Old Town Chania, Crete - Olivia Michelle

Old Town Chania is a must visit during your trip to the island of Crete! Chania is a beautiful town full of charm, sites, and delicious local Greek food. Here is a list of sights to see and things to do in Old Town Chania.

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Municipal Market of Chania
Old Town Chania is pretty easy to navigate. I would personally start your walk at the Municipal Market. The market is undergoing renovations and so it was not open when we visited, it is suppose to re-open sometime in 2024. I would’ve loved to go inside it with the many shops, restaurants, and vendors. The building itself is still pretty impressive, even though it’s empty.

If you are facing the market, go left and walk down the side street “Chalidon“, it will be filled with people. There are tons of shops and restaurants on either side of this street and it will take you directly down to the water.

Waterfront & Maritime Museum
On the water front you will find a few boat tours, the beautiful mosque, and the Egyptian lighthouse. We hung a left and walked towards the Maritime Museum. We did not go in but it is cheap entry and looked fun. We just peeked through the gates to look at the old barracks.

Stroll through the Alleys
From the museum we started walking through the alleys. The hidden alleys are like a maze and filled with shops, restaurants, homes, and hotels. I highly suggest getting lots in the alleyways. In some parts I felt like we were walking through Italy.

Shop for Souvenirs
We walked through the alleys and back up to the Main Street on “Zampeliou Spyridonos“. This is where you can find a huge selection of souvenir type gifts. Also, a note, Crete is the cheapest island we went to. I highly suggest buying your gifts and souvenirs here when you visit. I saw the same exact things for way more expensive in Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini.

Down this block (and most other places in Chania) you can find cretan knives, hand made pottery, olive wood utensils, olive oil cosmetics, olive oil, and hand made leather goods.

As an example, I got a handmade olive oil jug from this shop in Chania for €6. The same one was €25 in Mykonos.

A few of my favorite stores in Chania were:
Doca – Reasonably priced clothes & accessories
Chevalier – hand painted hats & handmade jewelry
Kassimatas Family Store – Olive Oil & olive oil products, local alcohol & food items
Cretan Knives – hand made Cretan knives & kitchenware
Michael Laventzaki’s Pottery – handmade & hand painted pottery
CANEA – Uniquely designed t-shirts and souvenirs
Anatolitis Sponges – a boat full of shells, sea sponges, and souvenirs
Beauty Free – A store with make up, beauty and hair products, & sunscreen (because I blew my curling iron trying to plug it in and needed a new one)

Try some local Cretan Foods on a Food Tour with Alma de Creta
We did a food tour with Alma de Creta and got to see sights, hear history, and eat some of the most amazing local foods. I highly suggest doing the tour, it was the best tour we had on Crete! You can read my full blog post about our food tour HERE.

Byzantine Wall & Venetian Wall
Through your walk you may notice remnants of some old buildings. These are actually what remain of the Byzantine Wall and the Venetian Wall.

Get a Fish Pedicure
A fish pedicure is a must during your visit to Greece. These particular type of fish eat the dead skin off of your feet. You can pay for ten, fifteen or twenty minutes. I personally think ten was plenty. It is not an actual pedicure, as they don’t massage your feet or paint your toenails. We paid €10 per person for ten minutes. It tickles a little bit but it does not hurt, and it is a really fun experience! Plus, I’m sure its something you’ve never done before.

We did our fish pedicure at Ariel Fish Spa on the main street of Old Town Chania, but there are a ton of spots around the Greek islands and other parts of Crete.

Visit the Old Port, New Port & Egyptian Lighthouse
If you are facing the old port, hang a right and walk along the water. You will pass lots of boats and restaurants. Make sure to go on the two souvenir shop boats, they are a colorful mecca full of seashells. All the way at the end there is a walkway where you can cross over and walk down to the lighthouse. It is only like a 15-20 minute walk. I love lighthouses so I wanted to see it up close, but also this is the absolute best view of Chania.