General Information

The city of Chania constitutes of the old and the new city. It is the administrative centre of the homonym prefecture of Chania the most western in Crete.

The old city was built in the 13th century from Venetians, on the ruins of ancient Kydonia. In the old city you will see the impressive old Venetian harbor and its lighthouse, from the 16th century that was reconstructed by Egyptians in the 19th century and functions until today. The Fortress Firkas that was used to protect the entry of the harbour. Here in December 1913 the Greek flag was raised to state the union of Crete with Greece.
The Jewish quarter with the synagogue and the Venetian mansions. Megalo Arsenali that accomodates the Centre of Mediterranean Architecture and is the bigger of the seven enclosed shipyards. Splatzia, the Turkish quarter with the minaret of Ahmet Aga in the church of Saint Nikolaos that had been changed into a mosque from the Turks.
Santrivani square where the intellectual and artistic world of Crete used to gather. The church San Salvatore that accomodates the Byzantine collection. In the aristocratic district of Halepa where prince Georgios used to stay and also the house of Elefterios Venizelos in the same region. On the hill Kasteli where the acropolis of ancient Kydonia was were discovered ceramics from the Neolithic and Roman periods.

The new city that unfolds round the old has very good town planning and is very functional.