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Passing through the gate, walk north on Ethnikis Antistasis, which bustles with produce stalls, small open-fronted shops and cafés serving tiny glasses of raki and cups of coffee. This is a great place to buy Cretan herbs, honey or olive oil to take home.

Market flower stall

The main claim to fame of the beach at Vai is in having the only wild palm grove in Europe. The palm forest apparently existed at least 2,000 years ago, so may have been planted by early navigators from the Middle East who came to Crete. The drawbacks are that the palm trees are fenced off and protected, and the beach becomes overrun with visitors in high season. Nevertheless, it is beautiful, especially if visited outside the busiest summer months of June, July and August.

A further 6 km (4 miles) brings you to Vai, the easternmost point of this drive, on a peninsula which stretches towards Crete’s northeast tip (inaccessible as it is a military area). Vai’s famous palm forest is now a conservation area. The beach is very crowded in high season, but for a little more seclusion you can walk for 20–30 minutes to the less crowded coves at Itanos.

Via beach

On your way back from the fortress, you will see a series of high stone vaults built into the wall behind the harbour. These were the Arsenali or shipyards where the great galleys were built that gave Venice its control of the sea.

Built in 1523–40 to guard the harbour approaches, the massive Rocca al Mare, as it was known to the Venetians, served its purpose well. Piles of cannonballs in the inner chambers seem to await another assault.

Conclude your tour down at the pretty Venetian (or Inner) Harbour, and treat yourself to a seafood lunch at Mourayio Maria, set in a 16th-century building with quayside tables.

Voila is Crete’s most dramatic ghost village, with lizards scuttling across its ruined walls and crumbling doorways. Voila is overlooked by the tumbledown walls of a Venetian hilltop castle and a Turkish tower, and the only building still intact is the church of Agios Giorgios. Surprisingly, two Turkish drinking fountains still provide visitors with fresh water.

After visiting Vai, turn south, through the small villages of Palaiokastro, Azokeramos, Adravasti and Ano Zakros, where you turn east for 8 km (5 miles) down a narrow road to reach Kato Zakros, on the sea. Stop here for a fish lunch at the Zakros Taverna. If you have the time and inclination, explore the Minoan palace (see Zakros).

The Zakros Gorge is known locally as the Valley of the Dead because the numerous caves in its limestone walls were used as tombs in Roman times. The gorge runs from the peaceful village of Ano (“upper”) Zakros to Kato (“lower”) Zakros on the sea, near an ancient Minoan palace site rediscovered in 1961. It is a beautiful and not too challenging 8-km (5-mile) hike (see Zakros Gorge).

Taverna, Kato Zakros