Is Chania Worth Visiting? A Guide to Crete’s Most Charming City
Just so you know: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a booking or purchase, I may earn a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
We arrived in Chania on a warm June evening, seven of us including my four year old daughter and a very pregnant me, and somehow made it to a restaurant just in time for the sunset. That side of Crete catches them all and the sky was something else.
Our villa was on a quiet residential street in Nea Chora, a family home that had been converted, absolutely stunning, with the beach literally at the bottom of the road. It set the tone for the whole trip.
Chania itself was more than I expected. Sandy beaches, scorching heat, and an Old Town that was genuinely beautiful in a way that surprised me, all sandstone and terracotta rather than the white buildings I’d associated with Greece, shaped by centuries of Venetian and Turkish influence.
So is Chania worth visiting? For us, without question. It’s relaxed, walkable, great with kids, and the food alone is worth the trip. Here’s everything you need to know before you go.
If you’re starting to plan your trip, our Crete travel guide covers everything in one place.
Is Chania worth visiting?
Yes, Chania is worth visiting. It’s one of the most genuinely beautiful parts of Crete, walkable, family friendly, with great food and beaches close to the centre. Whether you’ve got a week or just a few days, it’s an easy place to enjoy at whatever pace suits you.
Who is Chania best for?
Chania suits pretty much everyone. Our four year old was happy from the moment she hit the beach, and the food and drinks scene around the harbour is the kind of thing couples of any age would enjoy. The Old Town has enough going on to keep you busy without ever feeling overwhelming.
There is nightlife, but it’s relaxed rather than raucous, think cocktails by the harbour rather than anything resembling Ibiza. If you’re after a full on party holiday, Chania probably isn’t it.
One thing worth knowing, we spent a full week based entirely in Chania and never ran out of things to do. If you want to explore wider Crete, a hire car helps, but it’s far from essential. The waterpark is an easy taxi ride away and most of what you’ll want to see is walkable.
Pros and cons of visiting Chania
Like anywhere, Chania isn’t perfect, but for most people, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Pros:
✅ The Old Town and harbour are genuinely stunning, one of the most beautiful areas we’ve visited in the Mediterranean
✅ A really good mix of beaches, food and things to do, without needing to travel far
✅ Everything is walkable, which with young kids makes a huge difference
✅ Relaxed pace that suits families, couples and groups equally well
✅ The food is some of the best we’ve had, fresh, affordable and everywhere
Cons:
❌ The harbour area gets busy in peak season, especially in the evenings
❌ Prices in the restaurants right on the harbour are noticeably higher than a few streets back, worth knowing before you sit down
How many days do you need in Chania?
1-2 days – If you only have one day in Chania, focus on the Old Town and harbour in the morning, grab some lunch somewhere near Nea Chora beach, and spend the afternoon wandering the cobbled streets and browsing the shops. You won’t see everything but you’ll get a real feel for the place.
3-5 days – probably the most comfortable amount of time if you want to mix beach days with exploring. You can fit in the waterpark, a few different beaches and still have evenings to wander without feeling rushed.
A week – we spent a full week and never felt like we were scraping the barrel for things to do. If you’re happy to base yourself in one place and take things at a slow pace, a week works really well. We didn’t hire a car and didn’t feel like we missed out.
Chania Old Town and Venetian Harbour
The Old Town is the kind of place I could have spent the entire week. Cobbled streets that just keep going, all winding into each other, lined with restaurants spilling out onto the pavements – many with tables under trees and flowers trailing above them, which sounds like a cliché but it genuinely looked like that. The shops are a mix of the usual tourist stuff and some really beautiful boutiques selling fabrics, jewellery, bags and clothes, all colourful and well put together. Above it all, balconies everywhere – hotels, apartments, all draped in that same warm sandstone.
Then the harbour opens up and it’s a different kind of beautiful altogether. Wide, lined with bars and restaurants, and the lighthouse sitting right at the end with the sun setting just behind it. We went back several evenings just for that.
We have a full Chania Old Town guide if you want the detail on what to see, where to eat and how to make the most of your time there.
Chania Beaches: Something for every traveler
The beaches around Chania are sandy and genuinely well suited to young children, calm water, easy access and plenty of sun loungers to hire. The water was lovely in June, though not quite the warm bath temperature we’d experienced in Malta.
