Chania Old Town: A complete travel guide
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.
Chania Old Town was one of those places I wasn’t quite prepared for, and I say that as someone who has been to a fair few old towns over the years. Most of them are a handful of streets done in an hour. Chania is something else entirely. It’s vast, sprawling, and on our first visit in June 2025 it was thriving with people.
We came in during the day and again in the evening, and both felt completely different. During the day it was the architecture that got me first. I’d expected white buildings, the classic Greek look, but Chania is all terracotta and yellowy stone. The Turkish influence is written all over it, and standing right on the edge of the Venetian harbour is a mosque that genuinely stops you mid step. It shouldn’t work but it does.
In the evening, the moonlight on the water was something else. The outdoor tables were packed, the bars were buzzing, and I wanted nothing more than to pull up a chair and stay for hours. Being six months pregnant meant that wasn’t really an option, but even a slow walk along the harbour felt special.
One thing worth flagging if you’re visiting with young children is that there’s no barrier between the waterfront restaurants and the sea at the Venetian harbour. It’s just pavement and then a drop straight down to the water. Worth keeping a close eye on little ones here.
In this guide I’ll cover everything you need to know about visiting Chania Old Town – the landmarks, the neighbourhoods, where to eat, how to get around, and the best day trips. If you’re still in the planning stages, our full Crete travel guide covers everything from where to stay to what to expect from the island as a whole.
If you’re still deciding whether Chania itself is the right base for you, our Is Chania Worth Visiting guide covers everything from beaches to budget to what it’s actually like travelling there with kids.”
History of Chania Old Town
I’ll be honest, I didn’t do much research into Chania’s history before we went. Most of what I learned, I picked up while I was there, and a lot of it genuinely surprised me.
Chania has been ruled by a succession of empires over the centuries. Venetian from the 1200s through to the 1600s, then Ottoman until 1898, before becoming part of modern Greece. What struck me was how visibly each left its mark. You’re walking through what is technically a Greek city, but the architecture tells a completely different story. Terracotta and yellow stone rather than white, minarets alongside church towers, Turkish baths a few streets from Venetian mansions. The Ottoman influence in particular was something I hadn’t expected at all, and once you know to look for it, you see it everywhere.
The Venetian Harbour was built in the 14th century and remains the heart of the Old Town. The lighthouse at its entrance has an interesting history of its own, originally built by the Venetians in the 16th century and later rebuilt by Egyptian soldiers in the 1800s, which explains its minaret like shape. The Old Town also has a Jewish quarter dating back centuries, with the only remaining synagogue in Crete still standing on Kondilaki Street.
You don’t need to go into a single museum to feel the weight of the history here. It’s just in the streets.
Where is Chania Old Town?
Chania Old Town sits right on Crete’s northwestern coast. It’s the heart of Chania city, wrapping around the Venetian Harbour and bordered by the modern city beyond. It’s entirely walkable, and you’ll spend most of your time exploring on foot. The Old Town itself is fairly compact but deceptively large and the streets go deeper than you expect, and the further you get from the harbour the quieter and more local it feels.
The Neighbourhoods
Chania Old Town isn’t one uniform place, it’s made up of distinct quarters that each feel quite different once you start exploring beyond the harbour.
The area immediately around the Venetian harbour is the most tourist facing, with restaurants and bars lining the waterfront on both sides. If you’re standing looking out at the water, the right side tends to be more upmarket. Better restaurants, boutique hotels tucked into restored Venetian buildings, slightly quieter. This is Topanas, the old Greek Christian quarter during Ottoman times, and it has some of the most beautiful Venetian architecture in Chania. Aggelou Street and the cobbled alleys around it are worth wandering, quieter than the harbour and noticeably more local in feel.
To the east of the main harbour street is Splantzia, the old Turkish quarter, and this is where Chania starts to feel genuinely different. The streets are narrower, the buildings more faded, and the atmosphere shifts. Splantzia Square itself is worth finding. It’s a relaxed open square with tables spilling out from the cafes around it, presided over by the Church of Agios Nikolaos which has both a bell tower and a minaret, a legacy of the Ottoman period. We sat here for a drink one evening and it was one of the nicest moments of the trip. Quieter than the harbour, more local, and some of the higher rated restaurants in the Old Town are tucked into the streets nearby. It felt more like the real Chania.
Behind the harbour, between Zambeliou, Portou and Halidon streets, is the old Jewish quarter, Evraiki. This is now home to some of the best bars in Chania and the Etz Hayyim Synagogue, the only remaining synagogue in Crete, housed in a 15th century building and open to visitors most days. Kondilaki Street is the main artery through this quarter and worth a wander.
