Chania Holidays

from £275 per person

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Hotels

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Any Date

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Room(s)

1 Room

2 Adults

1 Room

2 Adults

UTC+02:00

Greek (modern)

EUR: Euro

Charming Chania holidays 2021

Crete’s most enticing city has old world charm, fascinating architecture and a chic, sophisticated vibe after dark. There’s lots to love about holidays to Chania, whether you’re after a beach break or a history lesson.

With a Venetian Harbour at its core, backed by a warren of tightly-packed lanes where traditional tavernas spill out onto the streets and independent boutiques sell unique wares, Chania is a gorgeous holiday destination. With temperatures sitting in the 20s for eight months of the year, it’s a brilliant place for autumn sunshine, and it gets sizzling hot in the height of summer.

Shopping in Chania

Chania’s Old Town is an atmospheric place for a stroll, but one of its main draws is its leather boutiques. Skrydlof Street (also known as Leather Lane) has a history of leather making, as tens of traditional workshops used to fill the alley with noise. Today, they have been replaced by leather shops selling everything from handmade boots to beautiful bags. This is the spot for some retail therapy in Chania.

Overview
Things to do

Why book Chania holidays

Discover the best beaches

The choice is yours when it comes to Chania's beautiful beaches... there are even Blue Flag stunners too!

Must-visit historical sites

Walk around Chania Town for a chance to discover old architecture and Venetian buildings

Sample the local food

Chania's harbour area is perfect for dining with views

Explore the local markets

Chania's covered market is the best spot to grab yourself some famous Greek olive oil

Stay active

Keep fit with a hike through the stunning Samaria Gorge

Popular with couples

Couples love Chania, simply because its so well-rounded!

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Your guide to Chania holidays

At a glance

Top 5 things to do in Chania

Package holidays to Chania needn’t centre solely around the beach – there is so much to see and do in this exciting city.

Holidays to Chania are about simple pleasures and a coffee or cocktail in one of the bars in its Venetian Harbour is a perfect way to start your trip.
For the best views of the city, stroll out to the 16th-century lighthouse where you can gaze back across the water to the harbour.
With influence from so many cultures and religions over the years, Chania has plenty of fascinating holy sites. Visit the Ottoman Mosque of Kioutsouk Hasan, see Venetian Church of Agios Nikolaos, and stop in at the 15th-century Etz Hayyim Synagogue.
Sports fans will love the Greek National Football Team Museum, which despite its size manages to cram in 2,000 pieces of Greek football memorabilia.
Take a glass-bottom boat tour with Captain Nick – a Chania stalwart. Sailing out onto the Sea of Crete in his glass-bottom boat, you’ll meet fish, turtles and octopus up close.

Historic highlights in Chania

Built on the Roman city of Kydonia, Chania has a fascinating history. These museums and historic sites make for a compelling holiday to Chania.

Set within a 16th-century Venetian church, Chania’s Archaeological Museum is the place to go for an extensive history on the region. Artefacts include late-Minoan clay baths, jewellery and ceramics, as well as Roman mosaics and sculptures.
Wander around the Firkas Fortress, the best-preserved section of the Venetian fortifications built in the 1500s, and climb its walls to get brilliant views over the city.
Inside the Church of San Salvatore is the Byzantine & Post-Byzantine Collection, where coins, jewellery and icons spanning from AD 62 to 1913 offer insight into the many empires that ruled and invaded here.
A celebration of all things seafaring, the Maritime Museum of Crete features impressive model ships, naval equipment and historical maps. Look out for artisans creating new model sips in the workshop.
Get an insight into Cretan culture at the Cretan House Folklore Museum. Crafts such as weavings and paintings make up the exhibits, while a handful of rooms are made up in the style of a traditional Cretan home.

Beaches

Beaches in Chania

Sitting on the north coast of Crete, holidays to Chania promise access to some of the prettiest beaches in the Med.

Agia Marina is a buzzling little beach, with plenty of bars for sundowner cocktails and watersports outfitters. Try your hand at water skiing or parasailing.
A range of accommodation options from resorts to campsites makes Germaniko Pouli beach the ideal spot for luxury or cheap holidays to Chania. This stretch of sand has a slightly more wild feel than the town’s other beaches.
With a tall rocky hill at one end and a small car park at the other, Souda Beach is a wonderfully secluded spot. A handful of fish tavernas feed hungry beachgoers and sunbeds and parasols can be hired.
Backed by hotels, tavernas and lovely little bars, gorgeous Blue Flag Platanias beach is a solid option for a day on the sand near Chania.
With views out to the White Mountains of Crete and a cluster of pine trees offering shade, Kalyves beach is one of the most picturesque in this region.

Family beaches in Chania

Family holidays to Chania offer the opportunity for long days spent at the beach, splashing about in the warm Mediterranean Sea.

