Chania grew around a Venetian harbour built for more than 40 galleys, and its old town still carries Venetian, Ottoman and Jewish layers. It is also the base for western Crete: the Greece page already covers dakos and raki at a harbour taverna, a cooking class in a nearby village and the Samaria gorge. This page is the rest of the city and the country around it.
The old town sits inside the Venetian walls. Behind the western harbour, Topanas and the old Jewish quarter are a maze of Venetian houses; the eastern half, around Splantzia, was the Ottoman quarter and keeps its minarets. East along the seafront, Koum Kapi and Chalepa, the district of the old consulates, lead to the new Archaeological Museum. North-east, the Akrotiri peninsula holds the airport, the monasteries and beaches such as Seitan Limania and Stavros; south, the road climbs to Theriso and the White Mountains, and to the east, ancient Aptera looks over Souda Bay.
One landmark is missing for now: the cross-shaped Municipal Market of 1913, the Agora, closed for restoration since 2022, was still waiting to reopen in late October 2026.
Climb the Firkas and see the Minoan ship replica at the Neorio Moro
Firkas fortress, Venetian harbour
2 hoursNo booking needed
Climb the fortress where the flag of Crete's union with Greece went up in 1913, then see a reconstructed Minoan ship across the harbour.
What it is
The Firkas closes the western end of the Venetian harbour. The Venetians built it as the Revellino del Porto between 1610 and 1645, the Ottomans used it as barracks (firka) and prison, and on 1 December 1913 the flag of Crete's union with Greece was raised on its corner tower.
How to do it
At the entrance, the Maritime Museum of Crete fills two floors with ship models, charts, paintings and finds from the Copper Age on (Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 16:00, €5). Then cross to the Moro shipyard in the far eastern corner of the harbour, where its shipbuilding exhibition holds Minoa, a reconstructed Minoan merchant ship built for an experimental voyage (5 April to 15 November, €4).
Good to know
The grounds open daily, 09:00 to 19:00 from April to October and 09:00 to 14:00 in winter.
Time needed
2 hours
Best time
A weekday morning: the museum closes at 16:00 and on Sundays
Sit under the plane tree in Splantzia, by a church with a minaret
Splantzia (1821 Square), old town
1 to 2 hoursFree
Sit under the plane tree where locals go out, beside the only church in town with both a bell tower and a minaret.
What it is
Splantzia, officially 1821 Square, was the heart of the Ottoman quarter, and its cafés and meze taverns are now where locals go out instead of the harbour front. On the east side, Agios Nikolaos was built before 1320 for a Dominican monastery, became the Sultan's mosque after the conquest of 1645 and has been an Orthodox church since 1928. It is the only church in town with both a bell tower and a minaret, whose two balconies marked the mosque's rank.
How to do it
Entry is free in modest dress. Walk round its north-east side to the remains of the Venetian aqueduct, then along Chatzimichali Daliani Street, lined with tavernas, to the Ahmet Aga minaret.
Good to know
Its plane tree has a grim past: in 1821 the Ottomans hanged the Bishop of Kissamos, Melchisedek Despotakis, from it.
Visit Etz Hayyim, the restored synagogue of the Jewish quarter
Parodos Kondylaki, Jewish quarter
1 hourNo booking needed
A Venetian church that became a Romaniote synagogue, restored in 1999 after its community was deported in 1944, shown by its own staff.
What it is
Behind the western harbour, the block between Chalidon, Zambeliou, Skoufon and Portou streets was Evraiki, the Jewish quarter. Etz Hayyim, in an alley off Kondylaki Street, began as the Venetian church of St Katherine and became a Romaniote synagogue after the Ottoman conquest of 1669. In May 1944 the community, around 300 people, was deported, and the ship taking them from Heraklion was torpedoed and sunk. The derelict building was restored and rededicated in 1999.
How to do it
Staff guide visitors as part of the €4 ticket, sold at the door: Monday to Thursday 10:00 to 16:00, Friday 10:00 to 15:00, closed at weekends and on Greek holidays. Then climb into Topanas, the old Christian quarter, for the carved gate of the Renier mansion on Moschon Street.
