Elounda
Elounda on Crete's north coast is a popular holiday town with a pretty harbour, from where you can take day trips by boat to see the island of Spinalonga.
Like Malia, Elounda is a mix of the ancient and the modern. It has a long and rich history, but today it is mainly known as a popular beach resort if not quite as loud and abrasive as Malia. There are several large luxury hotels as you approach the town, including some of the best resorts on Crete, and an attractive harbour with some good restaurants.
The Harbour at Elounda
Olous
Elounda is on the site of what was a city-state known as Olous, and the remains of this site are visible just beneath the surface of the waters between Elounda and the Spinalonga peninsula, joined by a causeway from where the remains can be seen.
Olous had one of the most important harbours in eastern Crete, and it is known that there are at least two temples beneath the waters. It is thought that the city was destroyed in about the 2nd century BC, when immense land movements caused several areas of eastern Crete to sink below the waves, while the opposite happened in parts of western Crete.
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
The Venetians
On either side of the causeway are also the remnants of Venetian salt pans, as it was the Venetians who developed Elounda as a port in 1579. Its advantages were – and still are – that the harbour is well sheltered by the protective peninsula.
On the peninsula itself, which is a good place to escape most of the crowds, there is a church which was once part of Ancient Olous, which still has some of its original frescoes and from where, if the light is right, you can make out parts of the old harbour beneath the waves.
Spinalonga
Offshore from Elounda is Spinalonga Island, which also helps protect the bay and is where the Venetians built their protective fortress. It was such a stronghold that this was the last place on Crete to surrender to the Turks, in 1714, some forty years later than most of the rest of Crete.
From 1903 to 1957 the island was renowned throughout Greece as a leper colony, and a thriving town built up, the ruins of which can still be seen. It is a haunting spot, filed with the ghosts of the people who lived out there lives here, in enforced isolation.
The Island
Spinalonga became better-known in recent years as the setting for Victoria Hislop's best-selling novel, The Island. You can take day trips to explore the island from the harbour at Elounda.
Boat Trip to SpinalongaOther Crete pages
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The Diktean or Diktaean Cave, also known as the Psychro Cave, near the village of Psychro in eastern Crete, is said to be the birthplace of Zeus.
Driving on Crete
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Gortina ancient archaeological site in southern Crete
Ancient Gortina is an archaeological site in southern Crete famous for the church of Ayios Titos and for the Law Code inscribed here, the first in Europe.
Eco-Tourism Accommodation on Crete
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Rethymnon in Western Crete
Rethymnon is the third-largest city in Crete and has a Venetian fortress, Archaeological Museum, Old Town area and Venetian harbour,
Rouvas Gorge Walk
This Rouvas Gorge walk starts and ends in Zaros in southern Crete and should take three to four hours with a distance of eight kilometres or five miles.
Matala Beach
Matala Beach on Crete is a guest blog for Greece Travel Secrets from the We Love Crete website, inviting you to Awaken Your Inner Hippy in Matala, Crete.
Where to Stay in Irakleio
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Irakleio, the capital of Crete, including nearby beach resort hotels and accommodation in the city centre.
Cretan Writers and Artists
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Crete Festivals and Events
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Central Crete in Three Days
Driving central Crete in three days gives you time to see the highlights including the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos, the beaches and the Diktean Cave.
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Greece Travel Secrets goes hiking in southwest Crete with Ramblers Walking Holidays based in Paleohora and hiking the E4 footpath and to Anidri and Azogires.
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