Aptera

On the road from Chania to Rethymno (approximately on the 16th km), there is one of the most important archaeological and historical sites in western Crete, the ancient city of Aptera. On this site lies a Turkish fort, from which the view of Souda bay is outstanding. Besides this fort, there are also in the region Roman and Hellenistic findings : 2 roman water reservoirs, the ruins of a roman theatre and the ruins of a small Hellenic temple that dates from approximately 200 B.C.

Moni(Monastery) Chrissoskalitissa

Moni Chrissoskalitissa is found on the south-west of the prefecture of Chania, near the beautiful beach of Elafonissi. Tradition says that one of the 90 steps that lead to the top of the monastery is golden, but can be seen only by him who is sinless! This is why the monastery is called Chryssoskalitissa (chrysso=golden , skali=step). Today, there are just a few nuns in the monastery, but the view of the surrounding area is outstanding!

The ancient city of Falassarna

The ancient city lies right by the wonderful beach of Falassarna. The long excavations that have taken place, have exposed parts of the walls and buildings of the city. During the past, Falassarna was a commercial and naval power, because of its harbour. Except for the harbour and the walls that protected the buildings on the hill, two towers have been found: one on the north and one on the south side of the harbour.

German Cemetery at Maleme

About 3 km away from the village of Maleme, a german cemetery can be found. 4465 German soldiers are buried in this cemetery. Those soldiers (paratroopers mostly) fell during the battle of Crete, in 1941 (World War 2). The Germans wanted to occupy the airport of Maleme, so they dropped thousands of troopers in the area. The Allied forces manage to kill the majority of those German soldiers.

The gorge of Samaria

The gorge of Samaria, which is 16 km long, is the biggest gorge in Europe and lies on the south part of the prefecture of Chania. The gorge begins from a village called Omalos and ends to the beach of Agia Roumeli. If you want to walk through the gorge you have to take one of the early busses that leave from the town of Chania to Omalos. Then, you walk for 5 hours approximately through spots of great beauty and you finally reach the beach of Agia Roumeli, from where you can take a little boat and head to Chora Sfakion or Paleochora, from where you can take the bus back to Chania.