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Despite its Italianate name, this taverna on a side lane off Malia’s main street has good Cretan dishes and an assortment of Greek grills and salads.

Silk kopaneli lace is made by bobbin weaving, a skill revived in Gavalochori.

Terrapins and migrant water birds are among the wildlife to be seen in and around Crete’s main body of fresh water. It is prettiest in spring and early summer.

Fed by an underground spring which provides Crete with most of its bottled mineral water, Lake Votamos is a deep blue ring of cool, clear water surrounded by flinty, barren slopes. Tavernas near the shore serve grilled trout from the lake, and a good gorge walk starts nearby.

The rare Lammergeier vulture, Europe’s largest bird of prey, may be seen soaring high above the Omalos Plateau or in the high reaches of the White Mountains. Nicknamed the “bone-breaker”, the Lammergeier feeds on the carcasses of goats and sheep, and sometimes smashes bones open by dropping them from a great height to get at the marrow.

Traditional foodstuffs of Crete.

The laouta is the Cretan version of the mandolin and is one of the most important instruments for Cretan musicians and composers. It is usually used to provide a backing rhythm for the lyra , and like the lyra is an essential member of any Cretan ensemble. However, the laouta is sometimes also heard as a solo instrument.

It is still promoted to tourists as the “Plain of Windmills”, but few of the thousands of white-sailed windmills exist in working order. That said, the drive to this bowl of rich farmland surrounded by mountains is stunning in itself. Lasithi’s patchwork of fertile fields, gardens and orchards strikes a contrast with the treeless grey slopes surrounding it.

Modern-day Agios Nikolaos was once no more than the seaport annex of this Dorian Greek city which flourished between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC. Built around two neighbouring hills, 8 km (5 miles) west of Agios Nikolaos, Lato is the best preserved Dorian site in Crete, with walls built of massive stone blocks. There are fine views over the Gulf of Mirabello from its agora (marketplace) in a saddle between the twin summits.