It's about two and a half hours by bus, with a service leaving every 30 minutes from the capital.
Iraklio
Crete's largest city and the main point of entry for tourists, Iraklio is often dismissed as a grim necessity that must be endured in order to get to somewhere more inviting. But scratch beneath its traffic-ridden, helter-skelter surface and you'll find a certain urban sophistication coupled with a lively cafe scene.

Iraklio's two main squares are Plateia Venizelou and Plateia Eleftherias. Plateia Venizelou, recognisable by its famous Morosini Fountain (better known as the Lion Fountain), is the heart of the city and the best place to familiarise yourself with Iraklio's layout. The city's major intersection is a few steps south of the square. From here, major arteries run northeast to the harbour, southeast to Plateia Eleftherias, west to Hania gate and south to the markets.

Your stay should at least be long enough to visit the outstanding Archaeological Museum (second in size and importance only to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens), the Historical Museum of Crete (evidence of Crete's Venetian past), the city walls, the fortress of Rocca al Mare and, of course, Plateia Venizelou and its lion fountain.

Also in the vicinity of Plateia Venizelou is El Greco Park, the rustic centre of Iraklio's civic sprawl. This is where you'll find the greatest concentration of cheapish rooms and quite a few upmarket restaurants and cafes. South of the plaza, past Lion's Square, you'll find Dedalou Street in the Korai area. It's renowned for its cafes and, although a Dedalous Street cafe latte is pretty pricey, the area has a certain high-velocity ambience that is pure Iraklio.

Palace of Knossos
This palace, in a beautiful site just southeast of Iraklio, is the most magnificent, intricate and evocative of Crete's Minoan sites. In order to give visitors an idea of what the palace looked like, its discoverer, Sir Arthur Evans, had parts of it reconstructed.

Strategically placed copies of Minoan frescoes help infuse the site with the artistic spirit of these remarkable people. Arrive here early in the morning and visit the Throne Room, with its simple but beautifully proportioned throne, before the tour groups arrive.

Local bus No 2 travels the 5km (3mi) to Knossos from Bus Station A every 10 minutes. Leave yourself about four hours to do justice to the palace.

Samaria Gorge
Many travellers spend a day trekking though the stupendous 18km (11mi) Samaria Gorge to get to Agia Roumeli on the southwest coast. At the Iron Gates, the gorge measures only 3.5m (11.5ft). Apart from its beauty, the gorge is teeming with wildlife and there is an incredible number of wildflowers during spring.

Further along the south coast, which is too precipitous to support large settlements, are the villages of Loutro and Hora Sfakion, linked by boat to Agia Roumeli.

The gorge is open from the beginning of May to mid-October, depending on the amount of water in the gorge. There are excursions to the gorge from every sizeable town and resort in Crete, with most excursion companies offering a long or short trek.