16 WONDERFUL THINGS TO DO IN CHANIA: A CITY GUIDE.
One of my favourite things to do in a new city, is to imagine how it would have looked, felt and moved in the past. As I travel more, I notice that there are some places that make this exercise easy, and some near impossible. Many cities look so vastly different to the days of old, changed by modernity. Chania is not one of those.
Walk along the old harbour and the Venetian roots are still visible everywhere you look: in the pastel coloured buildings leaning into each other, in the lighthouse standing at the end of the breakwater, in the fort that’s guarded this stretch of coast for centuries.
Boats bob in the water below, much as they must have done generations ago. A former mosque, its dome unmistakable, now houses an art gallery instead of worshippers, a small sign of how the city has absorbed different chapters of its history rather than erasing them.
It’s rugged in places and quaint in others, sometimes both at once. In summer the heat can be oppressive, especially around the harbour where the sun beams straight off the water with nowhere to hide. But Chania makes it easy to cool off. Duck into one of the narrow shaded streets behind the front, or find a table outside a bakery, and the heat suddenly feels like less of a problem.
Between the harbour and the tangle of streets in the old town, there’s always another street worth turning on to. In this travel guide, you’ll find our tips for the best things to do in Chania, where to stay and where to eat.
Is Chania worth visiting and why?
As soon as I arrived in Chania, I knew I’d enjoy our time there. The city has a lot of what I love: an old town and historic harbour that still carries hints of its Venetian past, alongside a more modern side, with vibrant pockets of nightlife and a mix of traditional tavernas and upmarket restaurants. There’s a relaxed culture to it too.
Mornings where locals and tourists alike come out to beat the heat, or take a swim while the water’s still calm. It faces the sea and feels surrounded by blue, so you’re never too far from it. There’s a handy city beach, plus plenty more coves within walking distance. More places to eat and drink than you could ever get through. And a decent dose of culture, in the form of museums and galleries. It’s social, it’s vibrant, and it feels like a proper living city, even while being on a Greek island.
Compared to Rethymno, Chania felt more real. Larger, and more genuine. It’s also an excellent base for day trips, helped by a good bus network.
The cons: it’s busy. We visited in June, not quite peak season, and still found some areas overwhelmingly busy. That said, there are always quieter corners to retreat to if you look. It’s also not “idyllic” in the small-harbour-town sense. It’s a city, not a village. If you want that quieter, smaller-scale Greek island feel, you’ll find it elsewhere on Crete, just not in Chania.
16 best things to do in Chania
Here are 16 of the best things to do in Chania.
1/ Explore Chania’s beaches
Chania has more beach variety than you’d expect from a city break. Koum Kapi is the one right in the city, a small stretch backed by cafes, and ideal for a morning swim alongside the locals or a couple of hours in the late afternoon. I wouldn’t recommend it for a full day though, it’s more a top-up than a proper beach day.
Nea Chora is the nearest large beach, about 20 minutes on foot, with more space to spread out and a proper stretch of sand. My favourite is Iguana Beach, a smaller cove a short bus ride away, or a longer walk if you fancy it. It’s quieter, with clearer water, and worth the extra effort to get there.
You can find our full guide to the beaches near Chania here.
2/ Eat bakery treats
It’s hard to get through a day in a Greek city without a few baked items. And in Crete, it’s worth building in some proper time to try some baked morsels.
The pastry to know is bougatsa, a filo pastry filled with either sweet custard or savoury myzithra cheese and finished with sugar or cinnamon. Chania’s version specifically, bougatsa Chaniotiki, is the cheese-filled kind, and it’s said to have originated in the city itself.
Beyond bougatsa, look out for kalitsounia, small cheese pies traditionally filled with soft myzithra.
Tip: if you want to try more local delights, join a street food tour in Chania. We love a food tour as a great way to see the city on foot and eat – what’s not to love.
3/ Visit the archaeological museum
It’s quite expensive for what it is, but it’s a nice respite from the heat of the city, peaceful and genuinely interesting if you want to understand Crete’s history in more depth.
The museum itself is large, spacious and modern, and sits in a different part of town to the old harbour, so it doubles as a good excuse to see another side of Chania beyond the tourist core.
Be sure to say hello to the friendly museum cat often found hanging outside.
4/ Explore Tampakaria
Tampakaria is Chania’s old tannery district, on the rocky coastline just east of the old town, past Chalepa. The name comes from the Turkish word for tanneries.
The industry declined from the 1970s onwards, and today the neighbourhood is a mix of abandoned stone buildings, a few still-working tanneries, and others that have been converted into homes, boutique hotels and restaurants.
It’s close enough to the Archaeological Museum to combine into one outing, and feels like an up-and-coming pocket of the city, with a pretty spot to stop for a drink and even a swim if you fancy it.
5/ Cocktails at sunset
The Venetian Harbour has no shortage of lovely spots for an evening drink, but it’s worth knowing that not all of them get the same light. The area south of Porta Sabbionara is quieter and nicely shaded (we liked Little monkey), while the bars along the east side of the harbour are livelier and often still in full sun in the early evening.
