What to do in Chania (Xania), Crete, Greece

Chania (pronounced Hania) is a town in the North West of Crete, a Greek island which is the fifth largest in the Mediterranean and is about 100 miles south of the Greek Mainland.

We recently visited – it was our first trip abroad on our own (without the grandparents) with Nellie and we chose it for a number of reasons.

• It’s only a 4-hour flight from the UK.
• It is one of the most southerly islands in Europe so the climate would be warm in March, not too cold or hot for baby Nellie!
• It is only a two hour time difference from the UK.  (With a little baby, we didn’t want to upset her sleep cycle so we just stayed on English time and got up two hours later and went to sleep two hours later – it worked perfectly).  We got a lie-in in the mornings and got to have dinner at a reasonable time (8 PM) rather than the 6 PM we usually eat when at home with Nellie.

The climate in Crete is a Mediterranean one, even though it is also very close to Africa.  When we went (at the end of March), temperatures were around 18C-22C which was a lovely temperature during the day but could get a bit chilly at night.  Whilst driving around we found it strange to see snow-capped mountain ranges when we’d been sunbathing a few hours earlier but our taxi driver told us the mountains always have snow on them even in the height of summer.  Summer temperatures tend to be in the 30Cs and can even get above 40C.

We chose Crete as it really does have everything – history, beautiful beaches, mountains, vineyards, lakes, amazing food and wine and a fun family atmosphere!

So read on to discover what to do in Chania if you’re planning a trip there.

Top Tips for Chania

Weather – The season in Chania doesn’t start until mid-April.  We went in late March and many of the restaurants were still closed.  They were obviously getting ready for the season with a lot of building work and painting etc going on but there were an awful lot of places that just weren’t open yet.  However, plenty of restaurants in the town were open but not a lot of restaurants in the more touristy destinations and at the beach locations.

Getting around – Hire a car!  There is so much to see and do around Chania (and further afield) that a car is definitely the best way to get around. Driving in Chania is definitely an experience though – the streets are tiny, everyone is double-parked and there are a lot of one-way streets so be aware!

Tipping – tipping is not necessarily expected but still appreciated.  We ended up rounding everything to the nearest €5 or leaving a few euros behind for great service at bars and restaurants.

Wine – If you’re not after a specific wine then order a carafe of the house wine.  This usually only costs around €5 and is very pleasant – we never had a bad wine when ordering this way.

Food – Portions are big! Most food is made to share and starters are large, as are salads.  Dan and I normally like to order a few things and share them and people looked at us strangely the first time we ordered a few starters to share.  We were expecting tapas-style portions but they were main course sized.  We ended up towards the end of the week ordering a main course each and a salad to share which was plenty!

Don’t bother ordering dessert.  At the end of every meal, in most places, you get served a complimentary portion of the house dessert (usually a kind of honey and polenta pudding) along with a few shots of the local spirit Raki (a kind of Grappa).

If you want to see the sunset while sipping a cocktail or eating your meal – stick to the bars on the western side of the harbour as the ones on the eastern side don’t get the evening sun.

Just a heads-up, if you have young kids, there is no barrier between the restaurants and bars of the Venetian Port, and the sea itself.  It’s just pavement and then a drop-down to the ocean.  For this reason, we bought reins for Nellie (don’t judge me – I was desperate) as she was just starting to walk around at this point (but after a few days she worked out not to go near the edge!)

Getting to Chania, Crete

Chania has its own airport which is a 25-minute drive away from the main town but it is a small regional airport with limited flights.  Alternatively, you can fly to the main airport in Heraklion but then it is a 3-4 hour drive to get to Chania.

Where to stay in Chania

We chose to stay right in the middle of Chania town as we wanted to be able to walk to the Venetian Harbour and the seafront.  We stayed at the Samaria Hotel (4*) and it was less than 5 minutes to the harbour and the majority of the bars and restaurants.  It was also about a 10-minute walk to Nea Chora Beach which is the closest beach to Chania.

We chose our hotel as it had a pool and I wanted Nellie to be able to swim but then the weather actually wasn’t nice enough and as the pool was outdoor and not heated we didn’t use it at all.  The staff were lovely, especially at breakfast and they loved chatting with Nellie.  She loved the buffet breakfast which was extremely plentiful with everything you would expect.  Hot bacon, sausages and eggs etc sat next to Cretan delicacies such as cheesy pastries and spinach tarts.  There were croissants, pastries and toasts along with Greek sweets and sesame seed treats.  Fruit, greek yoghurt and cheese were what we opted for most mornings and Nellie definitely prefers a continental breakfast.  She loved being able to eat cheese in the morning!

