|
The Lassithi region, in the centre of the island, in addition to being home to the
island’s more popular beach resorts, still has much else to offer more
selective visitors hoping to avoid the masses. Just a few kilometres from the
frenetic pace of Hersonissos and Malia you can enter an entirely different
world where normal Cretan village life and the legendary hospitality continue
in the time-honoured way.
Just inland from the pretty beach resort of Sissi, Neapoli is a thriving working
town where life centres around the main square. Tourism is certainly not its reason for being and people-watching
from one of the cafes is the main attraction.
Further east in the centre of the wide and indented Gulf of Mirabello lies Agios
Nikolaos, a bustling, cosmopolitan town where day to day life co-exists with
tourism in a relaxed way. Restaurants, smart cafes and patisseries are centred
around the harbour and supposedly bottomless Lake Voulismeni, an ideal place
for an evening stroll. The town is home to an excellent archaeological museum
and enough shops of all kinds to satisfy the average shopaholic.
Some nine kilometres north of Agios Nikolaos lies the resort of Elounda with its
busy square and waterfront tavernas, small beach complete with a watersports
school and even its own sunken city, ancient Olous. A further four kilometres
on is the hamlet of Plaka with a handful of cafes and fish tavernas and regular
boat trips to Spinalonga, the evocative island with its ruined fortifications
made famous as a former leper-colony.
South east of Agios Nikolaos lie Kritsa, famous for its lace
and local handicrafts, the small church of Kera, famous for its naive frescos
and Lato, a commanding hillside Classical site. Here too are the reed-fringed Almyros beach, busy with all types
of watersports activities and the sandy beach at the village of Ammoudara.
Slightly further east the stark and haunting wall of the Thripti mountains
seems to tumble into the sea and in a dip in the hills lies Kalo Chorio with
its beaches hidden beyond the olives and its collection of low-key tavernas and
stores. Beyond Kalo Chorio lie more sheltered sandy coves, the well-preserved
ruins of the Minoan town of Gournia and the village of Pacchia Amos, known for
its excellent fish tavernas.
Just a little further east, the seaside hamlet of Mochlos provides an ideal retreat
for those seeking the charm of an unpretentious fishing village with the added
bonus of it’s own important Minoan site and a handful of excellent fish
tavernas.
The Lassithi region and the Mirabello Gulf are ideal for family beach holidays as
well as an excellent base for those visiting Crete’s archaeological treasures
and is the perfect solution for families or groups of friends with differing
interests.
|
