The Venetian harbour of Chania is, at 6am, a mirror: the water flat and still, the pastel facades of the 14th- to 16th-century Venetian townhouses, ochre, terracotta, faded pink, the colours of a melting sorbet, reflected perfectly on the surface, the only sound the cry of the gulls and the slap of a fishing boat’s wake against the quay. By 9am, the harbour is a different place: the café tables are out, the espresso machines are hissing, the horse-drawn carriages are clip-clopping along the waterfront, and the guided tours, the Dutch, the Germans, the British, are marching towards the lighthouse with maps and cameras and the slightly dazed expression of people who have just stepped off a cruise ship. The Chania of the morning, the quiet, the fishermen mending their nets on the benches, the smell of the bread baking at the bakery by the Kum Kapi gate, is the real Chania. Come early, come often, and try to be the first person in the harbour each morning of your holiday. Here are the top five tourist hotspots in Chania.

Top Five: Chania, Crete

• 1. The Old Venetian Harbour, the heart of Chania: The harbour was built by the Venetians in the 14th century (Crete was a Venetian colony from 1205 to 1669, the longest period of foreign rule in the island’s history, and the Venetians left their mark in the architecture, the fortifications, and the DNA of the Chania waterfront) and the lighthouse, the Egyptian lighthouse, built by the Egyptians during their brief period of control in the 1830s, is the oldest lighthouse still in use in the Mediterranean. The walk along the harbour wall to the lighthouse (15 minutes each way, free, the view of the White Mountains, the Lefka Ori, behind the town, snow-capped into May) is the essential Chania experience. The Maritime Museum (at the entrance to the harbour, ~€4, the replica of a Minoan ship, the Minoa, a 17-metre vessel reconstructed using techniques from 1,700 BC, and the exhibits on the Battle of Crete in 1941, the German paratrooper invasion that devastated the island) is small, slightly old-fashioned, and unexpectedly fascinating. Allow 1 hour for the museum, then walk the harbour wall at sunset, the light on the facades is the most beautiful moment of the day
• 2. The Municipal Market, the cross of Crete: The Ágora (the Municipal Market, 1913, a cross-shaped building modelled on the Marseille market, the heart of the Chania food scene) is the essential morning destination: the cheese stalls (the graviera, the Cretan sheep’s-milk cheese, nutty and sweet, the essential ingredient of the Cretan diet), the honey (the thyme honey of the White Mountains, the dark, aromatic, and intensely flavoured honey that is the best in Greece), the olives (the wrinkled, salt-cured olives of Crete, the best olives in the Mediterranean, and I will defend that statement), the herbs (the dittany of Crete, the wild oregano that grows only on the island, the ancient Greeks believed it had healing powers, and the tea made from the dried leaves is the taste of a Cretan morning), and the raki stalls (the local spirit, the Cretan version of grappa, the essential digestif, poured freely after every meal in every taverna on Crete. You will be offered raki more often than you will be offered water). The market is open Monday–Saturday, 8am–2pm. Go hungry. More Greece →
• 3. The beaches, from Elafonisi to Seitan Limania: The beaches of the Chania region are among the best in Europe. Elafonisi (the pink-sand beach at the southwestern tip of Crete, 75 km from Chania, the sand is pink because of the crushed shells of the Foraminifera, a microscopic marine organism, and the colour is less dramatic than the Instagram photographs suggest but the lagoon, the shallow water, and the sense of standing at the edge of the Mediterranean are magnificent. ~1.5 hours by car from Chania. Go early, the car park fills by 9.30am in August). Balos (the lagoon at the northwestern tip, the turquoise water, the white sand, and the view from the cliffs above, the most photographed beach on Crete. The road is unpaved for the last 8 km; the alternative is a boat from Kissamos. ~€30 for the boat trip). Falassarna (the long, wide, sandy beach on the west coast, the best sunset on Crete, the archaeological site of the ancient harbour, Falassarna was a powerful city-state in the 4th century BC, and the tavernas at the top of the beach). And Seitan Limania (the “Devil’s Harbour”, a narrow cove 20 km north of Chania, the water the colour of a blue ice pop, the beach accessible only by a steep, rough path down the cliff. The path is not for the nervous, but the reward, the cove, the cliffs, the impossibly blue water, is the most beautiful swimming spot on the peninsula)
• 4. The White Mountains, the Samaria Gorge: The Samaria Gorge (16 km, the longest gorge in Europe, the walk from the Omalos Plateau at 1,230 metres to the Libyan Sea) is the essential hiking experience on Crete: the narrowest point, the “Iron Gates”, is 4 metres wide, the cliffs rise 300 metres on either side, and the kri-kri (the Cretan wild goat, found nowhere else on Earth, you will see them on the rocks, indifferent to the hikers) are the symbol of the gorge. The walk takes 4–7 hours, it is downhill (but hard on the knees), and the reward, the swim at Agia Roumeli (the village at the end, the beach, the Libyan Sea, warmer, saltier, and more intense than the Aegean or the Ionian), is the most satisfying swim you will ever take. Entry: ~€5. Getting there: the bus from Chania (5am departure, yes, it is early, and yes, it is worth it) to the Omalos Plateau. The ferry from Agia Roumeli to Chora Sfakion (1 hour, ~€13), then the bus back to Chania. The Samaria Gorge is open from May to October, check the website, as rain closes the gorge for safety reasons. Essential gear: trainers or hiking boots, water (2 litres), a hat, and a swimsuit
• 5. The Cretan taverna and the philosophy of food: The Cretan diet, olive oil, wild greens, fish, lamb, cheese, and wine, is one of the healthiest and most delicious in the world (the Seven Countries Study, the foundational epidemiological study of diet and heart disease, found that the Cretan men of the 1950s had the lowest rates of heart disease in the world, despite, or perhaps because of, a diet that was 40% fat, almost entirely from olive oil). The essential Chania taverna experience: the dakos (a barley rusk, soaked in water until it softens, topped with chopped tomato, mizithra cheese, oregano, and olive oil, the simplest and most perfect dish on Crete), the kalitsounia (the sweet cheese pastries, drizzled with honey, the essential Cretan breakfast), the lamb with stamnagathi (the wild greens, slightly bitter, the perfect foil for the rich, slow-cooked lamb), and the raki (the complementary shot that arrives, unbidden, at the end of every meal, it is not a suggestion, it is a ritual). Essential tavernas: Serai (the oldest taverna in Chania, the courtyard in the old town, the lamb stamnagathi, ~€15 for a main), Chrisostomos (the view of the Venetian harbour, the fresh fish, the quiet, professional service, a cut above the tourist tavernas. ~€20–25 for a fish dinner), and To Stachi (vegetarian and organic, the garden courtyard, and the only restaurant in Chania that does not serve meat, the creativity of the cooking makes you realise that the Cretan vegetable, given the attention usually reserved for the lamb, is the real star of the kitchen)