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The ultimate guide to Chania City

The city of Chania, the second biggest city of Crete, invites you to explore every little corner and street. In this city, you can do and see many things that will surely enchant you. In the centre of the city, you will find our offices, visit us for helping you with each question you may have. You probably think that a few days are enough for this city, but believe us you need to stay more than a week to enjoy it as much as possible. Picturesque alleys, Venetian mansions, and many other hidden gems you will discover walking through the cobblestone streets of the Old City.

After your walk around the Old City and your visit to Topana region, where Christians gathered when Turks had settled on the eastern part of the city, you should visit the Old Port and the Egyptian lighthouse built by the Venetians. It is well worth walking all the way along the arm to see the superb view from the harbour and photograph with the view and the lighthouse. Unfortunately, the lighthouse itself is closed so you can’t go up the tower.

Around the Old Harbour, you will find many possible choices for food, coffee, traditional taverns, all kinds of accommodation options, αs well as, old buildings, museums, churches and craft shops. First of all, visit “Yali Tsamisi”, the building in the middle of the Old Harbour, and one of the most famous monuments in Chania. “Yali Tsamisi” was the first mosque built by Ottomans in Crete and was a Muslim place of worship until 1923. The architecture style of the building is Arabic and now is used for art exhibitions.

Visit the wonderful Maritime Museum from the other side of the harbour, at the entrance of the historical fortress “Firka”. It has a permanent collection of about 2,500 exhibits, organised in chronological order and it is absolutely worth visiting. This is by no means only for maritime mavens, but for all who would like to learn in less an hour all the Crete’s maritime past.

Visit the Archaeological Museum which is located at the place of the Venetian Monastery of Agios Fragiskos in Halidon Street. The collection of the museum includes findings from excavations in several areas of the city and they cover the history of Chania from the neolithic period till the Roman Empire. It is well worth visiting and appealing not only to archaeologists but all of us.

Visit Tabakaria, east of Chania, a historic area and home to old tanneries, the small leather craft businesses which remained active till the end of the 1970s. The area was chosen because it was just a few minutes away from the city centre and lay by the sea. The water was used to treat and soften the leather. Tabakaria constitutes a unique architectural complex that is really worth visiting and admiring it.

Visit the Etz Hayyim Synagogue, the only surviving Jewish monument in Crete. In the synagogue, you can find a library 4,500 volumes, including the complete history of the Jewish people, as well as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the world.

If you would like to admire a magnificent view of the city, visit Venizelos Graves in an excellent location of the hill of Prophet Elias, just a few minutes away from Chania.

If you are lucky enough, you will find some cultural events organised by the municipality during the summer period. Various music and theatrical performances are available in the public gardens and at the open-air theatre of the city.

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