Premium Chania car rental and Crete travel attractions
March 30, 2022
Top Chania car rentals and Crete travel attractions? Chania Car Rentals offer the most competitive prices for car rental in Chania with no hiden costs. In Chania Car Rentals we offer economical and reliable car rental in all Chania prefecture and in other prefectures of Crete. Such as Chania Airport, Chania city, Kolympari, Platanias, Stalos, Georgoupoli, kalamaki, Agia Marina, Kissamos, Akrotiri,Vamos, Kalyves, Almirida, Kavros, Rethymnon and Heraklion. You can choose to pick up or return your rental car in any part of Chania, Rethymnon or Heraklion. See extra details at Chania car rental.
Heraklion is the island’s capital and a pleasant surprise for first-time visitors. The Old Town is a maze of lovely pedestrian streets lined with shops and restaurants. Huge trees provide ample shade in the squares, where you can linger over a coffee for hours at an outdoor café. Heraklion is also an obvious base for visiting Knossos and exploring central Crete. Like many of Crete’s finest coastal towns, it gained its present layout under the Venetians, who ruled from 1204 to 1669, a period which saw a considerable cultural flowering on the island, producing artists such as El Greco, from Fódele, near Heraklion. The noted 20th-century writer, Nikos Kazantzakis (author of Zorba the Greek, 1946) was also from Heraklion, and you can see his tomb within the old town walls.
The Minoan Palace of Phaistos: If you don’t fancy doing battle with the crowds at Knossos Palace, this fabulous, but much less crowded, site is a must-see. It’s in the south of Heraklion, on the Messara Plain near Matala Beach. It is believed that the brother of King Minos, Rhadamanthus, built the palace for his own pleasure. The Phaistos Disc was found here, and those with puzzle-solving brains may want to take a careful look at the characters inscribed on it, which remain undeciphered. Heading to Chania? You’ll undoubtedly end up heading to the pink-sand beaches of Elafonisi on the southwest coast. But before you run splashing into the sea, stop in to Chrisoskalitissa Monastery (bring a scarf to cover your shoulders). This important religious and historical site was built to venerate the Virgin Mary. The name means “golden step” and refers to the belief that one of the steps leading to the monastery was made of gold, but only those without sin could see it.
Located some 5 km (3 miles) south of Heraklion, the Palace of Knossos is the most important and best known Minoan site in Crete. Knossos is also often associated with the legend of the Athenian hero Theseus killing the Minotaur. The great palace was built gradually between 1700 and 1400 BC, with periodic rebuildings after destruction until it was devastated once and for all by fire. Knossos incorporated numerous rooms such as the Throne Room, named for a large chair that is built into the wall, facing several benches. The main function of the palace is still under debate. It could have been used primarily as an administrative or a religious center.
The Minoan palace is a monumental residential complex that centers on a vast courtyard, where it seems they staged “Bull-Leaping,” an activity that involved running towards a bull, grabbing it by the horns, and somersaulting over it. Knossos was abandoned around 1450 BC. Archaeologists are not sure why-it may have been a catastrophic earthquake following the volcanic explosion on Santorini, or perhaps Crete was ravaged by invaders. Whatever the cause, the Minoans completely disappeared. Rimmed by beautiful beaches and looking across scenic Mirabello Bay, Agios Nikolaos is a charming small city on the north coast of eastern Crete, about 65 kilometers east of Heraklion. Although it is definitely a tourist town, it feels much less touristy than places like Chania. Discover additional info on chaniacar.com.