Nea Chora beach was our nearest, right at the bottom of our road. It’s well set up but quite commercialised – shops, bars, restaurants and hotels all along the front. The sunbeds at Nea Chora were €15 for a pair which we found reasonable. The beach is good for convenience, but if you want something slightly quieter, Golden Beach is about a 20 minute walk in the other direction and has noticeably clearer water.
For a full breakdown of every beach we visited, head to our Chania beaches guide.
Food in Chania
The food in Chania was some of the best we’ve had anywhere. Every single meal ended with a complimentary dessert and a shot of raki, which felt very generous the first time and became something we looked forward to by the end of the week.
The kleftiko was brilliant, and the fish dishes were consistently good, all fresh and simply done. I ended up ordering chicken legs after spotting it on someone else’s plate and the sauce was genuinely one of the best things I ate all trip, which I wasn’t expecting. One bit of local advice worth passing on, a taxi driver told us not to bother ordering beef as they don’t have good cattle on the island. We took his word for it!
For everywhere we actually ate, head to our best restaurants in Chania guide.
Where to stay in Chania
Where you stay in Chania really depends on what you’re after. If you want to be right in the middle of everything and don’t need a pool, the Old Town has some beautiful boutique hotels and apartments, you’d be steps from the harbour and restaurants.
If a pool matters, the Nea Chora area is the better shout. You’re still walking distance from the Old Town, you’ve got Nea Chora beach on your doorstep, and there are plenty of hotels along that stretch.
As a family we went for a villa with a private pool, which with seven of us including a four year old was absolutely the right call. We stayed at Villa Giota and loved it, you can read our full review here.
Nightlife in Chania
I can’t personally vouch for the nightlife, being pregnant and with a four year old meant my evenings ended a little earlier than usual. But my partner’s sisters were out every night and had a brilliant time.
From what they reported, there’s a good range. Little bars tucked into side streets off the harbour, cocktail spots along the waterfront, and more upmarket options along the east side of the Old Town. They also stumbled across a karaoke bar packed with locals one night, which by all accounts was one of the highlights of the trip.
Things to do in Chania with kids
One of the reasons Chania is worth visiting with kids is how child friendly it is. Here are a few highlights beyond the beach.
Aqua Creta Limnoupolis water park
The waterpark was a highlight of the trip and somewhere we’d go back to without hesitation. We visited in June and practically had the place to ourselves for the first half of the day, it did pick up around midday but we think that’s because there’s a half day ticket option.
It’s well set up for all ages. There’s a dedicated toddler area with smaller slides and shallow water, which our four year old loved, and plenty of bigger slides and rides for older kids and adults. The lazy river was my personal favourite, very much needed at that stage of pregnancy. What I appreciated most was being able to sit on a sun lounger and keep an eye on the toddler area.
Practically speaking it’s well equipped – lockers, multiple places to eat and drink, and plenty of sun loungers.
👉 Book Limnoupolis waterpark tickets with transfer on GetYourGuide
We have a full Limnoupolis waterpark review if you want the detail before you book.
Municipal Garden
We didn’t make it here but it’s a short walk from the Old Town with a playground, a café and some resident turtles. A good option for a quieter half hour with little ones.
Venizelos Graves
We didn’t make it here with me being heavily pregnant. But it comes highly recommended as the best viewpoint in Chania. It’s a short bus ride or drive from the centre and the views back over the city are apparently worth every bit of the effort.
Glass bottom boat tours
Departing from the harbour, these look like a really easy, low effort way to see the coastline with young kids, no walking required and a great view of the sea below.
Maritime Museum
Right by the harbour and free to enter, focusing on Crete’s seafaring history. A good rainy day option or easy add on if you’re already walking the harbour.
Greek national football museum
Small but apparently packed with memorabilia. Worth a look if you’ve got a football fan in the group.
Unusual things to do in Chania
If you want something a bit different, keep an eye out for the local market in the covered market hall near the Old Town, a good place to pick up local produce, spices and souvenirs that aren’t the usual tourist fare.
Chania history
One of the things that struck me most about Chania was how much history you can see just walking around. The architecture tells the story – Venetian walls, Ottoman mosques, crumbling neoclassical buildings all sitting alongside each other. It’s why the colours are more sandstone and terracotta than the white you might expect from Greece, and once you know that, you start noticing it everywhere.
