Platia

Rethymno Province

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Set in a square just up from the harbour, this cafe-bistro-bar is popular with locals. Excellent breakfasts (€6 to €10) offer everything from yoghurt and museli to ham and eggs, while dinner sees spaghetti with leeks and goat's cheese or garlic king-prawn salad. When the sun goes down, the long list of cocktails comes out.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • the ancient city of Gortyna or Gortys, to the south of Heraklion prefecture.; Shutterstock ID 2228390937; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 2228390937 aerial photography, amphitheater, ancient, ancient greece, ancient site of tylissos, antiquity, archaeological, archaeological site, archeology, architectural, architecture, attraction, bronze, building, city, civilization, cretan, crete, culture, destination, details from the air, documentary tylissos, educational photography, famous, gortyna, gortys, greece, greek, history, island, king minos, mediterranean, minoan, minoan culture, minoans, old, outdoors, past, picturesque, ruin, sightseeing, site, stone, summer, theater, tourism, touristic, traditional, travel, vacations

    Gortyna

    14.94 MILES

    Gortyna (also Gortyn or Gortys) has been inhabited since Neolithic times but reached its pinnacle after becoming the capital of Roman Crete from around 67…

  • Ruins of the ancient Minoan Palace of Phaistos (Festos) with the Messara mountains in the background. 354488120 aegean, age, ancient, archaeological, architecture, backdrop, background, blue, bronze, building, city, civilization, cretan, crete, culture, faistos, famous, festos, greece, greek, history, horizontal, island, landscape, legacy, mediterranean, messara, minoan, mountain, old, outdoors, palace, past, phaestos, phaistos, place, plain, plateau, remains, romantic, ruin, scenic, site, sky, stone, summer, temple, tourism, travel, tree, view, wall

    Phaestos

    7.77 MILES

    Phaestos was the second-most-important Minoan palace-city after Knossos and enjoys an awe-inspiring setting with panoramic views of the Messara Plain and…

  • The main church of Arkadi Monastery, symbol of the struggle of Cretans against the Ottoman Empire , Rethymno, Crete, Greece.; Shutterstock ID 586702175; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 586702175

    Moni Arkadiou

    15.09 MILES

    The 16th-century Arkadi Monastery, 23km southeast of Rethymno, has deep significance for Cretans. As the site where hundreds of cornered locals massacred…

  • The path to the cave of Zeus; Shutterstock ID 1827561248; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1827561248

    Ideon Cave

    11.14 MILES

    Although just a huge and fairly featureless hole in the ground, Ideon has sacred importance in mythology as the place where Zeus was reared by his mother,…

  • ELEUTHERNA, CRETE, GREECE - March 19, 2019. Inside the museum of the archaeological site of ancient Eleutherna, Rethimno; Shutterstock ID 1387762328; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1387762328

    Museum of Ancient Eleutherna

    15.69 MILES

    A must-see for anyone visiting the ruins of Eleutherna is the accompanying modern museum that contextualises the ancient city through the exhibition of…

  • Melidoni Crete September 1 2019-Melidoni cave, an amazing historical and archaeological cave with the impressive formations of the stalactites and stalagmites.; Shutterstock ID 1501663331; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1501663331

    Melidoni Cave

    19.74 MILES

    About 2km outside the village of Melidoni is this stunning cathedral-like cave, an evocative underworld of stalactites and stalagmites. A place of worship…

  • Archaeological Museum of Rethymno

    Archaeological Museum of Rethymno

    22.29 MILES

    Set inside the atmospheric Venetian-built Church of St Francis, this well-curated museum features a stunning collection of well-preserved relics unearthed…

  • Venetian fortress Fortezza in Rethymno on Crete, Greece; Shutterstock ID 436424554; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digitl; full: POI 436424554

    Fortezza

    22.56 MILES

    Looming over Rethymno, the star-shaped Venetian fortress cuts an imposing figure with its massive walls and bastions but was nevertheless unable to stave…

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Nearby Rethymno Province attractions

1. Icarus & Daedalus Statues

0.07 MILES

Agia Gallini has its place in the annals of Greek mythology as the site where Icarus and Daedalus are believed to have taken their ill-fated flight from…

2. Agia Triada

6.54 MILES

In an enchanting spot 3km west of Phaestos, Agia Triada encompasses vestiges of an L-shaped royal villa, a ramp once leading out to sea, and a village…

3. Minoan Tomb

6.64 MILES

Amid fields just outside Kamilari stands a fenced-in, extraordinarily well-preserved circular Minoan tomb with 2m-high stone walls. Side rooms were used…

4. Agios Pavlos

7.02 MILES

Agios Pavlos' main beach comprises a brown arc of sand that's topped by steep dunes, and a rocky bluff that resembles a recumbent dragon. When the sun's…

5. Kommos

7.08 MILES

The Minoan site of Kommos, 3km north of Matala above a fantastic wide and sandy beach, is believed to have been the port of the mighty palace-city…

6. Kommos Beach

7.23 MILES

Located 2km north of Matala near Pitsidia and reached by a steep and winding road, the sun-kissed sands of Kommos hug Messara Bay in one of the region's…

7. Museum of Cretan Ethnology

7.37 MILES

Well worth a detour to Vori, this nonprofit museum lifts the curtain on how rural people lived on the island until well into the 20th century. The English…

8. Phaestos

7.77 MILES

Phaestos was the second-most-important Minoan palace-city after Knossos and enjoys an awe-inspiring setting with panoramic views of the Messara Plain and…