Extraordinary Gems of West Crete

The old city of Chania is a unique historical monument

A walking tour in the historic center of Chania, the crossroads and the cobbled roads of civilizations, begin in the  Municipal Market which opened in 1913 on the demolished Venetian bastion Piatta Forma.

It is a splendid cruciform building that accommodates more than 70 shops, where you can find all local products. Next in "stivanadika”, one of the most popular tourist roads in Chania.You can find the leather market and the hand made traditional boots of Crete named "Stivania".

A visit to the Municipal Art Gallery of Chania ,Temple of Eisodion, the Catholic Church of Chania  and the temple of Agios Fragkiskos that hosts the Archaeological Museum.

The Byzantine Walls of Kydonia, the ruins of the Venetian Monastery and the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1615).

Reaching the end of Kasteli citadel unfolds in front of us the unique Venetian Port of Chania with the two groups of Venetian Neoria (14-16th century) ,Great Arsenal, which, completely renovated, hosts today the Center of Mediterranean Architecture .From the opposite side is located the long harbour breakwaters with the small castle of San Nicolo that ends to the Egyptian lighthouse, the principal characteristic of the port.

Walking to the west along Akti Topazi Street, we stop at the Muslim mosque of Kiutzuk Hasan (1645) which hosts several exhibitions during the summer. Continuing our seaside walk we can see the Fountain Square, while at the west end of the port is located Firkas castle where the Greek Flag was raised officially on December 1st 1913 for the union of Crete with Greece. The castle hosts Maritime Museum of Crete and Historical, Folklore and Archaeological Society of Crete.

Walking circumferential of the castle, we walk up Theotokopoulou Street, where we can see at the left the church of San Salvatore (15-17th century) that hosts Byzantine and Postbyzantine Collection of Chania . The traditional district of Topana, as it was named because of the Venetian powder magazine that existed there (top hane in Turkish), begins from there.

At the end of Theotokopoulou Street we walk down Douka Street and arrive at the center of the aristocratic neighborhood of the Venetian city. There we can admire the huge aristocratic houses of the Venetian and later Turkish noble, the buildings of wonderful architecture of Theofanous Street, which have been renovated and are used as hostels.  The Palazzo of Renier family in Moschon Street that was built in the 15th century with the small family chapel of Agios Nikolaos and the impressive entrance with the Latin sign and the blazon of the family is very special.

The old Jewish District or “Ovriaki” with the renovated, unique for Crete, Jewish synagogue."Etz Haim" from the ancient Romaniotes Jews. Finally, it worth walking east of the port where we can see the historical Splanzia Square that hosts the church of Agios Nikolaos (1204)  with the Turkish minaret and the Renaissance temple of Agios Rokkos (1630).

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