Greece's largest island — Minoan Knossós, the Samariá Gorge and a celebrated food tradition.
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About Crete
Crete is Greece’s largest island and almost a country of its own — high mountains, deep gorges, hundreds of beaches, and the cradle of Europe’s first advanced civilisation, the Minoans. Its food and hospitality…
Highlights
Don’t miss
Knossós
The vast Bronze-Age Minoan palace near Heráklion — the legendary labyrinth of King Minos.
Nature
Samariá Gorge
A 16km hike down one of Europe’s longest gorges, from the highlands to the Libyan Sea.
Beaches
Elafonísi & Bálos
Pink-tinged sand and shallow lagoons on the wild west coast.
Food & drink
Cretan cuisine
Dakos, wild greens, cheeses, raki and a diet studied worldwide for its health.
Town & villages
Chaniá & Réthymno
Two beautiful Venetian-Ottoman old towns wrapped around picturesque harbours.
Interesting spots
Spinalónga
A Venetian island fortress, later a leper colony, off the east coast.
Palm beach of Vái
Europe’s largest natural palm grove behind a tropical-looking beach.
See it for real
Photos from Wikimedia Commons — tap for source & licence.
Plan it
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