Greece
Crete — Boutique Hotels & Travel Guide
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Crete is Greece's largest island and its most complex — a place large enough to contain an entire country's worth of landscape, history, and regional culture. The Minoan palaces of Knossos and Phaistos are the oldest sophisticated civilisation in Europe. The Samaria Gorge is the longest in Europe. The food — lamb with stamnagathi, dakos with fresh tomatoes, honey from Cretan thyme — is among the finest in the Mediterranean. And the island is large enough that the package holiday resorts of the north coast exist in a completely different world from the mountain villages of the interior.
Why Visit Crete
The Palace of Knossos, reconstructed controversially by Arthur Evans in the early 20th century, is one of the most extraordinary archaeological experiences in Europe — a Bronze Age palace of 1,400 rooms that was the centre of Minoan civilisation 3,500 years ago. The Samaria Gorge walk — 16km through a limestone canyon from the Omalós plateau to the Libyan Sea — is the finest day walk in Greece. The old towns of Chania and Rethymno are Venetian in character and excellent for extended stays.
Best Towns in Crete
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When to Visit
May and June for the Samaria Gorge and the mountain wildflowers. July and August for the beaches — the south coast, facing Libya, has some of the finest and most remote beaches in Greece. September and October for the grape and olive harvest and the finest light of the year. Crete in winter is mild, functional, and almost entirely free of tourists.
Nova Insider
Drive south from Chania across the White Mountains to the village of Loutro — a small settlement on the Libyan Sea accessible only by boat or on foot, with no cars, no through road, and a ferry connection to the nearby town of Sfakia twice a day. Stay two nights, swim from the rocks below the village, and eat whatever the taverna caught that morning. It is the most isolated and most beautiful village on the island.
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Greek Islands — Boutique Hotels & Travel Guide