free sample
from the Our Crete guide

Welcome to Crete

Two of our favourite places — to begin with.

Less planning. More Crete.

Hi, I’m Justyna — I live on Crete with Manolis, my Cretan husband, who grew up in Platanias. Our Crete is the guide we wished we’d had: not everything, just the places we keep coming back to, with the little details that make a day easy.

This is a free sample — two places out of fifty.

Two of our places

Town
half a day
PlataniasPlataniasPlataniasPlataniasPlatanias

Platanias

A special place for us — my husband’s home town and our own corner of Crete. Platanias is a long sandy beach and a lively seafront promenade, and just above it, on the hill, hides the old part of town with narrow lanes, a church and a view over the whole bay.

A great base for exploring western Crete — and a place where you can feel the real, everyday life of the island.

Get directionsstarts from your current location
What to see
World War II Museum — in the upper part of Platanias, with mementoes from the Battle of Crete.
Church of St Demetrios (Agios Dimitrios) — right next to the museum, in the old upper town.
The old upper part of Platanias — narrow lanes and a beautiful view over the whole bay.
A small, characterful harbour — good for a stroll and fresh fish.
There’s a playground by the harbour — great for kids.
A riverside walk (loop)
A favourite walking-and-running loop: from Platanias down along the Keritis river, past the church of Agios Georgios Tropaioforos and back up to Ano Platanias — about 3.9 km, roughly 58 minutes.
Parts of the route are uphill — bring comfortable shoes and something to drink.
Right by the river, a little off the loop, sits the family taverna Drakiana (a garden over the water). It isn’t directly on the route, but if you fancy it you can add about 1 km and stop here for lunch; closed on Mondays.
Walking route in Google Maps (on foot).
Trasa spaceru w Platanias (3,9 km)
Getting there & parking
About 11 km west of Chania, along the coast road — an easy drive or a KTEL bus ride.
From Chania the expressway is fastest, but if you’d rather enjoy the coast on the way, take the old road through the centre, along the sea. the coastal route in Google Maps.
Free parking — by the harbour and along the streets in town.
In summer a tourist train runs, an easy way to tour the local sights without a car. timetable & tickets.
Where to eat
Poseidonio
A family taverna with traditional Cretan cooking.
Hours, menu & reviews
Mylos
The oldest taverna in Platanias.
Hours, menu & reviews
Katsaroles (Stalos)
In nearby Stalos — worth a stop on the way. Listed in the TOP 100 of Greece. We recommend the baked aubergine (imam) — one of the best on Crete.
Hours, menu & reviews
Drosia
Traditional Greek cooking; a taverna run by one family for generations. There’s a playground for children too.
Hours, menu & reviews
Kyanó
Right by the sea.
Hours, menu & reviews
Liotrivi
Delicious traditional Greek food — and if you fancy proper Italian pizza, this is the best in Platanias.
Hours, menu & reviews
City
a full day
ChaniaChaniaChania

Chania

Crete’s second-largest city and one of the oldest on the island, with a rich, long history. It’s famous for its preserved Venetian architecture, monuments and townhouses. The city is full of life and at the same time captivating — picturesque, almost magical, with a traditional beauty.

