Rethymno

Rethymno is a beautiful town of around 30,000 inhabitants. A settlement has existed on the site since the Mycenean era. The old town is 16th centuary Venetian and one of the best preserved on Crete. It contains many Byzantine,  Hellenic-Roman and Turkish remains, a quaint Venetian harbor and narrow streets. It has one of the biggest and best Venetian castles on Crete, the Fortetza. It also contains the Neratze mosque (St. Katherine's Catholic Church), the Great Gate (megali porta, Porta Guerra), the Piazza Rimondi (Rimmondi square), the Venetian Loggia, and an archeological museum, to name but a few further attractions.

Rethymno is a tourist centre and has a very long and sandy beach and lots of tavernas, bars and night-life.

Rethymno is home to the University of Crete.