Que faire a Rethymnon

In town

• The Fortezza - the huge Venetian fortress above the harbour, best an hour before sunset.
• The Venetian harbour - small, photogenic and lined with fish restaurants; check prices before sitting down.
• The old town lanes - Vernardou, Arabatzoglou and the Rimondi fountain.
• The town beach - sand, straight out of the centre, and it runs for kilometres east.

Inland from Rethymno

• Arkadi monastery - the national symbol of Cretan resistance, 25 minutes into the hills.
• The Amari valley - a loop of stone villages under Psiloritis; the best half-day drive in the region.
• Margarites - a pottery village where the workshops are still working ones.
• Preveli and the palm river beach on the south coast - about an hour, with a steep walk down.

Beaches near Rethymno

East of town the sand runs almost unbroken to Panormo and Bali, with easy parking and shallow water. West and south the coast turns dramatic: Plakias, Damnoni and Preveli are within an hour's drive and feel like a different island.

Getting here and around

Rethymno is roughly an hour from Heraklion airport and an hour from Chania airport, so either works. The old town is pedestrianised - park in the paid areas near the beach or the fortress. Everything inland needs a car; buses serve the coast road only.