Rethymnon (City), Crete Island

I walked on down from the fortress into a wonder of photogenic heaven......old buildings, overhanging wooden balconies, wall fountains, carved doors and interesting door handles and windows, old arabic inscriptions - the mix of Venetian and Turkish that have been here of old...then theres the ancient mosques and minarets, the palm lined promenade.

Its told that Rethymnon has had the most development of anywhere in Crete, especially with its 10km of large hotels extending down along the beach to the east - but thankfully at its heart Rethymnon has remained one of the most beautiful of Crete's major cities with its ancient middle of town pretty much spared....add to this the must see fortress and the blue sea alongside - its a city well worth a visit!

Being rather castle mad the Rough Guide's writeup of the massive Venetian fortress at Rethymnon being a must see was of course totally enticing.

Driving along the freeway to the turnoff down to Rethymnon you can see the huge fortress in the distance next to the sea - and it is massive!

It is said to be the largest Venetian castle ever built in response to a series of pirate raids that had devastated the town in the late 16th century. It was designed to be large enough to allow the entire town to take refuge within the fortress walls.

I found parking easily enough when I followed the road that goes around the fortress beside the sea and parked just below the fortress and walked on up to the entrance. The guy seated at a desk in the gateway had brochures with some historical info on the site and layout map. there are toilets just in from here.

Up on the hill within the walls that are still intact are the dotted remains of barracks, arsenals, deep shafts and also a domed building that was once a mosque.

There are excellent views from the walls out to sea and across the old town with its old minarets.

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Rethymno is a nice and fairly sizable beach town on the northwest part of Crete. The Venetian Fortress there was built in 1580 and is fascinating to visit. It also gives great views of the city and the Sea of Crete.

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Rethymno is a mini-Chania, it is more quiet (I did not say quiet, I say MORE QUIET) than Chania. You can see more local people on the streets of the Old Town. Not every building in the Old Town is converted into a hotel, people actually live there.
Harbour is much smaller than the one in Chania, but the beach is bigger. Harbour restaurant stuff try really hard to get you, but don't let that bother you. I go there usually for coffee, to look at the water and to relax in the shade during the day.
Rethymno is also easier to park and get around.
It is definitely place to visit during your summer vacation.
Check out my Rethymno tips on my Rethymno page.

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Rethymno town, with appoximately 30.000 inhabitants, is the capital of the Prefecture of the same name and it is built between two other large cities of Crete. In the east is Iraklion (80 km) and to the west is Chania (60 km).

Rethymno offers two styles of visit: the endless big beach hotel strip that stretches from the east end of Rethymno, lapping up the coastal "villages" of Perivolia, Platanias, Adelianos Kambos, Pigianos Kambos, Sfakaki, Stavromenos, Skaleta... and the Rethymno that shows you the character of the old town with it mix of architecture and history, cultural influinces and styles ranging from Venetian to Ottoman empire.

Tip under construction!

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This is a very important and beautiful town in western Crete, about 2 hours by bus from both Chania and Iraklio.

Rethymno is an academic city. It boasts a large Venetian fortress. I loved the narrow streets of Rethymno and the panoramic views from its fortress. Rethymno is Crete's another must-see :-)

Rethymno is Crete's third-biggest city and feels like a big, congested city everywhere except the old town area, where the environment is infinitely more relaxing. For this reason alone I recommend finding accommodations in this part of the city if you stay overnight. You'll find it to be much quieter, though even the narrowest of streets are not completely immune from scooter traffic.

Although much of the old town has been taken over by overpriced stores selling unimaginitive merchandise, there are still plenty of things to do and see and good places to eat. However, I'd recommend staying away from the seafood restaurants lining the old harbor at night with their pushy greeters trying to coax you in. Ironically, that's precisely the scene in the photograph for this tip. In the morning this is a very quiet and scenic part of town and I enjoyed walking around there very much.

I also have a separate section covering Rethymno, so please have a look there for more details about this city.

The most obvious attraction in Rethymno is the Ventian fortress, situated at the tip of peninsula on which the old city is situated. There's not much left inside the fortress, but it's still very much worth your time to go in and have a look around. An hour should be enough, and don't forget to visit the two churches hidden just after you go through the main entrance up to the ramp to your right. This side of the fortress also give good views of the waterfront area of the old city.