Timeless Charm

The city of Chania preserves time-honoured traditions while continually shaping its unique identity. Each visit marks the start of a new story.

In the past, Chania was a vital commercial and intellectual hub of the Mediterranean and the capital of the autonomous Cretan state. Today, calling it merely one of the most beautiful cities in Greece falls short; it is one of the most stunning island cities in the Mediterranean.

The Minoan Kydonia, the Chania of the Genoese, the Turks, the Jews and the Christians together create a living museum for modern travellers. In this part of Crete, history comes alive at every turn, waiting to be discovered on paths that have remained unchanged over time.

The charm of Chania’s old town is characterised by impressive narrow alleys that emerge from the weathered facades of ochre buildings. Her charm is in the Venetian harbour and in endless strolls through a veritable open-air museum of history and architecture, making it the most photographed place in Crete.

The first time you visit, it feels like stepping into another world. The ancient buildings, narrow streets and old shops captivate you, along with the White Mountains rising behind the promenade and the Egyptian lighthouse, perhaps the oldest in the Mediterranean. You will be charmed by the locals who infuse their quaint neighbourhoods with cobbled streets and with their lives, dreams, and art. On Zabeliou Street, there are pottery workshops like Flakatoras, where a family paints, polishes, and fires clay amidst thousands of visitors daily. Here, Venetian palazzi and mosques coexist harmoniously with Turkish mansions, hammams, and synagogues.

Among them are small museums like the Folklore Museum of Chania, located opposite the cathedral, which is modelled after an old Cretan residence and is maintained by Eirini Koumandraki, a talented artist. Narrative paintings created on linen fabric with touches of silk thread tell the history of the island and its inhabitants. The Museum of Traditional Folk Art and Culture is also worth visiting. It houses the workshop of Maria Galanaki, one of the most skilled embroiderers in Crete, where you can purchase decorative woven fabrics and accessories.

Chania invites you to stroll endlessly through the Venetian harbour which stretches up the Koum Kapi on the coast of Miaouli. Along the way, there are plenty of opportunities to take pause: the beautiful mosque of Kioutsouk Hassan (also known as Giali Tzamisi), the Kountourioti coast with its colourful buildings, the atmospheric waterfront, the Grand Arsenal, and the Chania Sailing Club with its marina and fishing boats.

The journey through the centuries continues in the Venetian quarter, where some of the city’s most significant landmarks are located: the Monastery of San Salvatore with the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Collection of Chania and the Virgin of the Rens. Stop in the Jewish quarter along the picturesque pedestrian street of Kondylaki. There is yet another on the eastern side of the old town. Here is where Splantzia Square is situated, once the Turkish quarter. Today, it’s a beloved spot among locals for savouring Cretan delicacies beneath the shade of a single plane tree. The only reminder of the past is the minaret of Agios Nikolas – the only church in Greece with a bell tower and an Islamic minaret. Nearby, the historical quarter of Mahairadika still stands. Its appearance may have evolved, but the echoes of Chania’s legendary knife-making resound from Armenis shop.

Chania also beckons you to stroll to the Firka Fortress, a symbol of Crete’s union with Greece since 1913, now home to the city’s Maritime Museum. As the sun begins to set and throngs of travellers converge upon the waterfront to secure the perfect vantage point opposite the Egyptian lighthouse, you will feel a myriad of emotions. It feels like participating in a mystical initiation ceremony into the enigmatic allure of the Cretan sea.

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ΤΕΧΤ & PHOTOS : STEFANOS GOGOS and MARIA PASSARIVAKI