Walk the seafront to the new Archaeological Museum in Chalepa
Chalepa (15 Skra Street)
2 hours, plus 30 minutes' walk each wayNo booking needed
More than 4,000 objects tracing western Crete from the Palaeolithic to Rome, about a 30-minute seafront walk from the old town.
What it is
In 2022 the Archaeological Museum of Chania moved from the Venetian monastery of St Francis to a new building in Chalepa, the 19th-century district of consulates east of the centre. More than 4,000 objects, from the Palaeolithic to the Roman period, trace western Crete through Kydonia, the ancient city under Chania, and Aptera. Look for the reconstructed House of Philargyros, destroyed in the earthquake of AD 365, and the statue of Hadrian from the sanctuary of Diktynna, broken in a fire in 1934 and reassembled here.
How to do it
Walk there in about 30 minutes along the Koum Kapi promenade, past the old Tabakaria tanneries, or take city bus 11.
Good to know
Hours are 08:00 to 20:00 until 31 October, then 08:30 to 15:30, closed on Tuesdays; tickets cost €15.
Time needed
2 hours, plus 30 minutes' walk each way
Best time
Any day but Tuesday; free on the first and third Sunday from November to March
Watch the sunset over Chania from the Venizelos graves
Profitis Ilias hill, Akrotiri
1 hourFree
Chania's favourite sunset point, a terrace looking straight over the city and its bay from the graves of Eleftherios Venizelos and his son.
What it is
On Profitis Ilias hill, a few kilometres east of the centre on the road to the airport, lie Eleftherios Venizelos, born in nearby Mournies and seven times prime minister of Greece, and his son Sofoklis, also a prime minister. The terrace looks straight over the city and its bay, which makes it Chania's favourite sunset point. In February 1897, when the Great Powers' fleet shelled the Cretan rebels on this hill, Spyros Kagiales held up the Greek flag with his own body after its pole was shot away; his statue stands by the 16th-century chapel of Profitis Ilias, restored with money from the Russian tsar.
How to do it
The municipality advises the bus, a taxi or a car, as the climb on foot is long and steep.
Walk from Gouverneto monastery down to Katholiko and the sea
Agia Triada and Gouverneto monasteries, Akrotiri peninsula
Half a dayNo booking needed
Walk down from a 1537 monastery past a bear-shaped stalagmite to a ruined monastery bridging a gorge, then to the sea.
What it is
From outside the walls of Gouverneto, a stepped path drops in about 10 minutes to the cave of Panagia Arkoudiotissa, with its bear-shaped stalagmite, and 10 more to Katholiko, a ruined monastery bridging a gorge beside the cave of St John the Hermit. Another 10 to 30 minutes down the streambed reach a cove with the ruins of the monks' harbour.
How to do it
On the Akrotiri peninsula, a signed turn just before the airport leads to Agia Triada, a 17th-century monastery (€2.50) that sells its monks' wine and olive oil. Four kilometres on, fortress-like Gouverneto (1537) keeps short hours: the municipality lists 09:00 to 12:00 and 17:00 to 19:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and 09:00 to 11:00 and 17:00 to 20:00 at weekends.
Explore ancient Aptera and its view over Souda Bay
Aptera, above Souda Bay
2 to 3 hours with the driveNo booking needed
Walk an ancient city on a plateau 200 m above Souda Bay, with a theatre, a double temple and vaulted Roman cisterns.
What it is
Founded in the 8th century BC, Aptera was one of the strongest city-states of Crete in the Hellenistic period and lasted into early Byzantine times. See the theatre, the double temple of Apollo and Artemis and, above all, the vaulted Roman cisterns that fed its baths; about 4 km of city wall survive. On the edge of the plateau, the Koules, an Ottoman fort built after the revolt of 1866, looks across the bay to the Itzedin fort and Akrotiri.
How to do it
Aptera sits on a plateau 200 m above Souda Bay, about 25 minutes' drive east of Chania. On the way back, the Commonwealth war cemetery at Souda holds 1,527 soldiers who died in Crete in the Second World War.
