Sightseeing in Hersonissos

Hersonissos is a resort from which other people's sights are conveniently seen: its own are modest, but the two main sightseeing directions of eastern Crete start practically at the doorstep. The first is the Mirabello gulf. A boat or coach brings you to Agios Nikolaos, the town around lake Voulismeni, and then comes Spinalonga: the Venetian fortress islet that in the twentieth century became a leper colony and closed only in 1957. The island is walked with the history of every house, and this is the case where the tour beats the beach.

The second direction is Santorini. From eastern Crete it is nearest of all: a morning transfer to Heraklion's port, a ferry across the sea and a whole day on the caldera — Fira with its stairways, Oia with its sunset side, the black-and-red cliffs of the volcano. Return by night. The format is long, but it is the only way to see another island without moving house.

Between the two big outings remains Hersonissos itself: the old village of Koutouloufari on the hill above the resort strip, tavernas in courtyards, the Cretan aquarium in neighbouring Gouves. These are no rivals to Spinalonga or Santorini, but a way to fill the evening after the sea — walk up from the promenade and dine where the resort becomes a village again.