The Prefecture of Chania is located to the west of the island offering long sandy beaches with clean blue waters. In contrast, the backdrop of the White Mountains home to the Samaria Gorge, famed for its natural beauty and the longest gorge in Europe at 18 km. The main town of Chania is bustling with activity.
The Prefecture of Rethymnon is home to the mountain range of Psiloritis, the highest peak of the island. The main town of Rethymnon has an old town with many fish tavernas and bars overlooking the fishing harbour and Venetian Fortress. On its south coast is the resort area of Agia Galini and close by the Monasteries of Prevali and Archadia. Every part of this island offers breathtaking natural rugged scenery and sandy beaches lapped by clear blue sea.
The Prefecture of Heraklion is located in the centre of the island and houses the capital city of the island with many museums, archaeological sites and steeped in history. The Minoan Palace of Knossos is just a few kilometres to the south of Heraklion and the Palace of Malia to the east. The finds of these palaces and many others can be seen in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. With so much to see and do you will come back again and again just to do it all.
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Archeological Museum of Hania

Since 1962, the Archaeological Museum has been housed in the Catholic Monastery of the Franciscan monks on Halithon Street. Findings from different parts of the county of Hania are exhibited in the museum rooms depicting the history of the area from Neolithic to Roman times. The exhibition is divided into two sections. The first (eastern section) contains exhibits from Prehistoric times (3rd and 2nd millennium BC), while the second (western section) contains exhibits of what is called Historical Times (1st millennium BC). The display of the Prehistoric collection comprises carved vessels, clay plates in Linear A and B scripts, clay discs, a beautiful collection of gold necklaces, seal stones and stone beads. There are also clay urns and large store jars in several corners of the prehistoric section.

The exhibition of the Historic Times comprises a rich collection of clay vases, several sculpts and tube stone inscriptions from various parts of the county. In addition, the visitor can see mosaic floors of the Roman period (2nd and 3rd centuries AD) depicting scenes from the Dionysian period and episodes from the myth of Possidon and the nymph Amimoni.
Address: Chalidon 21, Tel. 0030 28210 91875
Open: 08:30 - 15:00 except Mondays

Eleftherios Venizelos' House

Eleftherios' father, Kyriakos Venizelos, bought the site of the Venizelos family house in 1876. The style is that of a villa and was finished in 1880. It has two floors and is surrounded by a garden planted with trees and vines. Later, it was renovated by Eleftherios Venizelos, who transferred the reception rooms to the ground floor and the bedrooms to the first floor. Today it houses the “Eleftherios Venizelos Institution”.

The Byzantine Wall

The original fortifications of the city of Hania surrounding the Hill of Kasteli were founded on the ruins of an older fortification built in Hellenistic times. The largest part of the Byzantine wall was constructed with building materials taken from ancient Kythonia. Its outline is irregular and consists of linear sections interrupted by small rectangular or multi-angular towers. At certain points, the wall simply complements the existing natural rock on the south and part of the east and west sides, it completely meets the city's need for protection. In the wall are four gates none of which has its original form today. The two main gates were the west, opening to Sindrivani Square and the east, on the crossroads of Kanevaro and Daskalogianni Streets. There were two smaller gates, one on the south side (Katre and Karaoli-Dimitriou streets) and the other on the north side, near the Turkish Prison, leading to Aferdoulief street (Today the Turkish Prison houses the Rector's Office and the Administration Offices of the Technical University of Crete).

War Museum of Hania

The War Museum lies on the corner of I. Sfakianaki & Tzanakaki streets next to the Public Gardens. The building was once the Italian barracks and was built in 1870, on designs made by the Italian architect Makouzo. The rare photographic material and the unique historical heirlooms housed in the Museum rooms depict the incomparable participation of the Cretan Macedonian fighters (1903 – 1922) in the Balkan Wars (1912-13), the Asia Minor Campaign (1919-1922), World Wars I & II and during the German occupation (1941-1945).
Admission: Free.
The museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 09.00 – 13.00

Historical Archive of Crete

The Historical Archive of Crete was established in 1920 based in Chania and constitutes a Public Inter-Prefectorate Service, a decentralised department of the General Record Office of the State, which comes directly under the Ministry of Education. It is housed in a public neoclassical, protected building at 20 I. Sfakianaki St. and it also includes a second, ancillary building with file record rooms.

The Historical Archive has attained such a high level that it is considered to be the largest of the regional Historical Archive in the country, in terms of content, volume and material importance. The aim and mission of the Historical Archive of Crete is the collection, classification, recording, preservation and promotion of all kinds of archives and relics relating to Cretan History.

Today, approximately 700,000 historical documents are preserved in the Historical Archive: Large historical collections, such as the official correspondence of the Cretan Revolutions of 1821-1830, 1866-1869, 1877-1878, 1895-1898 and 1905. Moreover, it includes many private collections with archive material belonging to Rebels and other prominent figures, the archives of Cretan fighters, the archives of the Turkish Administration in Crete, the Central Translation Office of Crete, the Cretan Government and German Occupation, as well as Administrative, Judicial, Church archives, etc., a large photographic collection with approximately 3,000 photographs, a complete record of the Cretan Press from 1831, a specialised Library containing about 10,000 titles, as well as a large museum collection of valuable historical and folklore relics.

The Venetian Shipyards (Neoria)

The need for the presence of the Venetian fleet in Crete forced Venice to build shipyards, (Arsenali or Neoria) where the ships were repaired in wintertime. The south complex was completed in 1599, with the construction of 17 Neoria. In 1607, the construction of five more Neoria began on the eastern basin of the harbour. These are known as the Moro Neoria and only two were ever completed. Today only 7 survive out of the 17. In their original form they were open on the side of the sea. The ceilings are arched, and they are connected with arched openings of the same thickness as the walls.

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The Prefecture of Lassithi is located at the eastern end of the island, home to Agios Nikolaos, the exclusive resort of Elounda and the island of Spinalonga. The picturesque fishing harbour of Agios Nikolaos has many tavernas and bars surrounding its inner lake. The palm beach at Vai gives the impression of being on a tropical island, is well worth a visit. The archaeological sites of the Minoan Palace of Phaistos and Gournia can be found to the south on the way to Ierapetra, the most southern town in Europe.