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Chania Prefecture & Town

Westernmost province of Crete is Chania prefecture (also spelled Hania) Chania is renown for its natural beauty, its archaeological sites and for the city of Hania. It also has several beach resorts.

By nature its geography is of the wild and rugged variety and doesn't facilitate the worst of mass tourism, though that does manifest as well, more in the cities than by the beaches, the coast being rockier and less accessible. Most of the tourism in this province is concentrated on the coast near Hania, leaving much to explore for those not fond of crowds.

Usually described as Crete's most beautiful city the city of Hania is it's the 2nd largest city, and was Crete's capital until 1971. The picturesque harbor, with its Venetian and Turkish architecture, is one of the most popular photo op's to be found in Crete, and is a beautiful place.

On the northern coast of Chania Prefecture are two large peninsulas, one smaller one, Akrotiri, with the large Souda Bay just to the east of the city, where there is a NATO base and Rodhopou to the west, with its lush nature, quiet villages, serenity, and hiking possibilities.

To the far west, Gramvousa is a smaller peninsula, a wild, uninhabited locality at the island's northwestern-most tip. Inland are the deservedly famous and majestic Lefka Ori, (The White Mountains), with their snowcapped peaks that are rarely out of sight from anywhere in the province, (including the city of Chania itself), with their famous gorges which draw vast hordes of hikers every summer.

The wild south coast is mountain-hemmed, with its bays, its rare sandy beaches, and the occasional resort such as Paleohora has its own unique beauty.