Khaniá

Chania is built around a half-moon harbour, lined with ochre Venetian houses and closed off by a long stone breakwater with a lighthouse at its end. Behind it the lanes keep Turkish doorways, old fountains and the smell of fresh bread. The west coast of Crete is among the finest in Greece: the pink sand of Elafonissi Beach, the shallow lagoon of Balos Beach, the narrow inlets of Seitan Limania, the wide open shore of Falasarna Beach. Inland, white limestone mountains close the horizon. That is where the gorge of Samaria National Park begins, sixteen kilometres of descent between walls hundreds of metres high. Tavernas serve lamb, fresh cheese and honey pie, with a raki poured for free at the end. The covered market sells island olive oil, mountain herbs and sheep's cheese, and leather sandals are still cut to size in the lanes behind it.