Rethymno Favorites

Favorite thing: Greece's major banks all have branches in Rethymnon, and most of these banks will provide currency exchange services. Bank hours are generally the following: Monday - Thursday 08.00-14.30hrs, Friday 08.00-14.00hrs. Many banks provide 24 hour ATM services, additional ATM machines may be found at various locations in Rethymnon centre. Western Union money transfer services are available at the main Post Office and in the News Stand on Plateia Iroon.Several tour companies and travel agents in Rethymnon also offer currency exchange facilities; it is of course advisable to check daily rates and commission before proceeding with any transaction. In Rethymnon itself credit cards are widely accepted in tourist shops and restaurants, however, in local kafeneions and off the beaten track payment is more likely to be cash only. If in doubt, ask!

Favorite thing: Rethymnon has a well equipped hospital with helpful staff. It has a 24hr Accident and Emergency department and also an outpatient clinic that is open during office hours. The hospital is located at G. Triandlidou, phone 28310 87100. Rethymnon also has several private medical practices covering most medical specialities. High quality dental treatment is available from a host of dental surgeries. Most private medical and dental practitioners speak English and/or German. Details about medical / dental services available in Rethymnon can be found in the local papers and also from pharmacies in Rethymnon. Greek pharmacists are highly trained and are well-qualified to deal with the majority of minor medical complaints. Pharmacies are generally open between 09.00-14.00hrs Monday to Saturday, and between 18.00-20.00hrs on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Pharmacies also operate a rota system for out-of-hours cover. The names and addresses of out-of-hours duty pharmacists are posted on pharmacy doors.

Favorite thing: The main Post Office in Rethymnon is located at Moatsou 21 and is open from 07.30-20.00hrs Monday to Friday. The post office provides all the usual national and international mailing facilities, will hold mail poste restante for up to a month and also rents out Post Office boxes. In high season a mobile post office offering limited international mailing services for cards and letters may be found on El. Venizelou (on the beach front, about 200m east from the Tourist Office). Stamps may be purchased from the post office, peripteros and some shops selling postcards.

The Greek Telephone Company is known as OTE. Their offices are located at Kountoriotou 28. The Greek national dialling code is +30 and the area code for Rethymnon is 28310 (the area code is always necessary when dialling a local number). International calls may be made from the OTE office, from public phone booths (card phones) or from some peripteros with metered telephones. Mobile phone companies such as Vodafone are well represented in Rethymnon and there are several shops across town that sell top-up cards for mobiles. There are plenty of internet cafes in Rethymnon. A convenient one to use for its location is the Bar Galero near the Rimondi fountain, which provides internet access from early in the morning until late at night.

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Favorite thing: There is fish in the Rethymno bay.

One sunny ( ih really?) day we were seating in one of the touristy cafes right on the Rethymno harbour eating some ice cream, and ...... We actually saw a lots of fish in the water. Some of it was pretty big (foot or more) considering our terrible experience on Chania's harbour (reed my Chania tips).

Here it is a photo to document that rear occurents.

I actually wonder if that fish lives there or the wealthy owners of those huge touristy restaurants every day throw a bucket of a live fish to the bay to please the crowd.
hmmm

Favorite thing: It is a part of the castle over the hill Paleokastro, where the view to the city is the best you can have. At the entrance of Fortetza, as the castle is called, you can visit the Archaeological Museum, near it -if you are lucky- you can enjoy a concert of the festival of the city (during the summer months) at the "Erofili" open-air theater.
The castle has 11 sentry-boxes, its 5-6 old buildings remind something from the glorious past. You can see at the picture the cathedral of St. Nickolas, which became a mosque in the 16th century (nowadays, it houses exhibitions).

Favorite thing: The old town of Rethymno is smaller than the one in Chania, but it has the same charm with it (if not better...). It spreads out around the old port of the city. The old town is full of narrow streets and many different shops.

Favorite thing: By... accident, you can see both the area inside and outside mosque Neratzes, the biggest of the four, if I remember well, mosques of the city. Today it houses the Conservatoire of Rethymno. Before 1657, when it became a mosque, it was a church.

Favorite thing: Kostis Giaboudakis was the person who blowed the historical monastery of Arcadi (see my "Nomos Rethymnis" page), as the Greeks, who were inside it, didn't want to surrender to the Turks. There is an antithesis between the statue and the mosque which can be seen on the background...