Educational traveling

Maria
Educational traveling

Sightseeing

Chania’s Venetian Harbour was carefully built in the 14th century for commercial purposes and for protection against pirate raids. Today it is a point of reference for the city of Chania, and a much-photographed place with a touch of magic! This city hub is filled with cafes, restaurants, tavernas serving local delicacies, bars, pastry stores and art shops as well as monuments referring to various historical periods. You will find there is a balanced mixing of Cretan, Ottoman and Venetian elements, beautiful narrow alleys across the old town and amazing architecture. The old harbour area beckons you to enjoy a carefree journey through time as you explore it. Shall we then? The journey begins… The old port is a fascinating place any time of the day or year, as the sun creates a variety of visual effects and gives the impression you see a different place each time you visit it! Start your walk at the NW part of it where you will see the imposing Lighthouse, the ‘jewel’ of the harbour. To your right lie the Firkas Fort built by the Venetians in order to protect the port entrance. There is a captivating brick-coloured building at the Fort entrance which once housed the Venetian naval guards. Nowadays you will find the Maritime Museum of Crete with a valuable collection of naval objects providing insight into the rich history of Chania and W. Crete. Right after that, walk along Angelou St., an upward alley which is one of the loveliest backstreets of the Topanas quarter. Feast your eyes on the Venetian architecture typical of the 16th and 17th centuries. If you fancy some more strolling, walk along the streets that begin from the coast and lead to the most beautiful part of the old town of Chania. Continue on Akti Kountourioti, along the shoreline, where you will reach Eleftheriou Venizelou square, known as Syntrivaniou Square during the ottoman occupation (syntrivani meaning fountain). Today the fountain is on display at the court of the Archaeological Museum of Chania. From Eleftheriou Venizelou Sq. go on to Akti Tompazi where you will see Kioutsouk Hasan Mosque (Yali Tzami) an excellent specimen of islamic architecture, which was built in honour of the first ottoman commander of Chania. This is the oldest muslim building on Crete which is now renovated and used as an exhibition area. Walk further on and you will view the Byzantine walls on Kasteli hill beyond the tavernas and cafes. This is the location of Kydonia, a Minoan town, where the first human settlements appeared as early as the Neolithic age. Climb the steps uphill Afentoulief street, next to Megalo Arsenali, and once you are on top drink in the panoramic view of the harbour area. Today’s Centre for Mediterranean Architecture, one of the city’s gems, is housed in the former Venetian Dockyards (Megalo Arsenali) to the west part of the harbour, while the seven neighbouring dockyards lying on the port’s east side give us a good picture of how the harbour looked like during the Venetian rule. The shipyards had an opening on the side of the sea where waters easily reached the land so as to facilitate pulling the vessels in and out. On the spot nowadays you will find a marina where small cruise and fishing boats dock. As you pass by the last fish tavernas on Akti Enoseos on the eastern part of the harbour, you will see three dockyards, named Moro after the Venetian Governor who saw to their construction. The left one was the last to be built during the Venetian Rule and it remained unfinished until recently. Today it houses the Chania Sailing Club. Let’s pay a visit to the Greek Traditional Shipbuilding and Ancient Shipbuilding exhibitions, located on the dockyard to the right. You will get to see and learn interesting information about nautical knots, Greek lighthouses and observe up close a model 15th c. BC Minoan ship. Beyond the shipyards and to the right you can visit the Koum Kapi seaside area (Sand Gate) as well as Sabbionara, the Venetian ramparts built entirely in the sea, which is the only remaining gate of the former Venetian city walls. There are many cafes, tavernas and bars facing the Cretan Sea. Let’s continue our stroll on the harbour’s breakwater, heading towards the fascinating Lighthouse where we end our walk. Originally built by the Venetians, it was reconstructed in the form of a minaret by the Egyptians in the early 19th c. and has remained unchanged ever since. The breakwater area all the way to the Lighthouse affords a panoramic view of the harbour, the old town of Chania against a backdrop of the White Mountains. Chania’s Venetian Harbour area is like a wonderful maize that tempts you to explore every little part of it. You will find you can’t help falling in love with the town and sweet thoughts about your visit will give you memories to cherish long after you have left the island!
