Chania area holidays

Chania’s beach stock is high. This segment of Crete’s north-east coast has everything from small, bustling beaches to long, semi-empty ones. And lots come with Blue Flag status. Beach-hopping is easy, as well. A blue bus runs between Kalamaki and Chania Town, stopping at a number of hot spots on the coast.

You get more than a mile of sand at Maleme Beach. There are small swatches of umbrellas and parasols along the length of the beach, but most of the sand is uncluttered. As you walk further west, the crowds diffuse and you’re left sharing the sand with just a few green trees.

Chania’s beaches are all gems, but they’re not hidden. All the stretches of sand on Crete’s north coast are popular. But Tavronitis Beach, half an hour’s drive from Chania Town, is one of the quieter bays. The sand here is mixed with pebbles and there are a couple of tavernas to one side. What’s more, the whole place is set against a backdrop of the mountains of the Kissamos peninsula.

The covered market on Mousouron Street in Chania Town has local produce coming out of its ears. Fresh olive oil, locally-made cheeses, thyme honey and bottles of raki are all available here for a song. It’s open Monday to Saturday between 8am and 1.30pm and later from 5pm to 8pm. There’s a little family-run supermarket on Maleme Roumaton Road in Maleme, which offers similar stock.

Skridolf Street in Chania Town is known as leatherworkers’ lane, thanks to the number of leather shops that show their face here. You can pick up handmade handbags, purses, shoes and sandals for between 30 and 100 euros. Chania Town is your best bet for clothing and electrical items, too – the shops in most beach resorts are limited to food and beach supplies.

Jewellery shops are part of the furniture in Chania. It’s common for goldsmiths to design and make their own pieces from scratch, and they’ll set you back anything from 100 euros to a couple of thousand. You’ll find some of the best shops on Chalidon Street near the harbour in Chania Town.

Chania Town doesn’t scrimp on traditional restaurants. The low-lit old town takes the lion’s share of the best ones. If you need a starting point, you can’t go far wrong with Zambellou Street. In Agia Marina, the sun provides the evening entertainment. Watch it set from one of the tavernas that line the beach. In Maleme, after-dinner drinks are served up in the cafes on Maleme Beach Road. Anyone looking for more than a frothy coffee, though, should catch a taxi to neighbouring Platanias.

The old harbour has the monopoly on Chania Town’s nightlife scene. Head to Kondilaki Street and Soumerli Street to find live music joints and cocktail bars, or make your way to Enetiki Tafros Street to find clubs hosting live DJ sets. If you’re in Platanias, the after-hours action is none too shabby, either. There’s a good choice of cocktail bars and clubs in the centre of town.

This hunger-busting dish is so popular in Crete that newly-weds choose to have it at their wedding breakfasts. It’s made by boiling rice in stock and mixing it with butter. Depending where you are in Crete, you’ll get different meat or vegetables in the dish. In Chania, it’s traditional to include chicken and lamb.

You might be able to buy boureki all over Crete, but nowhere does the dish quite like Chania. On this part of the island, the vegetarian dish of potatoes, courgettes and cheese is wrapped in filo pastry and served as a packed parcel on top of fresh Greek salad.

This dish looks a bit like porridge, but its appearance is deceiving. The recipe is complex, but the basic ingredients are goats’ milk and flour. It tends to be served piping hot as a side dish in restaurants, but some Chania locals like to spread it on bread or pour it over their chips.

Fennel grows wild in the Chania area, so it’s a regular on seasonal menus. Two fennel recipes that crop up a lot are octopus with fennel and red wine sauce, and cuttlefish with fennel and mint. Fennel pies called marathopites are a popular fast food, too.

In most Cretan villages, there’s a local who is licenced to produce tsikoudia. The clear spirit is made from the skins of grapes and it’s knock-your-socks-off alcoholic. Most locals keep a bottle on ice in their freezer, and sip it slowly with dinner.