11 Best things to see & do in Crete

Considered the oldest city in Europe, this royal palace was a Bronze Age centre of commerce and culture. The centre of Minoan civilisation, Knossos was also home to the legendary Minotaur.

One of Europe’s most famous hikes, a 16km trail running through Crete’s most iconic canyon, from the 1200m Omalos plateau down to the Libyan Sea; freshwater springs, abandoned villages, isolated chapels and 450 species of flora and fauna.

A dramatic 7.5-kilometre hike through a sheer gorge that takes you from a ghost village to a remote beach in the province of Sfakia.

Second only to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the astonishing collection focuses on Minoan art. Highlights are: vivid frescoes from Knossos,  tablets inscribed with the syllabic Linear B script, and the enigmatic Phaistos disc whose spiral pictograms and signs have yet to be deciphered.

Crete’s luminous ‘blue lagoon’, Balos is a shallow turquoise bay with powdery sand that could be in the Caribbean. It’s a bumpy, dusty 40-minute drive down a dirt road, followed by a 30-minute hike down to the photogenic beach. For a more relaxed experience, sail there from Kissamos port with Balos Sailing.

Lepers were once marooned on this tiny island opposite Elounda. Uninhabited since 1957, it’s now a haunting national monument, accessible by fishing boat or on a day cruise. Go early: the crowds and heat get pretty intense by midday.

Seasonal, local, and traditional, Cretan food is phenomenally fresh and tasty. Don’t miss home-grown produce, especially olive oil, honey, wine, and cheese.

Cretan wine has come a long way since the days of home-made retsina. At the exceptionally well-run Manousakis winery, not far from Chania, tastings, pairings, and cooking classes take place in a beautiful olive and orange grove. Before you go, pick up beautifully packaged olive oil, tsikoudia (Cretan grappa), and sea salt, along with a case of the excellent Nostos Pink rosé.

In the hamlet of Paidohori, in the foothills of the White Mountains, Manousos Chalkiadakis moulds and throws clay into collectable homeware and sculpture. As well as decorative boats, pomegranates, and fish, you’ll find beautiful stoneware lamps and Cycladic-style figurines. Pottery workshops can also be arranged.

More than a religious landmark, this 16th-century monastery is a symbol of the Cretan struggle for independence from Ottoman rule. In 1866, hundreds of locals took refuge inside the monastery, but were besieged by Turkish troops; rather than surrendering, they blew themselves (and their enemies) up. The fortress-like compound is still inhabited by a handful of monks.

With a terrace overlooking the sea, a wood-fired oven, and meat and cheese from the owner’s own flock of goats and sheep, this lovely taverna on Marmara beach is as authentically Cretan as it gets. Order braised lamb tsigaristo, boureki (baked, layered vegetables with feta), dakos, and loukoumades (honey-drenched donuts) for dessert.