Luxury hotels in Crete

12 hand-picked hotels with breakfast, upgrades and hotel credit when you book with us.

Crete guide

Crete: Knossos and the beaches of Elafonissi and Balos

The palace of the Minotaur, pink-sand lagoons, Chania's Venetian harbour and the Samaria Gorge.

The Palace of Knossos, the centre of Minoan civilisation and the legendary home of the Minotaur, is Crete's most cited sight; go at opening with a guide, and see its frescoes and treasures in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The beaches of Balos Lagoon and Elafonissi, with pink-tinged sand, are the classic days by the sea.

Chania's Venetian harbour and old town are the island's most beautiful, and the Samaria Gorge, one of Europe's longest, is walked from May to October. Crete is large, so we usually suggest staying in two areas.

Chania and its Venetian harbour

Chania's Venetian harbour, with its Egyptian-style lighthouse, colourful waterfront houses and the domed Mosque of the Janissaries, is one of the most cited sights in Crete and especially beautiful at sunset. The old town's lanes hide restored Venetian mansions and craft workshops.

Chania is also the island's food capital, with restaurants serving dakos, boureki and slow-cooked lamb, and the covered municipal market. Balos, Falassarna and Elafonissi beaches and the Samaria Gorge are all reached from here.

Spinalonga and Elounda

Spinalonga, a small island off Elounda fortified by the Venetians and used as a leper colony until 1957, is one of the most cited sights in eastern Crete, made famous by Victoria Hislop's novel The Island. Boats from Elounda and Plaka reach it in minutes.

Elounda and Mirabello Bay are home to some of Greece's most celebrated luxury resorts, and the harbour town of Agios Nikolaos, with its lake, is close by. The Minoan palace of Knossos is about an hour west.

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