Good to know
Tickets cost €10; the site opens 08:00 to 18:00 until 31 October, then 08:30 to 15:30, and closes on Tuesdays.
Time needed
2 to 3 hours with the drive
Best time
Late afternoon for the light over the bay; never on a Tuesday
Hike the Agia Irini gorge down to Sougia on the Libyan Sea
Agia Irini (Selino), ending at Sougia
A full day from Chania, about 4 hours walkingNo booking needed
Walk 7.5 km down a gorge towards the Libyan Sea, ending in Sougia, a village with a beach, tavernas and rooms.
What it is
When Samaria is closed or feels too long, Agia Irini is the gorge to walk. It starts by the village of the same name in Selino, on the western side of the White Mountains, 46 km from Chania, and runs 7.5 km south; the Region of Crete puts the crossing at about three hours.
How to do it
From the kiosk at the bottom, it is another 45 minutes on foot to Sougia, a village on the Libyan Sea with a beach, tavernas and rooms. The walk is one way, so the logistics matter more than the path: KTEL buses run from Chania to Agia Irini and back from Sougia on a seasonal timetable, so check the afternoon return on e-ktel.com before you set off, or join a guided hike with transfers.
Good to know
In must30's view, avoid the hottest summer weeks and start early.
Drive up the Theriso gorge for lunch in Venizelos's village
Theriso, 15 km south of Chania
Half a day with lunchFree
Drive between steep cliffs, plane trees and oleanders to the village where Venizelos led the 1905 revolutionary assembly, then stay for lunch.
What it is
Theriso is the one gorge near Chania you can drive through. In 1905 Eleftherios Venizelos, whose mother came from here, led the revolutionary assembly in Theriso that forced out the island's governor, Prince George, a step towards union with Greece. His headquarters now house the Historical and Folklore Museum, and a second museum covers the resistance of 1941 to 1945.
How to do it
From Perivolia, on the city's southern edge, the road climbs about 6 km between steep cliffs, plane trees and oleanders to Theriso, a village at 580 m in the foothills of the White Mountains, 15 km from town. KTEL lists a bus, but a car or a jeep tour is easier.
Good to know
Most people come for lunch: the municipality names apaki, siglino, staka, tsigariasto and kalitsounia with wild herbs among the dishes at its family tavernas.
Swim at Seitan Limania or Stavros on the Akrotiri peninsula
Seitan Limania (Agios Stefanos) and Stavros, Akrotiri
Half a dayFree
Two very different swims: narrow rocky inlets once used by pirates, or a sheltered white-sand beach where Anthony Quinn danced the sirtaki.
What it is
Akrotiri has two very different swims. Seitan Limania, also called Agios Stefanos, 22 km from Chania and 2 km from Chordaki, is a set of three narrow rocky inlets on the east coast, once pirate hideouts; the northern one ends in a small beach of black and white pebbles and fine sand at the mouth of a gorge. Stavros, on the northern tip 17 km from the city, is the opposite: a sheltered Blue Flag beach of white sand and shallow water with sunbeds, lifeguards, tavernas and a fishing harbour, served by KTEL buses.
How to do it
You park above and walk down for 10 to 15 minutes, so wear proper shoes and bring water, food and shade: there are no services.
Good to know
Anthony Quinn danced the sirtaki here in Zorba the Greek, filmed in 1963 and 1964.
Shop for leather on Skridlof and Cretan knives on Sifaka Street
Skridlof Street and Sifaka Street, old town
1 hourFree
Leather on pedestrian Skridlof Street and horn-handled Cretan knives, often with a rhyming couplet engraved on the blade, on Sifaka Street.
What it is
Two crafts kept Chania's old town busy for centuries. The city tanned its leather at Tabakaria, on the shore east of the centre, where about 80 tanneries worked in the 1950s and fewer than six are left.
How to do it
The stivanadika, workshops named after stivania, the tall Cretan boots, are now gathered on pedestrian Skridlof Street: walking up Chalidon from the harbour, it is on your left a couple of streets past the cathedral. On Sifaka Street, near the harbour, a handful of makers still produce the Cretan knife, with a horn handle and often a mantinada, a rhyming couplet, engraved on the blade.