Get directionsstarts from your current location
What to see
The old Venetian harbour with its lighthouse — the emblem of Chania.
Get lost in the maze of narrow, pedestrian lanes of the old town.
Historic townhouses and Venetian-era monuments, cafés and hundreds of little souvenir shops.
Getting there & parking
Paid zones apply in the centre (blue lines) — pay via the iPark Chaniaapp, at a meter or at a kiosk. White lines are usually free parking (often a little way from the centre); in the evenings the zones are sometimes free.
Free lots on the edge of the old town (e.g. Talos Square, East Moat) fill up fast in summer; a surer bet is the paid parking Apollon (5 min from the harbour).
Least hassle: Park & Ride Kladissos (Marinou Antipa St, ~10 min from the old town) — free parking and a free electric shuttle to the centre about every 20 min (ideal in season). location.
The old town is best explored on foot — it’s pedestrian and intimate; you can’t drive in anyway.
No car? See buses & getting to the centre.
Museums
Maritime Museum of Crete
Ship models, navigation instruments and mementoes of Crete’s maritime history — from antiquity to today. A separate section is devoted to the WWII Battle of Crete.
Morskie Muzeum Krety
Firkas Fortress, by the old harbour · Akti Koundourioti
Get directions
Byzantine & Post-Byzantine Collection
Icons, frescoes, mosaics and coins from early Christianity to the Venetian period. An intimate collection in the beautifully preserved church of San Salvatore, a fine window onto the religious art of old Crete.
Church of San Salvatore · Theotokopoulou St 78
Get directions
Folklore Museum “Cretan House”
The interior of a traditional Cretan home — furniture, tools, textiles and old costumes. You’ll see hand-woven rugs and the everyday objects the island lived by.
Halidon St 46B, old town
Get directions
Municipal Art Gallery
Frequently changing exhibitions of contemporary Greek and Cretan art. A good spot for a quiet moment with art, away from the sun and the crowds.
Halidon St, near the old harbour
Get directions
All the museums above are in the old town. The Archaeological Museum has its own entry (Halepa district).
Where to eat in Chania
Centre
Oinopoieio
A characterful mezedopoleio in the old town — Greek mezedes and local wine.
Hours, menu & reviews
The Well of the Turk
In the Turkish quarter of Splantzia — cooking with a Middle Eastern touch, in a charming alley.
Hours, menu & reviews
Old harbour
The side streets hide plenty of tavernas — worth seeking out away from the main promenade.
Outside the centre
Periplous
Premium dining by the sea in the Tabakaria district — fish and seafood, lovely at sunset.
Hours, menu & reviews
Mitsos (BBQ)
A must for meat lovers — our sure thing.
Hours, menu & reviews
Red Jane Bakery
An artisan bakery — fresh bread, pastries and good coffee for breakfast.
Hours, menu & reviews
The Hill
A beautiful view over the city; traditional cooking with a modern twist — especially recommended at sunset.
Hours, menu & reviews
Matzénta Kuzina del Sol
A Mexican spot (Greek–Mexican fusion) — great tacos and margaritas.
Hours, menu & reviews
Travelling without a car?

You can reach central Chania by KTEL bus from the surrounding towns. The terminus is on Kydonias St — a few minutes’ walk from the old town.

Timetable & tickets — KTEL (Western Crete)

Around Chania itself (the airport, Souda, the suburbs) is served by city buses. It’s best to check current times and stops live:

City buses live — Moovit
Timetables change seasonally — these links always show current data. Public-transport navigation in Google Maps also works live.

Imagine arriving on Crete already knowing where to go. No evenings lost to research, no tourist traps, no second-guessing — you park where the locals park, eat where they eat, and spend your days enjoying the island instead of planning it.

And that’s just two of fifty places.

The whole of Our Crete is years of living here and driving around the island. Inside:

50 places we’ve tried ourselves
26 tested routes
ready-made plans for 3, 5 and 7 days
family-friendly places
how to get there, parking and practical tips
tavernas recommended by locals
works fully offline

Inside the full guide

A glimpse of what else is waiting inside:

Balos Lagoon
Elafonissi Beach
Falasarna
Seitan Limania
Lake Kournas
Palaiochora
Botanical Park
Ancient Aptera
Arkadi Monastery
Therisso mountain village

…and 38 more carefully chosen places across Crete.

Why this guide is different

It isn’t written from a desk. We live on Crete, and we’ve personally been to every place inside — every recommendation comes from real days out, not from scrolling through reviews.

It’s built to save your holiday time: no trawling through dozens of blogs, Facebook groups or Google Maps ratings to work out what’s actually worth it. We’ve already done that part.

We spent every spare moment discovering these places, so you don’t have to spend your holiday searching for them. Planning a trip from scratch is hours of work — here that work is already done, by us — people who live on the island.

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This is only a small part of Crete

This sample includes just 2 of the 50 places featured in the guide.

The complete guide contains 50 personally visited locations, 26 ready-made routes, practical tips and suggested itineraries for 3, 5 and 7 days on Crete.

Every recommendation comes from places we have explored ourselves and continue to visit today.

Take the whole island with you

Instead of piecing your evenings together from blogs, pins and Facebook groups — let the island be shown to you by the people who live here.

Most visitors spend hours every evening deciding where to go the next day. This guide lets you spend that time enjoying Crete instead.

OUR CRETE
50 places · 26 routes · ready-made plans
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