La Crète, ou le voyage magique sur une terre de légendes D’ouest en est, ou du nord au sud, l’île de Crète offre une multitude de visages aussi différents les uns que les autres. Cette île vous ensorcelle, par toutes les beautés magiques qui se déclinent au travers de paysages encore sauvages, mais aussi à travers une histoire qui remonte à la nuit des temps. Bercée par les flots bleus de la mer de Crète au nord et de la mer de Lybie au sud, cette île faite de montagnes s’est vêtue d’oliviers, d’orangers et de citronniers.
Les bougainvilliers y sont flamboyants et les lauriers jalonnent les routes, jetant à vos yeux, les couleurs vives et gaies d’une île baignée de soleil. De Zeus qui y naquit, au Minoen qui en firent un des endroits les plus évolués de l’antiquité, la Crète regorge de sites tous aussi intéressants les uns que les autres. Les Romains y fondèrent des colonies, les Vénitiens y amenèrent tout le charme de la Sérénissime et les Turcs la magie de l’orient.
Tous laissèrent leurs empreintes sur l’île, leurs histoires, leurs légendes, et ces différentes cultures y ont encore aujourd’hui laissés des influences qui résonnent à chaque détours d’une rue : Héraklion, Rethymno, Xania vous charment, Aghios Nikolaos vous séduit. Vous aimerez découvrir les villages du centre de l’île si typiques tout comme vous apprécierez les plages aux eaux limpides, ou encore les lagons dans la partie ouest de l’île avec leurs couleurs paradisiaques.
Les randonneurs seront époustouflés par les différentes gorges qui leur permettront des balades inoubliables et une belle découverte de la faune et de la flore.Le soir venu, prenez place dans une taverne typique pour goûter et savourer toutes les spécialités culinaires et vous familiariser ainsi avec le régime crétois en compagnie des villageois.
Évadez-vous au son des mélodies des lyras, ces instruments de musique traditionnelle. Sondez le cœur des crétois et vous y trouverez toutes la gentillesse d’un peuple du sud dont l’hospitalité est légendaire. Et pour finir un séjour riche en émotions et en rencontres, faites une visite au musée archéologique d’Héraklion, l’un des plus grands de Grèce. Bien evidemment, avoir un moyen de locomotion en Crète est indispensable, car un minimum de 7 jours est nécessaire pour avoir une assez bonne connaissance de l’île, même si 15 jours sont l’idéal.
Mais louer une voiture en Crète est très facile. athenscars.gr par exemple, est une compagnie qui peut vous proposer le véhicule le mieux adapté à votre séjour, car elle est dotée d’une flotte de véhicules très bien entretenus et à des prix compétitifs
.A votre arrivée à l’aéroport d’Héraklion ou de Xania, et après que vous aurez récupéré vos bagages, vous trouverez une personne que l’agence athenscars.gr aura mandatée pour vous accueillir et vous remettre les clés de votre voiture. Soucieuse de vous faire passer un agréable séjour en Crète, elle sera à votre écoute pour toutes les questions que vous auriez encore besoin de poser. Car chez athenscars.gr, votre satisfaction est leur priorité. Alors qu’attendez-vous pour réserver et partir à la conquête d’une des plus belles îles du bassin méditerranéen.
Adventure:
Walk or Trek the fantastic Samaria Gorge at Chania region, find specious animals and plants during the direction as well as churches. Go for water skiing at any organized beach with blue flag, cycle with a biking team in the mountains of the island, through sunny and dusty areas.
Eat & Drink:
You can taste fresh seafood mainly to any of southern Cretan villages, taste the grilled lamb at the mountainous villages as well as vegetarian food at every local Tavern, Cretan have a great tradition in vegetarian food, eat the fresh home made pies-where in every place on the island are different cooked. Eat Feta cheese and Myzithra cheese.
Nightlife:
Loud and fun-fuelled Malia and Malia beach bars, Hersonisos port and Hersonisos town bars, keep the party-hungry happy with all-night clubbing, drinking races and a karaoke overdose. Eat at a luxury VIP restaurant of Elounda or Hersonisos and taste Gourmet food at high standards.
Take Home-what to take with you.
Fill your bags with Cretan olive oil, Cretan wine, Cretan cheese,Tsikoudia- raki, Thyme honey, herbs and nuts at Heraklion Central Market. Find handcrafted leather boots, bags and blue pottery in Chania Agora Market center, and cavernous cellars stocking Greek wines in Archanes and Peza villages.
