Rethymno
What we'd tell a friend
Rethymno is the third city of Crete and the most comfortable of the three to be on foot in. Everything below is within a walk or a short drive of the apartments.
01
The beach
The organised stretch outside the seafront building has sunbeds, shallow water and a lifeguard in season. A short ten to twenty minute walk east leads to quieter, umbrella-free stretches of sand.
02
The old town
Venetian doorways, Ottoman minarets and the Rimondi Fountain, all within a few blocks. Come in the late afternoon, when the warm stone gives back the day's heat. Just a ten-minute walk from the seafront studios, a fifteen-minute walk from the garden apartment, and right outside the door if you are staying in the old town.
03
The Venetian harbour
Small, curved and lined with fish restaurants — pretty, touristy, and worth an evening. The Fortezza above it is the real highlight: arrive about an hour before sunset and walk the walls as the light softens over the city and sea.
04
Eating
Skip the harbour front for everyday meals and head inland a street or two, where the tavernas are cheaper and often better. Ask Nikos — he keeps a short list and updates it when places change hands.
05
Days out
Preveli's palm gorge and Plakias are under an hour south. The Arkadi monastery is twenty-five minutes inland. Chania is an hour west, Knossos an hour and a quarter east. A car helps; the bus station is close.
06
Useful to know
Supermarkets and pharmacies are close by. Street parking near the beach takes patience, especially in August; the old town is largely pedestrian, and the garden apartment has easy room for a car. Both of the island's airports are about eighty kilometres away, around an hour and a half.