Good to know
Most goods are no longer made on the spot, but a few shops still make boots to measure, so ask. Compare a workshop piece with souvenir copies before you pay, and pack it in checked luggage.
Tour a winery in the foothills of the White Mountains
Vatolakkos, south-west of Chania
2 to 3 hours with lunchBook ahead
Taste Syrah, Grenache and the winery's own tsikoudia on a terrace among olive and orange trees in the White Mountain foothills.
What it is
Crete has made wine since Minoan times, and the villages in the foothills south-west of Chania are the place to taste it. At Vatolakkos, Manousakis Winery was founded by a villager who had emigrated to America as a boy; its first vines went in in 1993, at 350 to 650 m, and its Nostos wines come from Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Roussanne, alongside its own tsikoudia.
How to do it
Free tours run at set times from midday, Monday to Saturday, followed by a tasting and Cretan dishes on a terrace among olive and orange trees. If nobody wants to drive, book a wine tour with transfers.
Good to know
Booking is required, and from 16 November 2026 to April 2027 visits are by appointment only. For a local grape, look on Chania wine lists for Romeiko, a red variety grown mainly around Chania and Kissamos.
Time needed
2 to 3 hours with lunch
Best time
Monday to Saturday from midday; by appointment from mid November
Walk out to Chania's Venetian lighthouse before dinner, then start with dakos and let the raki come on the house at the end.
What it is
Chania's old town wraps around its Venetian harbour, with the lighthouse, rebuilt in 1864 on Venetian foundations, at the end of the breakwater. Pick a taverna on the harbour front for the view, or a street or two back in the old town.
How to do it
Start with dakos, the Cretan salad on a barley rusk called paximadi, softened with water or olive oil and topped with chopped tomato, crumbled mizithra or feta, oregano and often capers and olives.
Good to know
The raki that follows is tsikoudia, a grape pomace spirit of 40 to 65 percent, served chilled. In Cretan tavernas it commonly arrives on the house at the end of the meal, often with fruit or a sweet, so do not order it as an aperitif.
Time needed
1.5 to 2 hours
Best time
Dinner from 21:00, after a sunset walk to the lighthouse
Roll dolmades at a cooking class in a village near Chania
Chania, Crete
Half a day including the mealBook ahead
Roll dolmades in a village kitchen near Chania: Cretan cooking built on plants, and a fold that takes a few tries to learn.
What it is
Cretan cooking is built on plants: seasonal greens, pulses, olive oil and herbs, with meat on the side. Dolmades fit that exactly: vine leaves rolled tightly around rice with herbs, cooked in olive oil and lemon and served cool, often with yogurt.
How to do it
Before you book a class in one of the villages around Chania, check three things in the listing: which village and whether transfer from Chania is included, the full menu, since not every class rolls vine leaves, and how many people share the kitchen.
Good to know
Cretan meals often end with a chilled tsikoudia, the island's grape pomace spirit, which eastern Crete calls raki. In late October and early November each village's licensed distillers run their stills for two or three weeks: ask if you can visit one.
Time needed
Half a day including the meal
Best time
Late October or early November, when village stills run
Hike the Samaria Gorge from Xyloskalo down to the Libyan Sea
Crete
6 to 7 hours walking, a full day from ChaniaNo booking needed
Crete's great one-day hike: down through the White Mountains from the Omalos plateau to the Libyan Sea, then home by boat.
What it is
Samaria is a one-way hike of about 13 km on national park path from Xyloskalo (1,227 m) down to sea level, plus 2 km to the village of Agia Roumeli. The Portes, the narrowest point, are 1.5 km above Agia Roumeli. Allow 6 to 7 hours.
How to do it
Entry for the full route is 07:00 to 13:00, and everyone must be out by 18:00. The ticket is €10, also sold online. Agia Roumeli has no road, so the day ends on an ANENDYK boat to Chora Sfakion or Sougia and a KTEL bus back to Chania.
Good to know
The path may open from 10 April to 31 October, but the date is set each year and closures can be announced the evening before: on 25 October 2026 the gorge was closed until further notice.