399 locals recommend
Old Venetian Harbor
8 Agiou Markou
399 locals recommend
Chania’s Venetian Harbour was carefully built in the 14th century for commercial purposes and for protection against pirate raids. Today it is a point of reference for the city of Chania, and a much-photographed place with a touch of magic! This city hub is filled with cafes, restaurants, tavernas serving local delicacies, bars, pastry stores and art shops as well as monuments referring to various historical periods. You will find there is a balanced mixing of Cretan, Ottoman and Venetian elements, beautiful narrow alleys across the old town and amazing architecture. The old harbour area beckons you to enjoy a carefree journey through time as you explore it. Shall we then? The journey begins… The old port is a fascinating place any time of the day or year, as the sun creates a variety of visual effects and gives the impression you see a different place each time you visit it! Start your walk at the NW part of it where you will see the imposing Lighthouse, the ‘jewel’ of the harbour. To your right lie the Firkas Fort built by the Venetians in order to protect the port entrance. There is a captivating brick-coloured building at the Fort entrance which once housed the Venetian naval guards. Nowadays you will find the Maritime Museum of Crete with a valuable collection of naval objects providing insight into the rich history of Chania and W. Crete. Right after that, walk along Angelou St., an upward alley which is one of the loveliest backstreets of the Topanas quarter. Feast your eyes on the Venetian architecture typical of the 16th and 17th centuries. If you fancy some more strolling, walk along the streets that begin from the coast and lead to the most beautiful part of the old town of Chania. Continue on Akti Kountourioti, along the shoreline, where you will reach Eleftheriou Venizelou square, known as Syntrivaniou Square during the ottoman occupation (syntrivani meaning fountain). Today the fountain is on display at the court of the Archaeological Museum of Chania. From Eleftheriou Venizelou Sq. go on to Akti Tompazi where you will see Kioutsouk Hasan Mosque (Yali Tzami) an excellent specimen of islamic architecture, which was built in honour of the first ottoman commander of Chania. This is the oldest muslim building on Crete which is now renovated and used as an exhibition area. Walk further on and you will view the Byzantine walls on Kasteli hill beyond the tavernas and cafes. This is the location of Kydonia, a Minoan town, where the first human settlements appeared as early as the Neolithic age. Climb the steps uphill Afentoulief street, next to Megalo Arsenali, and once you are on top drink in the panoramic view of the harbour area. Today’s Centre for Mediterranean Architecture, one of the city’s gems, is housed in the former Venetian Dockyards (Megalo Arsenali) to the west part of the harbour, while the seven neighbouring dockyards lying on the port’s east side give us a good picture of how the harbour looked like during the Venetian rule. The shipyards had an opening on the side of the sea where waters easily reached the land so as to facilitate pulling the vessels in and out. On the spot nowadays you will find a marina where small cruise and fishing boats dock. As you pass by the last fish tavernas on Akti Enoseos on the eastern part of the harbour, you will see three dockyards, named Moro after the Venetian Governor who saw to their construction. The left one was the last to be built during the Venetian Rule and it remained unfinished until recently. Today it houses the Chania Sailing Club. Let’s pay a visit to the Greek Traditional Shipbuilding and Ancient Shipbuilding exhibitions, located on the dockyard to the right. You will get to see and learn interesting information about nautical knots, Greek lighthouses and observe up close a model 15th c. BC Minoan ship. Beyond the shipyards and to the right you can visit the Koum Kapi seaside area (Sand Gate) as well as Sabbionara, the Venetian ramparts built entirely in the sea, which is the only remaining gate of the former Venetian city walls. There are many cafes, tavernas and bars facing the Cretan Sea. Let’s continue our stroll on the harbour’s breakwater, heading towards the fascinating Lighthouse where we end our walk. Originally built by the Venetians, it was reconstructed in the form of a minaret by the Egyptians in the early 19th c. and has remained unchanged ever since. The breakwater area all the way to the Lighthouse affords a panoramic view of the harbour, the old town of Chania against a backdrop of the White Mountains. Chania’s Venetian Harbour area is like a wonderful maize that tempts you to explore every little part of it. You will find you can’t help falling in love with the town and sweet thoughts about your visit will give you memories to cherish long after you have left the island!
The ancient city of Falassarna (now more usually spelled Falassarna) was a major trading centre, with its own coins bearing the figure of a woman on one side, and the initials ΦΑ (FA) between the points of a trident, symbolic of the area, on the other. In ancient times Falassarna included the promontory with the hill of the acropolis, above the city harbour.
27 locals recommend
Ancient Falassarna
27 locals recommend
The ancient city of Falassarna (now more usually spelled Falassarna) was a major trading centre, with its own coins bearing the figure of a woman on one side, and the initials ΦΑ (FA) between the points of a trident, symbolic of the area, on the other. In ancient times Falassarna included the promontory with the hill of the acropolis, above the city harbour.
