Sightseeing in Chania

Chania is one of those places where the city itself is the sight. The Venetian harbour curves in a crescent: at the far end of the mole stands the Egyptian lighthouse, the town's emblem; across the water, the Kucuk Hasan mosque with its rose-coloured domes; a little further, the stone arches of the neoria, the shipyards where Venetian galleys wintered for repairs. Behind the waterfront the quarters begin — Topanas with its consular mansions, the former Jewish quarter of Evraiki, workshop-lined Splantzia. Skridlof street is still called Leather Lane, sandals and bags are made there to this day, and the covered Agora market from the early twentieth century sells cheese, honey and mountain herbs. Beneath it all lies Minoan Kydonia: the town stands on foundations four thousand years old.

The Minoan story comes in two formats here. In Chania itself, Minoans World offers dimensional reconstructions and a 9D cinema — the era told vividly enough for children and adults alike. For the originals you go east: a day trip pairs Knossos, the palace with Evans's frescoes and reconstructions, with the Heraklion archaeological museum, the world's principal Minoan collection.

The third layer is the countryside. The villages of Apokoronas — Vamos, Gavalochori — show Crete without the resort front: stone lanes, wells, craft workshops. Tasting tours cover wineries growing indigenous varieties and olive presses where the difference of a first pressing is explained on the spot. And towards evening a jeep climbs the switchbacks above town, from where you watch the harbour light up below.