Kastelli sits on the hill at the heart of the Old Town and is the oldest part of Chania, inhabited since Minoan times. There’s less obvious tourist infrastructure here but the views from the top and the sense of history make it worth the short climb.
Santrivani Square, also known as Eleftherios Venizelos Square, is the central meeting point of the Old Town, marked by a Turkish marble fountain. A good landmark to orient yourself if you get turned around in the back streets, which is fairly likely.
Getting there and getting around
Chania has its own airport, which makes it a much easier base than Heraklion for visiting the west of the island. If you fly into Heraklion instead (which is Crete’s main airport) you’re looking at a transfer of around two and a half to three hours. Worth checking direct flights to Chania first before defaulting to Heraklion. The airport is about 25 minutes from the Old Town by taxi, with a flat fare of around €30.
Once you’re in Chania, getting to the Old Town depends on where you’re based. We stayed at the far end of Nea Chora, which put us about a 30 minute walk away, closer to 20 minutes from other parts of the area. We could have walked it but I was very pregnant and so mostly grabbed taxis. Fares were short and ranks are easy to find with plenty waiting. We tried the bus on a couple of occasions which worked fine during the day, but one evening we waited and it simply didn’t show. Worth having the taxi rank as your backup.
Where to stay
The Old Town itself is the most atmospheric option. You’re within walking distance of the harbour, the alleys and the restaurants, and there are some genuinely beautiful boutique hotels inside converted Venetian buildings. The trade off is noise, particularly on weekend evenings, and the streets are very narrow with uneven cobbles which isn’t always ideal with a pram.
Nea Chora is where we stayed and it worked well. A proper neighbourhood beach at the end of the road, quieter than the Old Town, and close enough to walk in or grab a quick taxi. Koum Kapi sits just to the east of the harbour and has a more local feel. Halepa is further out, quieter and more upscale, popular with families. If you want a resort feel with an organised beach, Platanias is about 10km west and well connected by bus.
👉 Check accomodation for Chania Old Town on Booking.com
👉 You can read our full review on Villa Giota in Nea Chora here
Best things to do in Chania Old Town
The Venetian Harbour
The harbour is the heart of everything and you’ll find yourself coming back to it repeatedly. It’s lined with bars and restaurants on both sides and we’d stop for a drink every now and then as we made our way around. There are plenty of options at every price point, from casual spots to places like Pallas which we walked all the way around to reach. Keep going even further past the restaurants and you’ll find small boats moored up that have been converted into market stalls, which is a lovely unexpected detail.
On the far side of the harbour, the Egyptian Lighthouse sits at the end of a long man made walkway that stretches out into the sea. It was built by the Venetians in the 16th century and rebuilt by Egyptian soldiers in the 1800s, which is why it has the shape of a minaret rather than a traditional lighthouse. You can walk out to it, we didn’t, but we watched plenty of people making their way along, and as the sun went down the walkway was lined with people waiting for sunset. A good spot if you time it right.
The Mosque
Right on the edge of the harbour, the Küçük Hasan Mosque is one of the most striking things about Chania. A domed Ottoman mosque sitting right at the water’s edge, which is not something you expect to find in a Greek harbour town. We popped our heads in and it’s now used as an art gallery, so there’s usually an exhibition on inside. Worth a quick look even if you don’t linger.
Firka Fortress
We walked past rather than going in, but the fortress sits at the western end of the harbour and is hard to miss. A huge Venetian stone structure that now houses the Maritime Museum of Crete. Entry is €2 if you want to go inside.
The Archaeological Museum
We didn’t visit the archaeological museum on this trip. With a toddler in June heat, some things just don’t happen. It covers everything from Minoan findings to World War Two and is worth an hour or two if history is your thing.
Wandering the Streets
This is honestly where Chania Old Town is at its best. The streets behind the harbour are a proper maze, narrow cobbled alleys, buildings in faded terracotta and yellow, balconies draped with plants. More than once I’d look up at a beautiful balcony and realise it was actually a hotel room. The views those guests must have had.
The atmosphere shifts as you move further from the harbour. It’s quieter, more local, less tourist facing. There are cats everywhere, architecture around every corner, and the kind of streets you just want to keep walking down to see what’s next.
