Sightseeing in Crete - what to see. Complete travel guide

Crete is the largest island belonging to Greece. The island is located in the Mediterranean Sea approximately 110 kilometers away from the shores of Europe, 175 kilometers away from Asia and 300 kilometers away from the northern coast of Africa. Crete is washed by Crete, Ionian, Aegean, and Libyan Seas. The capital of Crete is Iraklion.

Crete is an economic and cultural center of Greece with well-developed tourist infrastructure. This is one of the most popular European resorts with warm sea, subtropical climate, modern resorts, and numerous entertainments. Here you will find countless cafes and restaurants that serve national dishes, and entertain visitors by live music and dancing the traditional sirtaki dance. Artists always teach visitors to dance it, and the performance is usually finished by crushing inexpensive plates over the floor.

The most famous places of interest of Crete are archeological excavations in Knossos, Fetos, Maglie, Gortina and so on; Venetian Castle Fortezza in Rethymno, Zeus Cave, Lassiti plateau, where you can try various wines and see the process of creation of olive oil. Don’t forget to visit mountain monastery built in XIV century and ceramic workshop; Samarian gorge, Spinalonga Island, visit the cruise to Dia and Santorini Islands. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Active rest lovers are offered to participate in safari on jeeps, horse rides, fishing on yacht, attend a traditional Cretan evening of the local aqua park.

For those who like excursions, the Venetian town of Rethymnon is very popular. In it you can walk along narrow streets and admire the historic buildings, which now house popular shops and restaurants. In this city, there is an ancient fortress which was built in the 16th century. Also there is a very interesting archeological museum.

Those who have always dreamt of walking through unique archaeological areas are invited to visit the ancient city of Gortina. Now nobody lives in this city. You can see only the ruins of old buildings that were erected in the era of ancient Greece. Once, this majestic and prosperous city was the capital of the island. It was completely ruined in 828 by Arab conquerors. Now the entire territory of the ancient city is considered an important archaeological area.

The most visited cultural institution of Crete can safely be said to be the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. This is one of the largest museums in the country. For the storage of exhibits, 20 rooms are reserved. All collections of the museum are distributed in strict chronological order. Many of the exhibits were discovered directly on the territory of Greece. Huge clay vessels, and stone sculptures that hundreds of years ago adorned temples and palaces, ancient fossils and jewelry - are just a small part of the priceless exhibits of the museum.

The island has preserved many unique architectural monuments, including the ancient Monastery of Arkadi. It was founded more than 1,500 years ago. This monastery is located on the slope of Mount Ida, at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level. In the 17th century the monastery was heavily plundered and partially destroyed. Nevertheless, it still amazes with its greatness.

An excursion to the Island of Spinalonga promises to be very unusual and interesting. The entire territory of this ancient island practically occupies a fortress. The fortifications here were built in the 16th century by Venetians. For many years, this fortress protected Crete from pirates and conquerors. Over time, the ancient fortress lost its former importance. Now its entire territory is accessible to tourists for walk tours. Not so long ago, researchers were able to find out that this fortress was built on the ruins of an ancient acropolis. Many interesting antique artifacts were discovered here.