- The harbor tavernas for seafood at sunset.
- Bougatsa Chania: the local custard pie with mizithra.
- The Agora market for graviera, honey and olive oil to take home.
Chania City Guide
The Venetian harbor of Chania, Crete. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Chania is western Crete's jewel: a Venetian harbor with a lighthouse, old arsenals and waterfront tavernas, backed by the White Mountains. The old town's lanes mix Venetian, Ottoman and neoclassical.
It is the base for the great west: the Samaria Gorge, Elafonissi and Balos. The municipal market (Agora) of 1913 is the food heart.
What to do in Chania
Old town and harbor
- 1
Venetian harbor The lighthouse, the arsenals, the waterfront at dusk. - 2
Old town lanes The Venetian and Ottoman quarter: leather lane, the minaret. - 3
Municipal Market (Agora) The 1913 cross-shaped market hall: cheese, honey, raki. - 4
Maritime Museum of Crete The naval history museum in the Firkas fortress.
Day trips
- 1
Samaria Gorge The 16-km gorge: bus to Xyloskalo, walk down, ferry from Agia Roumeli. - 2
Elafonissi The pink-sand beach, 75 km southwest. - 3
Balos lagoon The lagoon: boat from Kissamos or the rough track.
Chania Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Chania. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Where to eat
Getting there and around
Chania Airport Ioannis Daskalogiannis (CHQ) is 14 km east. Souda port has ferries to Piraeus. The Samaria walk needs the early KTEL bus to Xyloskalo.