It is not possible to appraise Crete as a whole, through a simple text. We will try to give you a fraction of this great adventure that is called Crete, from the antiquity up to our days. Crete is the biggest island of Greece and the fifth biggest in the Mediterranean Basin. Chania, Rethymno, Heraklio, Lasithi are the prefectures of the island. The climate of Crete is probably the mildest in Europe, with almost 300 days of round the year sunshine.The strong northwesterly wind, the meltemi, moderates even the hottest months of July and August. Rainfall is rare during the summer months. The mountains that run across the island act as a barrier to the weather, often creating different conditions in northern and southern Crete. Three mountain ranges form a sort of spine stretching across the island. In western Crete, the Lefka Ori or White Mountains occupy a large area within the prefecture of Chania and contain more than 40 peaks over 2,000 meters high. , Crete is blessed with a fertile land providing from antiquity top quality products such as oil, wine, fruits and among others excellent meat.

Heraklio is the biggest of all the other cities of Crete with approximately 120,000 inhabitants. Arabians built it in 824 b.c and it was called Xandax. It is surrounded from old Venetian walls which have total length 5km. Their construction has started in 1462 and lasted for more than 100 years. It is the biggest and the most important fort of Europe. The city and the surroundings show a lot of sightseeing. From Heraklio’s port is carried on a big export commercial. The most important archeological monument of Heraklio is Knossos. Knossos is the site of the most important and better known palace of Minoan civilization. According to tradition, it was the seat of the legendary king Minos. The site was continuously inhabited from the Neolithic period (7000-3000 B.C.) until Roman times. Other well known Minoan palaces are Phaistos, Mallia, Zakros.

Chania is the capital city of the Municipality of Chania, with 60.000 inhabitants. They are built at the site of the ancient town of Kydonia, one of the oldest inhabited areas on the island. Its modern times name was given by the Arabs.

Rethymnon is a town of 25.000 inhabitants situated on the north coast of Crete. During the summer its population doubles because of the tourist activity . The main attractions of the area are, the mild weather conditions prevailing during most of the year, the long sandy beaches and the old town with its typical Cretovenetian and Ottoman buildings.

The prefecture of Lasithi occupies the far -eastern part of the island and it is divided into 8 municipalities: Agios Nikolaos, Ierapetra, Sitia, Neapoli, Makri Gialos, Lefki, Oropedio (Lasithi Plateau) and Itanos.It is embraced by three seas: the Cretan Sea in the north, the Libyan Sea in the south, the Carpathian Sea in the east, whilst in the west, the mountain range of Dikti prevails imposingly, spreading its verdant mountainsides down to the plains of Mirabello and those of Ierapetra, in a picturesque contrast.