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Platanias is where most of Chania’s younger residents go to party on summer weekends. There are at least a dozen great clubs, most with open-air dance floors, and things do not really start to get lively until well after midnight (see Platanias).

Leave Plateia Ekaterinis by its northwest corner, and walk east to Plateia Nikoforou Foka, then left to Plateia Venizelou. The Morosini fountain stands in the middle of the square, with two stone lions standing sentinel.

Wonderful views surround the broken walls and foundations of this ancient Acropolis, upon which stands an equally ruined Venetian fortress (see Venetian Acropolis and Polyrinia).

Porfira brings Cretan cooking to gourmet heights, serving a selection of uniquely Cretan dishes. The waiters are happy to guide you through the menu and will gladly explain some of the less recognizable ingredients. Set on a terrace overlooking the beach (see Porfira, Makrygialos).

In the unlikely setting of cheap and cheerful Makrygialos, Porfira serves a gourmet menu of uniquely Cretan dishes, which staff are happy to guide you through.

Make an early start at Plateia Tessaron Martyron, the large square from which the Venetian Porta Guora – the only intact remnant of the Venetian city walls – leads into the old town. The Tessaron Martyron (Four Martyrs) Church at the northeast corner of the square honours four Cretans executed in 1824 by the Turks for remaining secretly Christian despite an apparent conversion to Islam. A pointed minaret by the church is all that is left of one of the city’s Turkish mosques.

The most appropriate place to start exploring Irakleio’s Venetian heritage is this ornate archway through the city’s mighty walls, built in the mid-16th century by the Italian military engineer Michele Sanmichele. At this point, the walls are some 40 m (130 ft) thick, so it is not surprising that they withstood 16th-century Ottoman artillery and everything else thrown at them.

This attractive old stone building stands close to the old harbour at Chania and, unlike some of its rivals, is open year round. There are 10 twin and double rooms, some of which have cosy gallery beds, with furnishings that harmonize with the building’s traditional lines.

This complex of 186 selfcontained apartments and studios (all with TV and kitchen) is set within vast grounds on the Elounda Peninsula, which provides some fine sea views. A restaurant, four pools and a supermarket complete the package.