One of the most interesting archaeological sites in western Crete, Aptera was inhabited since Minoan times (the first reference of the city Aptera as A-pa-ta-wa is traced in Linear B tablets coming from Knossos in the 14th- 13th century BC) but it only became a significant city around the 8th century BC. Its location above the bay of Souda was also strategically important: close to its two seaports Minoa (today's Marathi) and Kasteli (near Kalyves) Aptera could control the circulation of ships and it became a very important trading post in Crete and one of the greatest cities on the island. Aptera was destroyed in the great earthquake of 365 AD and only sparsely inhabited afterwards but a monastery dedicated to St. John the Theologian remained amidst the ruins.   What to see A part of the archaeological site is fenced off and you have to pay a small entry fee (in 2018 it is 2 Euro) to access it (from 8.00 to 15.00, closed Mondays). Within the site you can visit impressive Roman cisterns, ruins of Roman bath houses, a newly excavated theater and the monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos in which there is an excellent presentation of the site of Aptera. The enclosed area is only a small part of the very large site which encompasses the whole hill. Surrounded by massive fortification walls (with total circumference of 3.5km) most of the area is still not exacavated but lots of work has been done on the western gate (the first place you see when you drive up towards Aptera) and there is an interesting Hellenistic villa excavated in a field near the site's entrance. To the North of the hill a large Ottoman fort overlooks the whole of Souda Bay.
20 locals recommend
Ancient Aptera (Roman Source)
20 locals recommend
One of the most interesting archaeological sites in western Crete, Aptera was inhabited since Minoan times (the first reference of the city Aptera as A-pa-ta-wa is traced in Linear B tablets coming from Knossos in the 14th- 13th century BC) but it only became a significant city around the 8th century BC. Its location above the bay of Souda was also strategically important: close to its two seaports Minoa (today's Marathi) and Kasteli (near Kalyves) Aptera could control the circulation of ships and it became a very important trading post in Crete and one of the greatest cities on the island. Aptera was destroyed in the great earthquake of 365 AD and only sparsely inhabited afterwards but a monastery dedicated to St. John the Theologian remained amidst the ruins.   What to see A part of the archaeological site is fenced off and you have to pay a small entry fee (in 2018 it is 2 Euro) to access it (from 8.00 to 15.00, closed Mondays). Within the site you can visit impressive Roman cisterns, ruins of Roman bath houses, a newly excavated theater and the monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos in which there is an excellent presentation of the site of Aptera. The enclosed area is only a small part of the very large site which encompasses the whole hill. Surrounded by massive fortification walls (with total circumference of 3.5km) most of the area is still not exacavated but lots of work has been done on the western gate (the first place you see when you drive up towards Aptera) and there is an interesting Hellenistic villa excavated in a field near the site's entrance. To the North of the hill a large Ottoman fort overlooks the whole of Souda Bay.

Museums

Skra 15, Chalepa- P.C.73133 The Archaeological Museum of Chania was founded in 1963 and up until 2020 it was housed in the former Venetian Monastery of Agios Fragiskos on Halidon Street, in the Old Town of Chania. In the fall of 2021, the New Archeological Museum of Chania is opening its doors to the public in the historic neighborhood of Chalepa, following a difficult and demanding transfer of all the collections to their new location. The new, contemporary museum boasts 6.000m², it is designed according to the bioclimatic principles and sustainability and will be housing around 3.500 archeological findings (1.000 more than the older building).
41 locals recommend
New Archaeological Museum of Chania
15 Skra
41 locals recommend
Skra 15, Chalepa- P.C.73133 The Archaeological Museum of Chania was founded in 1963 and up until 2020 it was housed in the former Venetian Monastery of Agios Fragiskos on Halidon Street, in the Old Town of Chania. In the fall of 2021, the New Archeological Museum of Chania is opening its doors to the public in the historic neighborhood of Chalepa, following a difficult and demanding transfer of all the collections to their new location. The new, contemporary museum boasts 6.000m², it is designed according to the bioclimatic principles and sustainability and will be housing around 3.500 archeological findings (1.000 more than the older building).
Akti Kountourioti, Old Port The Nautical Museum of Crete is located at the entrance of the historical fortress "Firka" (if you have time, have a walk around the fortress, as well!). It was founded in 1973 to promote the nautical traditions and history of the island. The Museum cooperates and interacts with other Nautical Museums in Greece and abroad. The permanent exhibition includes 2.500 items, such as relics, objects found in the bottom of the sea, paintings, maps, photographs, models of ships, nautical equipment etc. The exhibits are organized in units, in chronological order from the Copper Age until today. There is also a special exhibition of sea environment, with a rich collection of shells from different places of the world. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. When you get to the harbor turn left and keep walking. You will find the Museum at the end of the left part of the harbor.