For the full history of the Old Town, the Venetian harbour and what’s worth seeing, head to our Chania Old Town guide.
Getting around Chania
Chania is genuinely walkable – without a four year old and a pregnancy, we probably could have covered most of it on foot. As it was, we used a mix of taxis and the occasional bus.
With a group of seven, taxis often worked out just as cheap as the bus and were much easier. A local taxi driver told us on our last night that there are set fare boundaries in Chania and you should never pay more than €7 for a ride within town. We wished we’d known that earlier, we’d been overcharged on one occasion and hadn’t questioned it. Worth knowing before you go.
We were also given a card with a WhatsApp number for a reliable local taxi driver, which made getting around incredibly easy. Ask your accommodation if they can recommend someone as it made a real difference.
If you’re planning to explore further afield, Elafonissi or Balos Lagoon for example, a hire car is worth considering. 👉 Check car hire prices on DiscoverCars
Day trips from Chania
If you want to venture further afield, Chania is a good base for exploring western Crete. Elafonissi and Balos Lagoon are both popular and worth the trip if you have a car. Samaria Gorge is another option if you’re up for a longer walk. We didn’t do any day trips on this visit, with a four year old and a pregnancy we were happy to stay close to base, but they’re firmly on the list for next time.
Budget and costs
Chania is great value, especially compared to eating and drinking at home. On an average night out we were spending around £30 per head for a starter, main and drinks, and that’s with six adults splitting the bill, ordering separately for our four year old on top. Even our most expensive meal of the trip, which felt genuinely special, came to around £60 per head.
One tip worth knowing – ask for a carafe of local wine rather than ordering by the bottle or glass. We were paying around €5 for a carafe of really good local red, which is hard to argue with.
Prices right on the harbour are slightly higher, so if you’re watching the budget, walking a street or two back makes a noticeable difference.
Cash or card?
Card was widely accepted in most restaurants and larger bars, but some smaller bars preferred cash. Worth having a mix of both just in case.
What Chania is actually like
A typical day in Chania looks however you want it to. We’d usually start with a beach morning, then wander into the Old Town in the afternoon when the heat eased off a little – coffee, a browse round the shops, maybe an early dinner before the evening crowds arrived.
There’s always something to do without it ever feeling like you need to rush. Boat trips depart from the harbour if you fancy getting out on the water. The Old Town rewards slow walking. The beaches are easy to get to. And if you want to venture further, western Crete has plenty more to explore.
One thing nobody really warns you about is the cats. They’re everywhere, wandering the Old Town streets, sleeping on doorsteps, sitting under restaurant tables hoping for scraps. On our first night, we had a meal at Theodosi restaurant, a mother cat and her kittens spent the entire meal weaving around our feet. Nobody batted an eyelid. It’s all just part of being in Chania.
We didn’t do the boat trips, pregnancy and choppy water didn’t feel like the best combination, but they’re on the list for next time.
Chania vs other parts of Crete
We based ourselves in Chania for the whole trip so can’t compare from personal experience, but based on research and speaking to people who’ve visited other parts of the island, here’s a rough guide to help you decide.
Chania is generally considered the most beautiful part of Crete – the Old Town, the harbour and the surrounding area have a character that’s hard to match. It’s walkable, relaxed and well suited to families.
Rethymno is another Old Town destination with a similar feel, slightly smaller and arguably less busy in peak season. A good option if Chania feels too touristy.
Heraklion is the capital and feels more like a city than a holiday destination. Better if you’re interested in serious history, it’s close to the Palace of Knossos, but less suited to a relaxed family holiday.
We haven’t been to Rhodes so can’t compare from personal experience, but from what we know Chania has more authentic feel and a stronger food scene, while Rhodes tends to be more resort focussed. For families who wan’t a mix of culture, beaches and good food, Chania is hard to beat.
For most first time visitors to Crete, and especially families, Chania is where we’d point you.
Final verdict: Is Chania worth visiting?
Chania is absolutely worth it. Many people consider it the prettiest town in Crete, and having been there we’d find it hard to argue. If you love an Old Town, good food and a beach nearby, it delivers all of that without any real downsides. We went as a large family group with a four year old and a pregnancy and it worked brilliantly, which probably tells you everything you need to know about how easy a place it is.
FAQ: Is Chania worth visiting?
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