Crete - Chania

Chania is the capital of Chania Prefecture, located in northwestern Crete.

It is one of the oldest cities in Crete with great history. Today is the second largest city of the island, a city that has preserved its traditional architecture and preserves most of the monuments from the time of Venetians and Turks.

Main sights of Chania are: the Old Town and the Venetian Harbour, the Maritime Museum, the Archaeological museum, the house of Eleftherios Venizelos, the graves of the Venizelos Family, the War Museum and many other monuments of Byzantine, Venetian, Ottoman and modern period.

The city has a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot and dry summers and mild winters.

The Koukouvaya cafe’ is a favorite meeting place located in the most beautiful hill of Chania, the Prophet Elias, next to the the Venizelos statesmen family graves, offering an amazing panoramic view of the old town and its Venetian harbor, the bay of Chania and the majestic White Mountains.

The name Kukuvayia, “the owl”,  reflected the bird’s eye view of this place, which was used as a German observation post during WWII.