For other accommodation options you can click here.

What to do in Chania

Chania is well-known for its beautiful 14th-century Venetian harbour.  It’s the centre of the town and a great place to eat, drink and people watch.  Take a breakfast of greek yoghurt and fruit at the port with to start your day, have a sunset cocktail before dinner or head to one of the bars for drinks and a nightcap.  It’s busy and bustling all day long and has every type of restaurant you could want.

We also enjoyed wandering the back streets of the Old Town known as The Topanas.  This area has many narrow alleys and old buildings, some of which have been restored as hotels, restaurants, shops, and bars.  There are lots of souvenir shops to browse and it’s generally cooler as the tiny alleyways are always in shade.  The restaurants here are a bit more traditional, cheaper and full of locals as they aren’t the tourist traps that some of the restaurants around the port are.

Chania Town has two beaches that are easily walkable.  Nea Chora is West of the Venetian Harbour and is the one that we liked the most and where we spent a lot of time.  It’s a big stretch of white sand and crystal clear water and there are plenty of beach bars and restaurants lining the pavement.  You can lie on the sand or hire sun lounges and umbrellas from restaurants or hotels.  On the East of the Port is Koum Kpi Beach.  This beach is quite tidal and was pretty much covered by the sea on the day that we went.  The beach is on a different level from the bars and restaurants so even when the tide is in you can still visit these for a delicious lunch.  Just be sure to check the tides before you plan a day there!

Hire a boat or go on a cruise from Chania Harbour.. Plenty of boats depart the harbour all day long offering different types of excursions from sailing to glass-bottomed boats to sunset cruises.  You can also hire your own boat to explore the coastline offering a completely different way to see the town.  There are fishing expeditions and snorkelling opportunities too – if you head down to the harbour you can see all the boards promoting all the different trips you can do.

Standing proud at the entrance to the Venetian Port is the 16th-century lighthouse which has Venetian, Egyptian and Ottoman influences.  You can climb the lighthouse and see the breathtaking views of the whole of Chania.  Best to do this early in the morning before the heat gets too much!

Opposite, the Maritime Museum has model ships, naval objects and photographs. This former monastery of St. Francis houses the Archaeological Museum of Chania in a beautiful building.  There are many floors, each covering a different era from the Greco-Persian War all the way up to World War 2.  A great resource of information and amazing views aswell!

Where to eat and drink in Chania

There were so so many restaurants to take your pick from in Chania.  All around the edge of the Venetian harbour are plenty of places to eat and drink.  We had drinks in a few of them but mainly avoided them for food as they felt quite touristy (I tend to avoid menus with pictures of the meals on them).  Below are just a few that we visited and enjoyed:

9 Beaufort – One of our favourite lunchtime restaurants.  It was situated just around the corner from the Venetian Harbour on Nea Chora beach.  We found this gem on our first day and ended up going back three times!  The fish was deliciously fresh – we had a delicious grilled sea bream and the salads were enormous.  They also did a great house wine by the carafe for €5 (bargain).  We loved that it was situated right by the beach and overlooking the old fishing harbour where you could see all the fishing boats come in with their catch of the day.

La Bodega – this was our home from home whilst in Chania.  In fact, I think we went every night except 2 or 3.  The owner Nikolaos made us feel so welcome on our first visit that we kept going back.  Their wine list consists of over 90 Greek wines and we sampled a fair few of them over the course of the holiday.  The staff were so knowledgeable and got to know our wine taste and so were able to recommend wines that they knew we would love. It is definitely more of a bar than a restaurant but the food was incredible too.  It was simply done but the produce was just such good quality that everything tasted delicious.  Definitely order the charcuterie and cheese platter – it was enormous!

Pallas – we went here for Dan’s birthday as we’d been recommended it for a special occasion by our hotel staff.  Even though we ate at 8pm we were still some of the first people to order food, most people were still just having drinks.  The food was good, a lot more fine dining than other places around the port.  Truffle risottos, delicious grilled meats and fresh fish.  They have an amazing rooftop for dining on during high season but it wasn’t open when we were there.  They also have a great in-house deli and bakery so you can buy products to take away too!

