24 HOURS IN CRETE
Your next stop should be the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, with its comprehensive collection of Minoan art and artifacts. If you’d rather get some sun, the beach at Gramvoussa, with azure waters and imposing cliffs, Balos, known for its secluded inlet, and, Elafonissi, which is actually on its own island separated from the rest of Crete by a sandbar.
Opt for an overnight in Rethymno, a town on Crete’s north coast with age-old buildings that now house lively shops and restaurants, as well as churches, mosques and the Fortezza, a 16th-century Venetian fortress. If you want to see Crete’s nightlife you should stay in Heraklion, the city with the most vibrant clubbing scene.
Because the truth is there’s no going to Crete without eating as much Greek food as physically possible, don’t forget before you depart to taste the island’s exquisite cheeses, the Dakos salad, the delicious pie of Marathopita, the main dishes apaki, gamopilafo, or chochlioí boumpouristoí and the famous desert with the name Kaltsounia along with a bottle of raki.
Crete also produces excellent wines, made with local grape varieties and European blends at modern family-run vineyards. So before you hit the road to the airport go for a wine-tasting and a vineyard tour.