Nea Chora (New Town) beach is a brilliant spot for families looking for a stretch of sand close to the city centre. Yellow sand slopes down into beautiful blue ocean, and a road lined with tavernas and fish restaurants backs the beach.
A gorgeous crescent of shimmering sand, Golden Beach really lives up to its name. There’s good surf for bodyboarding, a lifeguard on duty throughout the summer season and watersports.
Rockpooling is the name of the game at Stavros Beach, where a unique geological formation has created the perfect place for crabbing and spotting sea creatures. This is a sandy, well-developed beach perfect for families.
Take a taxi or your hire car to Marathi Beach, where calm waters and no wind make it an ideal place to bring the kids for a day on the sand. Pine trees offer shade and clear, shallow waters are great for a dip.
Around 70km south of Chania, Elafonissi is well worth the drive. Kids will love playing on the pink-hued sands and splashing in the shallow sea. Facilities are good, with public toilets, sunbeds and parasols for hire.

Food & Drink

Food and drink in Chania

This bustling city has food markets and amazing Mediterranean cuisine for every taste.

Sitting in the middle of the Med with its own fishing harbour nearby, Chania is the ultimate place to taste the fruits of the ocean. Swordfish, seabass and prawns all feature on menus here.
For a taste of Cretan wine, head out to the Dourakis Winery in the mountains southeast of Chania. A bottle of red, white or rose is the perfect souvenir to take home.
This upmarket city has a number of fine-dining restaurants. Try the refined dishes by Chef Iosif Petroff at Serenissima, or the beautifully presented plates at MonEs.
No foodie’s exploration of Chania is complete without a visit to the Old Market. This sprawl of stalls and shops is a buzzing place, with everything from Cretan cheeses, preserves, fresh fruit and vegetables and cured meats for sale.
For a taste of old Chania, head to Kipos for a coffee. This cafe has been serving elliniko (Greek coffee) since 1870 and is a must-try for caffeine lovers.

Traditional dishes to try in Chania

Cretan cuisine abounds in Chania, so fill up on these fabulous classic dishes.

A favourite meze among Cretans is dakos – a salad dish comprising a slice of rusk topped with tomatoes and feta, seasoned with herbs.
Daring diners will want to try snails (chochlios) – a Cretan delicacy, served fried in flour, soaked in wine, and occasionally flavoured with rosemary.
If you’re a cheese fiend, don’t miss out on a classic Cretan snack: kalitsounia. These cheese pies are ubiquitous and are best served doused in Greek honey.
A moreish dish that takes a few days to create, hirina apakia (smoked pork) is a must-try. Smoked with herbs such as rosemary, bay leaves and sage, the cold meat is an addictive, fragrant snack.
Cretan lamb is a special dish, usually sauteed in oregano and served in a lemon-and-egg sauce, with a local green vegetable called stamnagathi (a variety of wild chicory).

We love

Nightlife in Chania

From wild parties to chilled-out beach bars, Chania has a night out for all to enjoy.

Chania’s charming Old Town is a lovely place for a night out. Sip raki or Cretan brandy in one of the many tavernas, where traditional live music will have you nodding your head all night.
One of the liveliest resorts near Chania is Platanias, where beach bars and a handful of clubs stay open late for revellers to enjoy a night on the dancefloor.
Head to Agia Marina for a proper night out in clubs that pound music until the early hours. Stay out late enough and you might just get to see sunrise on the sand.
For rock fans, Chania has a handful of pubs and bars putting on live music nights. Avalon is a favourite, serving classic British ales beneath a vaulted-ceiling where the acoustics make for epic performances.
For a more sophisticated night out, head to Fagotto Jazz Club where instruments are suspended from the ceiling and the cocktails are strong.

Chania family holidays

With ample activities and great beaches, families will love summer holidays spent in Chania.

There are plenty of family-friendly hotels in Chania to suit all budgets, many of which have swimming pools and kids clubs.
Kids will love a ride on the Little Fun Train that departs from Agia Marina. The tiny white train trundles along roads and tracks amid some of the region’s prettiest scenery.
Just southwest of Chania centre is the Limnoupolis Waterpark, a fun-filled and refreshing day out with water slides suitable for all ages.
Hire bicycles and get out on the trails just outside Chania city. Cycle across the Akrotiri Peninsula on an easy route that ends at Stavros Beach.
A day out on the water is the ultimate adventure for families. Take a guided boat trip and hire a snorkel and mask to discover the underwater world of the Mediterranean.

What our local experts say

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Chania weather

Jan

9°C

Avg. Dry Days 12

Feb

11°C

Avg. Dry Days 11

Mar

14°C

Avg. Dry Days 13

Apr

17°C

Avg. Dry Days 14

Nov

16°C

Avg. Dry Days 17

Dec

11°C

Avg. Dry Days 15

Your Chania questions answered

What’s the best time to visit Chania?

The best time to visit Chania is July through August, when the weather is hottest and driest. For a slightly cooler climate, visit in the shoulder seasons of early spring and late autumn.

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Places to go

Pick from our selection of fantastic destinations near Chania

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Prices last checked at 22:13 1 March 2021