Chania International Airport (CHQ), named after the Sfakian rebel Daskalogiannis, lies on the Akrotiri peninsula 14 km from town, and KTEL runs buses between the airport and Chania's central bus station on a seasonal timetable. Ferries from Piraeus dock daily at Souda, the port 7 km east of the city. KTEL buses along the north coast link Chania with Rethymno and Heraklion.
Getting around
Walk the old town; much of it is pedestrianised. Chania's urban KTEL runs city buses and sells e-tickets through its app: line 11 goes east to Chalepa and the Archaeological Museum, and line 21 west along the beaches to Kalamaki, Chrysi Akti and Agioi Apostoloi. Intercity KTEL buses leave the central bus station for the airport, Stavros, Theriso, Agia Irini and Sougia. Seitan Limania needs your own car, and a car or a tour makes the Akrotiri monasteries, Aptera and the wineries far easier. The municipal car park behind the Firkas, by Talos Square, is the handiest for the old town.
How many days
In must30's view, three or four. Give one day to the old town (the Firkas, the Jewish quarter, Splantzia, Skridlof), one to Akrotiri (Agia Triada, Gouverneto and the walk to Katholiko in the morning, a swim at Seitan Limania or Stavros, the Venizelos graves at sunset) and one to Aptera and the Archaeological Museum. Spend a fourth in a gorge, Samaria or Agia Irini, when they are open, and add half a day for Theriso or a winery.
When to go
State sites keep summer hours from 1 April to 31 October: the Archaeological Museum opens 08:00 to 20:00, then 08:30 to 15:30 from 1 November, and both the museum and Aptera close on Tuesdays all year. The Samaria gorge may open from 10 April to 31 October, on dates set each year. Autumn is tsikoudia season, and the municipality dates the village distilling feasts, the kazania, from mid October to mid December. In must30's view, May, June, September and October suit walking and swimming best.
Where to base yourself
The old town puts the harbour, the museums and the tavernas on foot. Topanas and the Jewish quarter behind the western harbour have the Venetian lanes and boutique hotels; Splantzia, to the east, is where locals go out rather than the harbour front. Koum Kapi and Chalepa, along the seafront to the east, are quieter and close to the new museum. For beach days, stay west of town, where city line 21 serves Kalamaki, Chrysi Akti and Agioi Apostoloi.
Questions travellers ask
Do I need a car in Chania?
Not for the old town, the Archaeological Museum or the beaches just west of town: walk, or take city bus 11 to Chalepa or 21 to Kalamaki and Agioi Apostoloi. KTEL buses reach the airport, Stavros, Theriso, Agia Irini and Sougia. Seitan Limania needs a car, and the Akrotiri monasteries, Aptera and the wineries are much easier with one or on a tour.
How many days do you need in Chania?
Three or four in must30's view: one for the old town, one for the Akrotiri peninsula, one for Aptera and the Archaeological Museum, and one for a gorge walk such as Samaria or Agia Irini. Two days cover the old town, the museum and the Venizelos graves at sunset.
Is Chania worth visiting in late October or November?
Yes for the town and its sites, with two caveats. State sites switch to winter hours on 1 November, when the Archaeological Museum and Aptera open 08:30 to 15:30 and close on Tuesdays, and on 25 October 2026 the Samaria gorge was closed until further notice. The Maritime Museum keeps the same hours all year, Monday to Saturday, and autumn is tsikoudia distilling season in the villages.
Is the Chania municipal market (Agora) open?
Not in October 2026. The cross-shaped market, opened on 4 December 1913, has been closed for restoration since 2022, and after several missed deadlines the latest reported reopening date is 4 December 2026. Check locally before you plan a morning around it.
What is there to do in Chania besides the Venetian harbour?
Visit the Etz Hayyim synagogue and Splantzia's church with a minaret, walk the seafront to the new Archaeological Museum in Chalepa, and watch the sunset from the Venizelos graves. Further out, walk from Gouverneto down to Katholiko, see ancient Aptera above Souda Bay, drive up the Theriso gorge for lunch or swim at Seitan Limania.
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