Chania is the regional town of western Crete. It has a local airport, where you can easily get with Ryanair. It is probably the cheapest way to get to Crete, Chania itself isn’t that big a town, it doesn’t have any special historical monuments nor a pilgrim place, however, you can spend a nice time here anyway.
It is a town full of tiny narrow streets, where there isn’t much space to leave your car. There aren’t many car parks either so you should probably use public transport here. If you prefer the car, there is a car park on the eastern part of the town near the port, right next to the hotel Port Veneziano. From this car park you will be able to reach the historical town square in no time.
The port in Chania is beautiful, there aren’t many boats or ferries that depart from here, only small fishing and tourist boats. There are a couple of taverns nearby, some souvenir shops and museums. We cannot forget to mention the lighthouse at the end of the pier. There is a NO ENTRY sign there but if you are not scared of heights, you can be inspired by the town people and enjoy an amazing view from its top. Just after the wall on the left of the staircase climb up a cross on the wall around the lighthouse. And do not look down.
There are a couple of interesting museums in town but they are not available for the public. You will find the navy museum near the port and at the start of the pier there is an exposition with a replica of a boat from the 15th century which travelled from Crete to Athens at that time. You can buy the tickets directly in the museum opposite the lighthouse. Chania also has a war, historical and archaeological museum. The war museum is, unfortunately, in the season 2013 closed because of its reconstruction.
Another pleasant place to spend your time is the park behind the football pitch. Its full of big trees, perfectly green grass and a small lake with ducks as a bonus. It is ideal for a rest on the benches or having a coffee in the cafeteria behind the children's spot in the park.
A little further away from the sea on the main road you will find a market, where you can buy many typical greek products, mainly fresh fish, spices, toys and many souvenirs. There is a long street leading from this market to the bus station full of leather handbag shops, so if you need one, you will definitely find the perfect handbag here.
If you want to taste typical greek food, we recommend the Christianna Gefsis tavern, which is a typical local tavern where the mother of the owner cooks all of the dishes every day from different home-grown products. The prices are reasonable, about 5-10 euros for a dish. It doesn’t matter if you like meat od not, we do not know of anybody who didn’t enjoy their meal in the vegetarian restaurant To Stachi in the Defkalionos street near the port. If you want to try some seafood and fish, the best place is definitely Akrogiali Taverna on the main beach in Chania a couple of metres away from the small port..
Chania offers many different night clubs. If you want to just have a chat in a calm atmosphere with some good wine or dance all night at a party in a club. The most frequented place for a calm chat is My Café-Bar on the main road above the old port. The party people should go to Senso Club which is on the same street (Σκαλιδη) or the club Maura Mesanixta.
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