Description

Rethymno

Welcome to Rethymnon, the small Mediterranean town with its Renaissance architecture, Venetian fortress, museums and beaches. We are sure that like thousands of others, you will find so much to enchant you that you will return annually to Rethymnon.

As for the surrounding province, the difficulty is in deciding what to visit first. The endless beaches, the monasteries and the churches, the ancient sites or the Venetian and Turkish monuments? The area is rich in characteristic villages and areas of great natural beauty, as well as caves and soaring mountains.

THE MONUMENTS OF RETHYMNON

The Fortetza Fortress
Built after 1573 to protect the city's population. It comprises four bastions and three entrances while to the north, its design is typical of the period with three look-out posts (salients).

Ibrahim Han mosque
The most significant of the surviving buildings, built by the Venetians as a cathedral.

The Venetian harbour
From 1300, Rethymno's harbour was constantly being changed and re-built to make it safer and hold more boats. Due to the prevailing currents along the coast, this was never entirely successful. It retains its picturesque character even today.

The Loggia
The most characteristic Renaissance monument of Rethymnon and the most important architectural reminder of the Venetian occupation.

The Rimondi Fountain
Rebuilt in 1626 on the foundation of the earlier one, the new fountain is architecturally and sculptural ornate.

Saint Franciscus Church
The catholic monastery of the Franciscan order. It sports a single sloped wooden roofed basilica with an impressively decorated entrance.

The Neratzies, the Kara Mousa, the Great Door, and the Veli Pasa mosque.
The five surviving mosques are a reminder of the years of the Turkish occupation. Of these, the first is the only one that can be visited, which is used today as a music conservatory.
The Prefecture Building (Nomarchia)
Built after 1869 is a commemorative building in neo-classic design.

The Old Town
Has been preserved in good condition with the public and private monuments of the Venetian, Turkish and later periods.
Arkadi


The actual Katholicon of this monastery was built in 1587, possibly over an earlier church of the 14th century. It was an extremely wealthy Monastery, where there was a center of copying greek manuscripts and a workshop of church embroideries. The Monastery was of great strategic importance and it was burnt to the ground in 1866 during the Cretan revolution against the Turks.

The Monastery is surrounded by a defensive precinct with two main entrances and one side one. The cells communicate with the yard through a portico. There are also a two storeyed guest-house, a refectory, store-houses, a cellar a cook-house, and an oven. The Katholicon is a two-aisled church dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour and to the Saints Constantine and Helen. Inside the Monastery there are also an ossuary and stables.


Chania

Chania is one of the nicest towns in Crete, with wonderful houses, parks and squares and a well-designed town-plan.
The Public Market is an impressive building, in the town center, built at the beginning of the present century (1911) and houses grocery stores, butchers' shops, a fish market and vegetable shops.
The Public Gardens, next to the Market, are ideal for those in search of shade and tranquility. Northeast of the gardens is the beautiful neighborhood of Chalepa where the residences of Prince George and Eleftherios Venizelos were.
The old city has preserved to a great extent the distinctive atmosphere and charm of the Venetian and Turkish periods. Entire Venetian, Turkish and Jewish quarters are saved, with well-preserved buildings in the narrow picturesque streets.
One of the most significant buildings is the large Venetian church of Agios Frankiskos which today houses the Archaeological Museum of Chania.
The old city leads at the harbor, where many Venetian and Turkish buildings are preserved. At the entrance of the harbor, at its northern point, is the renovated fort "Firkas", built on 1629, that today houses the Maritime Museum of Chania as well as a summer theatre, where drama performances are presented. Opposite the Firkas fort, is the magnificent Venetian lighthouse, built on the 16 century and restored by the Egyptians.
The harbor is protected by a Venetian breakwater, built of huge stones. At the center of the breakwater are the ruins of a fortress.
West of Chania, at a distance of 4.5 km, is the hill of Profitis Ilias, where the memorial and tomb of Eleftherios Venizelos and his son Sophokles are located. Chania can be the starting point for a tour to the western Crete, a part of the island with magnificent natural beauty.
There are lots of places worth seeing, within driving distance (two to three hours) , the most famous being the Samaria Gorge. This is a National Park of Greece that starts at the village of Omalos, at an altitude of 1227 m. and ends after a walk of approximately 18 Km to the beach of Agia Roumeli. The Gorge is open from May to the beginning of October and is definitely a must for everyone.

Included

* NOTE: !!! Our Guides are LICENSED and Members of the Union official Guides in Crete.

** NOTE: !!! Our Drivers are Professionals and English speaking.

INCLUDED
Vehicle, fuels, tolls (wherever exist), parking fee,
English-speaking driver, English or French-speaking guide, insurance covery of the passengers up to €500,000 in total, VAT and all taxes.

NOT INCLUDED
*Entrance fees in archaeological and historical sites, hotel accommodation wherever needed, beverages and meals.

If you are interested in booking this Private Tour please fill in these details that follow and you will be informed of the pricing details.