The city of Chania
The city of Chania
The city of Chania can be divided into two parts: the old town and the modern city which is the larger one. Chania's Old Town is considered the most beautiful urban district on Crete. It is next to the old Venetian harbour and is the matrix around which the whole urban area was developed. It used to be surrounded by the old Venetian fortifications; of them the eastern and western parts have survived. This part of the city is full of old buildings and narrow streets that reflect a large part of this city’s Mediterranean history and are full of small shops that sell local products and various handcrafts.
There is a selection of food choices, with plenty of them serving traditional Cretan specialities and a number of foreign cuisine restaurants. Most of them are gathered in the Old Town, Nea Hora and Koum Kapi, the coastal areas of the town, however there are several choices around the city as well.
Near Chania there are numerous options for sightseeing, exploration and discovery. In the summertime swimming is the main activity due to the beautiful sandy beaches that expand for many kilometres. Mountain villages provide a view into the "inner Crete". Samaria is a famous gorge, at the south part, that can be walked along. Archaeological remains can be seen in many other places of the prefecture like ancient Minoa in Marathi of Akrotiri, the temple of Diktynna in Menies, the Hellenistic remains in Rokka, the Roman residences with the mosaic floors in Kissamos, the agrarian sanctuary of Poseidon in Tsiskiana, ancient Elyros in Rodovani and ancient Tarra at the exit of Samaria Gorge.
How do I get to the city?
By plane
Chania are directly connected to Athens and Thessalonica by Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines and to other Greek islands by SkyExpress. From April to early November, there are many direct charter flights to Chania from the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and other European countries.
“K. Daskalogiannis” International Airport is situated on the Akrotiri peninsula, 20 min from Chania. The average taxi fare to go to the city is around 15 euros and there are also some infrequent local buses.
By bus
Bus station (KTEL) is in the centre of the city near the 1866 square. You can travel by bus to all the cities, the villages and the beaches within the prefecture of Chania and to every major city of Crete.
By ferry
The port for ferries from Chania is in Souda (7 Km), a few minutes away
. Ferries sail to and from Athens (Piraeus) daily all year around. The ships are from ANEK lines and the duration of the journey is around 9 hours. From March to October there is a high-speed catamaran from Hellenic Seaways that makes the same route daily in 4.5 hours.
The ferries sail when the weather conditions are not very windy and are considered suitable and stable. If the weather is bad, sailings will be cancelled (not often - but there are a few such days every year, especially during the winter), and you should be accommodated on the next available sailing.
How do I move around Chania?
Chania is not a large city, so you can move around easily on foots, but if you like to go to the most distant parts of the city there are local buses. The bus stop is in front of the main market and the telephone is: 28210-27044.
You can also hire a taxi; the minimum fare is at 2.70 euro. The main taxi station is at the 1866 square in the centre of the city and there are also radio taxis which charge 1.50 euro extra. Radio taxi tel: 28210-98700-1, 98770, 94300, 87700.
Timetables
Shops open from 09:00 or 09:30 until 14:30 and on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday reopen at 05:00 or 05:30 until 20:30 or 21:00. Tourist shops that are located in the old part of the city are usually open from 09:00 or 09:30 to late at night.
Climate
The climate is usually good in Chania and it does not rain very often. Day time peak temperatures during winter range from 9 to 18 degrees Celsius.
Money
The official currency in Greece is the euro. There are bank notes of 5€, 10€, 20€, 50€, 100€, 200€ and 500€ and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1€ and 2€.
Communication
There are a lot of public phone boxes all over town that work with phone cards, which can be bought at small shops (periptero) or tourist shops. There are internet cafés, where you can use the internet for a modest fee.
Useful phone numbers
Police:
100
Emergency telephone number: 166
Tourist police: Tel: 28210- 53333, 28708
Hospital: 28210-27000-9
EOT (Greek Tourism Organization): Tel: 28210-92943, 92624
Souda port: Tel: 28210-89240
Airport: Tel: 28210-63245, 83800
KTEL (buses): 28210-93306, 93305, 93052, 93024
Local buses: 28210-27044
Radio taxi: 28210-98700-1, 98770, 94300, 87700
Aegean airlines: 28210.63366
Olympic airlines: 28210.57701-3
Sky Express: 2810-223500/800
ANEK lines: 28210.27500-4
Hellenic Seaways: 210.4199000, 4199100
Useful links
Municipality of Chania: www.chania.gr
Chania airport: www.hcaa-eleng.gr/chania.htm
Tourism Promotion Commitee:
www.chaniacrete.gr
Olympic Airlines:
www.olympicairlines.com
Aegean Airlines:
www.aegeanairlines.com
Sky Express:
www.skyexpress.gr
ANEK lines:
www.anek.gr
Hellenic Seaways:
www.hellenicseaways.gr
Wheather informations:
www.meteo.gr
Informations about ferries:
www.ferries.gr