Many of these do happy hours though, so it’s worth timing your visit around one if the sun’s an issue.
6/ Visit the smaller museums
It’s worth knowing that Chania has a few smaller museums that may appeal to niche interests. These are ideal if you want to spend a few hours indoors, or just get a change of scene.
There’s the Folklore museum of Chania (a bit like an ethnographic museum), which costs €4. Then the Venetian Monastery of St. Francis, which also contains a museum.
Perhaps one of the better known museums is the Maritime museum, an imposing building overlooking the harbour. Tickets cost €5. And finally, the Greek National Football Team Museum – we absolutely recommend this one. It is small but packed with so much memorabilia and entry is free.
7/ Explore the city galleries
For art fans, there are some lovely pop up style galleries dotted around Chania. We enjoyed browsing local art in Küçük Hasan Mosque, and in the Church of St. Rocco. For something more formal, the Municipal Art Gallery has comprehensive displays of Greek art.
8/ Dine in a taverna
Chania has more good restaurants than I could ever list, but if you’re after a traditional taverna, there are some excellent choices. We loved Kostas, which spills out onto the street close to Splantzia Square. Closer to the water, Plateia is a popular choice. Κάβουρας is another one worth trying with sea views.
9/ Slow morning coffee
No city break is complete without a slow morning coffee. Whether you want to find a lovely spot to read a book, journal, natter with a loved one or just watch people go by. My “go to” was the Chania sailing club – it has a wonderful view out to the harbour and sits nicely in the shade in the morning.
Further into town, Monogram is a trendy spot with tables outside, as is Kross coffee roasters. Tempo café serves marvellous juices in a lovely shaded terrace.
10/ Get lost in the old town
The old town is a proper tangle of streets, easy to lose yourself in for an hour or more without really trying. Leather Street is worth a browse if you’re after shopping, and much of the old town is draped in bougainvillea in season, which makes for some of the prettiest backstreet walking in the city.
11/ Wander the Venetian Harbour
Walking the harbour walls early in the morning is one of my favourite things to do here. It’s peaceful, and you can properly escape into your own thoughts before the crowds arrive.
Come back at night though, and the harbour becomes something else entirely, properly electric with lights reflecting off the water and everyone out for the evening.
While you’re wandering, keep an eye out for the floating boat shops selling shells. We were quite mesmerised watching these.
12/ See the lighthouse
Chania’s lighthouse sits at the end of the harbour’s long breakwater and is one of the oldest lighthouses still standing anywhere in the world. It was built in the 1500s and then rebuilt in the 1800s in the the shape of a minaret. It stands 21 metres tall, and the walk out along the breakwater takes 30 to 40 minutes there and back. Go early for the quiet, or in the evening for the light.
13/ Sit in Splantzia Square
Splantzia Square quickly became one of my favourite areas of Chania. I’m not quite sure why, but we kept gravitating towards this area.
There’s a friendly bakery sitting on the corner of the square, which serves savoury items like Spinach Pie and sweet bits too – we loved the lemon meringue. Just be sure to always give a rousing good morning to the ladies serving behind the counter for the best treatment.
By night, the square is a buzz of restaurants and bars. We loved Vermuteria, a specialist vermouth bar that often has a lowkey DJ playing in the evening.
14/ See Chania’s history
I loved wandering around Chania and discovering pockets of history along the way. The first thing to notice is the old city walls – Byzantine Walls Of Chania, which you can catch glimpses of. The Kastelli archaeological site is also worth a walk by – it’s totally open to view and you can find some helpful information boards there too.
15/ Watch a movie outdoors
The Open Air Movie Theater Attikon is a perfect late-night treat, and the kind of thing we rarely get to do back home. Well worth building into an evening if the timing works out and there’s something on you fancy.
16/ Take a day trip
Chania is also a great base for day trips. Samaria Gorge, Phalasarna, Kissamos, the Botanical Gardens and Elafonisi are all within reach if you want to see more of the island beyond the city itself.
Where to stay in Chania
If you’re visiting Chania, we would recommend staying close to the Old Town. Here are a few great options to suit different budgets:
BUDGET: For budget travellers, we recommend staying around the city beach area. This tends to be less expensive than by the harbour, with the added bonus of a short walk to the beach. For example, Bouquet Luxury Rooms.
MID-RANGE: Porto Veneziano Hotel – lovely location close to the harbour but not too noisy at night.
LUXURY: Domus Renier Boutique Hotel – a 5 star boutique hotel with magnificent views.
Written by Emma
Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.
British travel writer and long-distance hiker, native to Kent. Emma has walked the Camino de Santiago more than ten times, completed trails across Europe from the Corfu Trail to the Fisherman’s Trail, and covered thousands of kilometres on foot. She always writes from first-hand experience. Her goal? Inspire just one person to go on their first long-distance hike.
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