Where to stay in Crete: a local’s guide

Best for: culture and nightlife

With its picturesque Venetian harbour surrounded by historic mansions repurposed as ritzy boutique hotels (including my favourite Casa Delfino), Chania is the island’s most atmospheric city. Soak it up in the warren of shopping lanes behind the harbour where stores sell everything from handcrafted jewellery to traditional stivani boots, before admiring nautical treasures in the maritime museum or gawping at Minoan wonders in the new archaeological museum. 

When hunger bites, sample streetfood at the city’s food market, or feast on local fare at Mezedopoleio Halepa or Salis. End your day with a syrupy mastixa cocktail at historic bar Synagogi, or party the night away at hip beach club Cabana.

Best for: fun in the sun

Home of a (free) hippie music festival in July which celebrates the heady days when folklore legends, including Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, hung out in the warren of caves overlooking its golden sand beach, Matala attracts an alternative crowd who stay in family-oqwned hotels like Matala Sunshine or the resort’s budget-friendly campsite. 

Visit the caves which date back to Roman times, or shop for handcrafted jewellery and tie-dye sarongs in the resort’s street market, before taking a dip in the balmy Libyan Sea. At sunset follow the hippie herd to funky bars like Hippies Cave Bar or chow down on the rabbit stew stifado and other home cooked treats at feet-in-the-sand taverna Eleni. 

Best for: a laidback lifestyle

Framed by the Psiloriti mountains and fringed by golden sand beaches, Rethymnon is a bite-sized version of Chania – complete with a Venetian harbour, Egyptian lighthouse and maze of shopping lanes. Stay central at hip hangout Nautilux or head for boho-chic haven The Syntopi (adults only) where cool extras include an open air cinema and a lagoon pool. Browse shops selling everything from antiques and jewellery to second hand clothes and traditional musical instruments in Rethymnon’s old town and then hike to Fortezza, the city’s hilltop Venetian castle, for best sunset views. End the day with meze snacks served up with punch packing white spirit raki at 50/50, the city’s best traditional rakadiko restaurant. 

Best for: shopping and sights

Overlooking Heraklion’s main square, food-focused boutique hotel Legacy Gastro Suites makes a cosy base for exploring the island’s capital city. First stop has to be the vast Minoan artefact-packed archaeology museum: a must-visit before exploring Knossos Palace, one-time home of the bloodcurdling Minotaur, a few miles out of town. Order a big slice of custard cream-crammed bougatsa pie at historic Kafeneio Kirkor on Lion’s Square. Afterwards mosey over to 1866 street to buy sarikia (headscarves)and knives engraved with rhyming couplet mantinades in the bustling 1866 street market. Sup on the best farm-to-table food in town at Peskesi, and then wash it down with a raki-based cocktail at stylish café Stone Project.

Best for: off the beaten path exploring

Fringed by (often deserted) sand-strewn beaches and framed by olive groves that produce some of Greece’s best EVOO, Sitia is home to Greece’s newest UNESCO Geopark. Since it sits on the island’s (far) less touristed eastern tip, you’ll find luxury accommodation at bargain prices in boutique-y hotels like Palazzo di Sitia,or beachfront beauty Bay View apartments. 

Stretching from Cape Sidero’s 19th century lighthouse to the Minoan palace of Zakros, the geopark is a paradise for hikers, whilst Sitia town’s steep whitewashed streets are fun to explore. At sunset join locals in one of the great value family tavernas near the harbour where they serve stuffed snails xochliou boubouristi and other specialties that you won’t find elsewhere.