Rethymno
The highlight of this dusty old museum are the displays of fossilised tusks and bones from the dwarf Cretan elephant and pygmy hippopotamus. Both were endemic to the Rethymno region before becoming extinct around 12,000 years ago. The museum is in the restored 17th-century Temple of Mastaba (aka Veli Pasha Mosque), with nine domes and the city’s oldest minaret.
The complex, a branch of Athens’ Goulandris Natural History Museum, often has touring exhibits from the capital and abroad.
28.7 MILES
Phaestos was the second-most-important Minoan palace-city after Knossos and enjoys an awe-inspiring setting with panoramic views of the Messara Plain and…
9.36 MILES
The 16th-century Arkadi Monastery, 23km southeast of Rethymno, has deep significance for Cretans. As the site where hundreds of cornered locals massacred…
19.92 MILES
The ruins of the ancient city of Aptera, about 13.5km east of Hania, spread over two hills that lord grandly over Souda Bay. Founded in the 7th century BC…
27.98 MILES
The setting alone in the beautifully restored 16th-century Venetian Church of San Francisco is reason to visit this fine collection of artefacts from…
22.59 MILES
Although just a huge and fairly featureless hole in the ground, Ideon has sacred importance in mythology as the place where Zeus was reared by his mother,…
11.26 MILES
A must-see for anyone visiting the ruins of Eleutherna is the accompanying modern museum that contextualises the ancient city through the exhibition of…
14.51 MILES
About 2km outside the village of Melidoni is this stunning cathedral-like cave, an evocative underworld of stalactites and stalagmites. A place of worship…
28.05 MILES
There are few places where Hania's historic charm and grandeur are more palpable than in the old Venetian Harbour. It's lined by pastel-coloured buildings…
0.21 MILES
This building began life as a monastery but was turned into a mosque by the Turks, who added the domes and a minaret, of which only bits remain. It is…
0.29 MILES
At the southern edge of the old quarter, this arched stone gate is the only remnant of the Venetian city wall. It was built in the late 16th century and…
0.31 MILES
Located between Iliakaki and Dimitrakaki, the trails and tree-shaded benches found here offer respite from the heat and crowds. Old men doze and chat…
4. Archaeological Museum of Rethymno
0.37 MILES
Set inside the atmospheric Venetian-built Church of St Francis, this well-curated museum features a stunning collection of well-preserved relics unearthed…
0.41 MILES
This triple-domed mosque began life as an Augustinian church and was converted by the Turks in 1657, although the recently restored minaret wasn't added…
0.43 MILES
This nicely restored 16th-century landmark originally served as a meeting house for Venetian nobility to discuss politics and money, and morphed into a…
7. Historical & Folk Art Museum
0.44 MILES
In a lovely 17th-century Venetian mansion, the five-room permanent exhibit here documents traditional rural life on Crete with displays of clothing,…
0.44 MILES
Punctuating the old pier in the Venetian Harbour, the 9m-high lighthouse was built in the 1830s, when Egypt ruled Crete. (Britain forced Egypt to give…