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Chania, Crete’s second largest city, is built around a fine natural harbour which attracted a host of settlers over the millennia, from early Minoans to Romans, Byzantines, Saracens, Venetians and Turks. The heart of the city is the old town, a huddle of narrow streets sheltered by a ring of battlements built by the Venetians; under their rule Chania was one of Crete’s most important ports. Today the old town is dominated by restaurants, cafés and bars, while outside the Venetian walls is the newer part of town. Chania has some of Crete’smost spectacular scenery as backdrop, with the slopes of the Lefka Ori range (White Mountains) rising steeply a short way inland and seeming to dominate the entire southern horizon (see Chania).

Firkas Fort, Chania

A modern community by Cretan standards, the town was founded little over a century ago when it was named in honour of Prince George, the then governor of Crete. More recently, it has become a resort, with hotels stretching along the sandy beach. It attracts a less raucous clientele than resorts such as Malia and Chersonisos, however, and the heart of Georgioupoli is a town square, shaded by eucalyptus and plane trees.

Back at street level, turn left onto Vernardou and, midway along on your left, step into the Historical and Folk Art Museum, with its collection of tools, textiles and traditional costume (see Historical and Folk Art Museum).

Sheltered by a stretch of headland and dwarfed by the near-vertical slopes of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) above it, Loutro is one of the most charming spots on Crete. Less than 30 years ago Loutro had only a few elderly inhabitants and one taverna. Tourism has changed all that, and now dazzling white pensions and apartments sit above the tiny crescent-shaped beach. Accessible only on foot (by a precarious cliff path) or by boat from Chora Sfakion, Loutro seems unlikely to be over-run by tourism, and is ideal for a laidback holiday.

Paleochora stands on a peninsula between two beaches: a long sandy bay to the northwest and an even longer, but pebblier and more exposed beach, to the southeast. Close to the centre of the village are the ruined walls of a Venetian fort, Castel Selino, which was built to guard the harbour and coast but left to crumble after the Turkish conquest. “Discovered” by backpackers in the 1970s, Paleochora is now one of Crete’s quieter resorts, with a low-key nightlife and a family atmosphere.