Prepare:
Make sure you will have a pair of sunglasses ready to wear, be patient to taste all Cretan diet food and wines.Crete YearCome to taste the fantastic Rethymnon carnival on February, visit the eastern part of Crete, Sitia, to find calmness and peace. Stay in a stone made house at Elia village of Chania and feel the smell of the environment and juices of life!
PublicHolidays:
New Year’s Day (1 Jan), Epiphany (6 Jan), Orthodox Shrove Monday (Mar), Independence Day (25 Mar), Easter Monday (Mar-Apr), Labour Day (1 May), Pentecost (Jun), Assumption (15 Aug), Ochi Day (Greece entered WW2 in 1940 on 28 Oct), Christmas (25-26 Dec) and many other of Saint namedays that differ from place to place and village to village.Cretans are very Religious people.
Weather:
Crete sizzles at temperatures of up to 43-46°C in July and mostly August, when partying picks up a pace and the busiest resorts. Come in winter time when temperatures hover around 15°C to see the mountains covered in snow and almond trees bloom. The island is carpeted with flowers in spring – expect highs of around 20-25°C.Febry=uary and mid January months are very warm. Generally the weather is very mild in this part of Greece.
Crete Flydrive Holidays
Turn your holiday to Crete into one of a lifetime by combining all it has to offer with a Crete fly drive holiday. Enjoy the excitement of Heraklion south whilst taking a relaxing break along the Gulf Messara Coast, a scenic trip to Psiloritis mountain and indulge in the exciting party atmosphere of Hersonisos. Crete really does have it all and a fly drive holiday allows you to see it. On a Crete fly drive you have the option to fly to either Heraklion or Chania.
Matala Beach Heraklion
When in Crete, visiting South Beach is a must! The scene certainly lives up to the stereotype of Crete. You’ll find surfers catching the waves in a turquoise ocean, models sauntering along golden sands and rollerbladers gliding down beach road.
Crete Theme Parks
One of the main attractions to Crete is the theme parks, where you are definitely spoilt for choice. At the Cretan Aquarium Park the excited visitors get a feel of what it would be like to journey to the outer reaches of sea world. They can view the depths of the ocean or meet the rear species of fishes.
Vai Palm Beach of Eastern Crete
The Vai Palm beach is stretched at the eastern part of Crete and are often described as ‘Crete’s jewels’ because of the sparkling effect created by the closeness of the sea and the thousands of palm trees on both sides. Attitudes are laid-back and popular activities include snorkelling, diving, fishing and boating. You can also swim with euphoria, enjoy a sunset sail or venture into the archaeological area of Itanos for a walk on the wild side.
Beautiful Beaches
Enjoy your Crete holidays with an incredible 10,297 km of coastline to choose from; ideal for beach lovers looking to discover the white sands, Mediterranean climates and amazing wildlife!
Clearwater, Vai and Elafonisi are the region’s top beach resorts.
Just beyond the beaches of Crete, there’s a whole world of ship wrecks and coral reefs waiting to be explored.
Nature and Culture
The art lovers will appreciate the iconic art deco district in Heraklion, with the Museum of Physical history in Heraklion amongst the unique scenery. Chania city, sometimes known as the old Chania town, is a popular destination among couples who can jump on a river boat and enjoy the romantic atmosphere of its unique place.
Looking for nature and thrills away from the crowdy city?
Visit Lasithi plateau, the place where all villages have a special identity for the wild life and nature.
Travel Information
Language: Greek
Currency: EURO
Local time: GMT +2 hours
Things to do in Crete
Famous for its glorious sunshine, sandy beaches and magical nature parks, Crete Attractions have something for everyone. If you’re lucky enough to be heading here on a holiday, check out our list of top things to do in Crete for some inspiring ideas.
Crete has a tradition of music, poems, songs and dances. This island’s tradition and customs are well known all over the world.
Discover Crete attractions -Crete nightlife:
The most important you should do is to visit a place with traditional Cretan music, the ancient instrument Lyra, is going to surprise you with its sound and shape! It is looking very much like violin, but is obviously an older instrument.
If you will not manage to visit such a place, buy a cd with the local music and songs.
There are thousands of night café and bars as well as Bouzouki places, pool bars, seaside bars and nightclubs, to enjoy each night! Crete is the ideal place for nightlife!
Other popular attractions:
Cycling is very well known sport in Crete, there are many cycling clubs which choose this island to spend their athletic vacations, the climate helps to train all year round.
Football camps, tenis courts, beach volley camps, basketball, golf resorts, snorkeling and diving schools, trekking and mountain biking are some of most well known activities that take place on this island.