Shopping
The shops in Chania Old Town range from genuinely lovely boutiques to the usual holiday tat, and often both exist on the same street, which my daughter demonstrated by gravitating directly towards the latter while I headed for the former. I picked up a beaded bag from a boutique for around £60 for a wedding I had when we got home, not cheap but it was a really beautiful shop and the kind of thing you’d struggle to find at home. The nicer boutique shops tend to be in the streets slightly back from the harbour rather than right on the waterfront. Leather goods, jewellery, ceramics and clothing are all well represented.
The Municipal Market
Worth noting that the Municipal Market – a large historic building that’s been a focal point of Chania for over a century, is currently closed for renovations. If you’re looking for local food products and souvenirs in the meantime, the shops along Chalidon Street stock honey, olive oil, herbs and other Cretan staples.
Chania Old Town map
The streets in Chania Old Town are narrow and winding enough that having some kind of map helps, even if you’re happy to wander. I’m a Google Maps person. I like to pin places I want to see beforehand so I can get a sense of what’s close together, and then when I’m actually there I can just open it up and see what’s nearby. For somewhere like Chania it works well, it’s not as complex as somewhere like New York where you’d want everything pre planned before you arrive, but having your pins in place means you’re not scrolling through notes trying to remember where that restaurant was.
The tourist information centre and most hotels can also give you a free paper map if you prefer something physical.
Food and drink in Chania Old Town
Eating in Chania Old Town is one of the real pleasures of being there. Not just because of the food itself but because a meal naturally turns into an evening. You finish dinner and find yourself wandering the harbour or heading deeper into the back streets. Every meal our group had was good. Across seven people over multiple evenings, nobody had a bad plate, which says something.
The food is predominantly Greek and Cretan – kleftiko, fresh fish, grilled meats, mezze – and the quality is consistently high even in the places that look fairly tourist facing. A €5 carafe of local wine is standard in most tavernas, and meals tend to finish with a complimentary raki and a small house dessert, which never gets old.
If you only try one thing, make it bougatsa, a warm pastry filled with semolina cream, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, served in the morning from the bakeries around the Old Town. Bougatsa Iordanis near the harbour is the most well known spot for it. For full restaurant recommendations including where we ate and what we ordered, head to our best restaurants in Chania guide.
Beaches near Chania Old Town
If you want to combine sightseeing with a swim, there are several beaches just a short walk or bus ride away. Nea Chora beach is the closest and about a 20 minute walk from the harbour and very well set up. It’s lined with bars, restaurants and shops, has every facility you’d need, and sunbeds are available for around €15 a pair. Golden Beach is about 20 minutes in the other direction and has noticeably clearer water.
I’ve covered all the options in detail in our Chania Beaches guide.
Day Trips from Chania Old Town
Day trips from Chania are plentiful but a lot of the most popular ones (Balos Lagoon, Elafonissi, Samaria Gorge) involve either a long coach transfer or getting yourself to a port outside the city. With a toddler and being six months pregnant, that ruled most of them out for us.
The one thing we wish we had done is the boat trip from Chania harbour itself. Glass bottomed boats leave directly from the Venetian harbour and take you out to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa Fortress. No coach transfer, no long drive, just straight onto a boat from the Old Town. We talked ourselves out of it and I genuinely regret that now. If you’re visiting with young children or anyone who doesn’t fancy a long journey, this is the one to book.
The Limnoupolis Waterpark was our one actual day trip and it was brilliant. A full day out that worked really well with a four year old. You can read our full review here.
For those without our constraints, Elafonissi and Balos are the two most searched beaches from Chania and both are stunning. Rethymno is worth a day trip too, about an hour by bus, a Venetian old town of its own, a lighthouse, and a long sandy beach. Lake Kournas, about 45 minutes away, is a freshwater lake with turtles, pedal boats and paddleboards and genuinely family friendly.
Parking in Chania Old Town
The Old Town itself is pedestrian friendly (and car free in many areas). There are several paid car parks just outside the Old Town walls, the closest fill up quickly in peak season.
FAQ: Chania Old Town
Final thoughts
Chania Old Town is vast enough to keep revealing new corners, good enough to eat in every night, and relaxed enough to work just as well with a toddler in tow as it did for the adults in our group who wanted a proper evening out. I’d expected a pretty harbour and a few nice streets, what’s actually there goes considerably deeper than that.
If you’re heading to Crete and wondering whether to base yourself here, the answer is yes. And if you’re still weighing up whether Chania is the right destination altogether, our Is Chania Worth Visiting guide covers everything from beaches to budget to what it’s actually like travelling there as a family.
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