214 locals recommend
Maritime Museum of Crete
14-16 Defkalionos
214 locals recommend
Akti Kountourioti, Old Port The Nautical Museum of Crete is located at the entrance of the historical fortress "Firka" (if you have time, have a walk around the fortress, as well!). It was founded in 1973 to promote the nautical traditions and history of the island. The Museum cooperates and interacts with other Nautical Museums in Greece and abroad. The permanent exhibition includes 2.500 items, such as relics, objects found in the bottom of the sea, paintings, maps, photographs, models of ships, nautical equipment etc. The exhibits are organized in units, in chronological order from the Copper Age until today. There is also a special exhibition of sea environment, with a rich collection of shells from different places of the world. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. When you get to the harbor turn left and keep walking. You will find the Museum at the end of the left part of the harbor.
FOLKLORE MUSEUM: CRETAN HOUSE 46Β Halidon Street, Chania (entrance: via Catholic Church’s yard) It is located at the center of the old city of Chania, in Halidon Street, next to the Catholic church and it includes folklore and traditional exhibits that allow the visitor to have a representative picture of the way of life of older residents of island during the 18th and 19th century. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. Before you reach the shore, you will meet the Museum on your left, on Chalidon str.
29 locals recommend
Folklore Museum of Chania
46 Chalidon
29 locals recommend
FOLKLORE MUSEUM: CRETAN HOUSE 46Β Halidon Street, Chania (entrance: via Catholic Church’s yard) It is located at the center of the old city of Chania, in Halidon Street, next to the Catholic church and it includes folklore and traditional exhibits that allow the visitor to have a representative picture of the way of life of older residents of island during the 18th and 19th century. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. Before you reach the shore, you will meet the Museum on your left, on Chalidon str.
78, Theotokopoulou Str., Old Town of Chania The exhibition is focused on the historical and artistic identity of region of Chania during the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine period. The exhibits have been separated in units according to their category (Mosaics, Signs, murals, ceramic, sculptures, coins etc.) and are placed in chronological order, accompanied by information tables and maps. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. Eventually you will enter Chalidon str. Continue on Chalidon str. and then turn left on Zampeliou, before you reach the Harbour's shore. Keep straight ahead, pass the stairs, keep up and when you find Theotokopoulou str. on your right, turn. Cross the whole Theotokopoulou str. and at the end of it (you will be seeing the sea) you will see the Museum on your right.
18 locals recommend
Byzantine/Post-Byzantine Collection
78 Theotokopoulou
18 locals recommend
78, Theotokopoulou Str., Old Town of Chania The exhibition is focused on the historical and artistic identity of region of Chania during the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine period. The exhibits have been separated in units according to their category (Mosaics, Signs, murals, ceramic, sculptures, coins etc.) and are placed in chronological order, accompanied by information tables and maps. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. Eventually you will enter Chalidon str. Continue on Chalidon str. and then turn left on Zampeliou, before you reach the Harbour's shore. Keep straight ahead, pass the stairs, keep up and when you find Theotokopoulou str. on your right, turn. Cross the whole Theotokopoulou str. and at the end of it (you will be seeing the sea) you will see the Museum on your right.
98-102, Chalidon str., Chania The Municipal Art Gallery of Chania constitutes a unique place of culture that hosts works of painting, engraving and sculpture of Greek creators and local artists that are dated from the 18th century until today. It is considered as the center of wider cultural creation of Chania, as significant editorial activity is being developed there and since it is the place where exhibitions, speeches, meetings, educational programs and other activities are being hosted and organized, during the whole year. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. Before you reach the shore, you will meet the Gallery on your left, on Chalidon str.
57 locals recommend
Municipal Art Gallery
98 Chalidon
57 locals recommend
98-102, Chalidon str., Chania The Municipal Art Gallery of Chania constitutes a unique place of culture that hosts works of painting, engraving and sculpture of Greek creators and local artists that are dated from the 18th century until today. It is considered as the center of wider cultural creation of Chania, as significant editorial activity is being developed there and since it is the place where exhibitions, speeches, meetings, educational programs and other activities are being hosted and organized, during the whole year. How to get there: From the 1866 Square head straight ahead to the North, all the way down to the Old Harbour. Before you reach the shore, you will meet the Gallery on your left, on Chalidon str.
A local contemporary Art Gallery, runed by Denia, an expert in Art and Aesthetics. If you are an art lover or an art collector, this is definitely the place to be!
RedD Gallery
A local contemporary Art Gallery, runed by Denia, an expert in Art and Aesthetics. If you are an art lover or an art collector, this is definitely the place to be!