For those of us who prefer travel in the shoulder seasons in order to avoid crowds, Chania surprises.Here is an idyllic Mediterranean spot in the pre-tourist season that is already crammed with tourists.The surprise is that you too will likely never feel oppressed by the tourist throng, as you do in other places.Unlike Florence, Italy or certainly The Louvre, there is always room to spread out and enjoy what Chania has to offer.
If you are traveling to Chania in late April, expect comfortable 70+/- Fahrenheit degree weather that energizes instead of enervates. It is such perfect weather that the snow caps on mountains in the distance also surprise. There will likely be a stunning sunset every evening.You will never lack for food options any time of day. You too may need to scurry out of a museum when a school bus load arrives.If you are a shopper you’ll find trinkets to finery— it’s all there.
Walking into the neighborhoods is safe and doable, and sometimes rewards you with a newly excavated ancient ruin.
TIP: if you are using Chania as a base for a car trip launch, do know that there are many car rental agencies and it clearly pays to shop around.
A mosque along the harbor speaks to one of the many historic invasions of Chania and Crete overall
Just a few blocks from the Venetian harbor where some of the real residents of Chania live, you stumble upon an excavation-in-progress of a Minoan ruin
A retired light from the lighthouse, in Chania's Maritime Museum
Expect a stunning sunset on the Chania harbor
To best enjoy sunset, many enjoy climbing along the fortified wall to the Venetian harbor lighthouse
A small maritime museum reaches back to antiquity and then to modern times
Only a five minute walk from the harbor tourist strip, you find yourself in a neighborhood of mixed hotels and native's homes. Here, a view from the terrace window of basic but congenial hotel called THE JOY