Barbarossa (next door to Pallas) was definitely the most buzzing bar on the port.  We didn’t actually drink here as we had Nellie with us but I loved the vibe and the fact that some of the tables were set up on a little bridge that stuck out into the sea – a very romantic setting.  Apparently, they do the best cocktails around so may be worth a visit!

Ta Chalkina restaurant which is located near Pallas and Barbarossa – We ate there the first night as it bills itself as serving Modern Cretan fare.  The food was exactly this – it had all the traditional Cretan flavours but with a bit of added flair.  Spicy watermelon marmalade and snails sit on the menu amongst traditional Dakos salad and Boureki.  The portions were enormous too (share a starter)!

Oinoa – amazing fine dining.  It was the most beautiful building – like an old-fashioned dining room with a fabulous view out of the window over the sea.  In the summer you can eat outside in the garden which has the same beautiful view! The food was the best we ate in Chania and the owner was so lovely. She had great wine knowledge and an interesting wine list.

There was one place we went to (Neoria Fish Tavern) that left a bit of a bad taste in our mouths.  We ordered the fish of the day and Dan was even shown the fish we would be served.  When it came out it was half the size they had shown us and we were charged an awful lot for it – it was the most expensive fish we ate all week.  It felt like we’d been had and that they thought we were stupid tourists who they could rip off.

Some others that I’ve heard are good but didn’t get the chance to try are:

Ginger Concept

Salis

The Well of the Turk

Tamam

Day trips from Chania

Vineyard visit – Having never really tried any Cretan wines before we weren’t expecting much but after a few dinners out, trying various local wines from the list we realised that some were actually quite special.  We decided to visit a vineyard one day for a tasting and to learn a bit more about Cretan winemaking.  We drove to Manousakis Winery which was about a 20 minute drive away as we’d tried some of their wines in La Bodega and were already fans of their Nostos Rousanne, Syrah and Blend wines.

Dan & I chose their extended tasting of 7 wines and tasted 3 whites, a rosé and 3 reds.  We also had a delicious lunch of charcuterie, slow-roasted lamb and various Greek salads, all within the setting of a beautiful peaceful olive grove.  You can also take a tour around the winery to learn a bit more but Nellie decided to fall asleep so we had to skip that bit!  There are plenty of wineries dotted all over the island and it’s really worth a visit to one for a fun and informative day out.

You can get a boat direct from Chania that will take you to Balos Lagoon, one of Crete’s most beautiful beaches.  you can also drive to Balos Lagoon but the car park is quite a walk away and the route down to the lagoon is very steep and rocky so by taking a boat you get to cut this bit out.  The tour will also take you to Gramvousa Fortress.  Top tips – get there early as the beach fills up quickly.  Bring reef shoes as the lagoon floor can be a bit rocky and you can also rent sunbeds and a sunshade for €15.

A trip to Lake Kournas.  This is a freshwater lake about a 45-minute drive from Chania and is a lovely place for a day out.  You can take a picnic or eat in one of the many bars and restaurants that surround the banks of the lake.  In summer, the water is wonderfully warm and there are turtles and plenty of wildlife to see.  You can also hire pedal boats or stand-up paddleboards.  Well worth a trip – we went in off-season so not much was open but we could still appreciate how beautiful the Lake and surrounding area is.

From Chania you can take a day trip to Elafonissi Beach which is known as one of the world’s most beautiful beaches due to its pink sands.  It is a very popular destination though so get there early to avoid the crowds and bag a sunbed.  It has been called the Maldives of Europe due to its crystal clear waters which are shallow and calm, so great for little ones to swim in.  You could also go after 4pm when the crowds disperse if you want a less crowded experience.  Plenty of restaurants and bars, shops to buy beach items and even freshwater showers.

Falasarna Beach was recommended to us by our hotel and was about an hour’s drive away from Chania.  It was a huge beach with white sands and a few beach bars dotted around, which were unfortunately closed when we went due to it being off-season.  It’s a great one for kite surfers and windsurfers and the sunsets from there are absolutely epic.

Take a day trip to Santorini – I saw this advertised and it sounded amazing but we decided against it as it’s a long boat ride (3 hours each way) which we didn’t think would go down well with Nellie.  It’s definitely something I would do if we weren’t taking Nellie as Santorini is somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit.

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