The prefecture of Rethymnon

The prefecture of Rethymnon is Crete's most mountainous region, bordered in the west by the White Mountains and in the east by Mt. Psiloritis. It is divided into four provinces: Rethymno, Agios Vasileios, Amari and Mylopotamos.

The province of Rethymnon

The capital of the province (and of the prefecture) is Rethymnon, with a population of 24.000 it is Crete's third largest town. See map of Rethymnon
Its main attraction is the Old Venetian - Ottoman quarter which occupies the headland beneath the Venetian fortress. It is a maze of narrow streets, Venetian monuments and the occasional minaret adding a touch of the Orient. The Old quarter has grown into a pretty important place for shopping and offers a wide assortment of stores selling just about everything from souvenirs to jewellery, leather, Cretan spices and pottery.
Rethymnon also possesses a very long sandy beach running several kilometres towards the east. It comes as no surprise that it is now one of the main tourist areas of Crete, lined with hotels and apartments of all categories.

The province of Mylopotamos

This province is situated east of the town of Rethymnon. The coast is still quite wild and in parts not easily accessible. The chief coastal resorts are Bali and Panormo.
Bali is set in beautiful surroundings, with several small coves, hills and narrow sandy beaches. The many touristic developments have marred the natural beauty of the area and it can be crowded in summer
Panormo is still a little known resort, despite the fact that it has a nice sandy beach and is easy to get to from Rethymnon. It is a small village built on an ancient settlement and still offers interesting sites to visit. There is also a lot of building activity going on and Panormo will most probably loose its tranquil charm to tourism in the coming years.

The hilly interior of the province is just beginning to attract some tourism, especially the villages of Margarites and Anogia.
Margarites is known for its fine pottery and is invaded by tour buses every morning. It is really best to go in the afternoon where all becomes calm again.
Anogia, perched on the foothills of Mt. Psiloritis is the largest mountain village of Crete. It is famous for its long history of rebellion. In W.W.II all the men of the village who could be caught (mainly the ones too old to escape) were massacred by the German in retaliation for their role in aiding the kidnap of General Kreipe, the commander of the German occupation forces. The towns weaving industry was developed by the widows of these massacred men to support themselves. Anogia is also famous throughout Crete for its musician families.
A road leads from Anogia to the Nida plateau (22 km), a small plateau at an altitude of 1400m from which it is possible to walk to Timios Stavros, the highest summit of the island (2456m), in about 4 hours.

The province of Agios Vasileios

The province of Agios Vasileos begins at Armeni in the north and ends on the south coast of the island where the best known resorts are Plakias, Preveli and Agia Galini. It is a province of gently rolling hills. The capital of the province is the little town of Spili. Spili is a pretty mountain town with cobbled streets and plane trees best known for its unique Venetian fountain which spurts water from 19 lion heads. As it is situated on the north to south road there are quite a few visitors (and tour buses) stopping by to admire them but in the evening it is still a sleepy little town. Spili is not too bad place to escape the summer heat.

Plakias, the tranquil fishing village with its beautiful, long sandy beach, two cafes and one taverna was one of the secret beach paradise in the late 60's and early 70's. No more! In 20 years Plakias moved on to bigger things and is a large resort mainly frequented by package tourists. It is still a beautiful place because of its location at the foot of the mountains but do not expect to see much of the traditional Crete there.
There are some very good walks that can be undertaken in the area. If you don't like wind, a word of warning: Plakias can get extremely windy because of a gap running north to south in the mountains.

Damnoni, a few kilometers east of Plakias was a nice, quiet little place and has pretty much been destroyed by an enormous Hapimag time-share complex as well as the ruin of a large hotel which ran out of cash before completion.

Moni Preveli is a famous, well-maintained monastery located above the Libyan sea. Like most Cretan monasteries it played a significant role in the island's rebellion against the Turks. In W.W.II, after the Battle of Crete, it sheltered many Allied soldiers who were being evacuated to Egypt. In retaliation the monastery was plundered by the Germans. The treasures of the monastery are kept in a small museum.
Not far from the monastery is the superb palm beach of Preveli. The river Milopotamos cuts the beach in half and its banks are lined with palm-trees This beach is one the most beautiful beach in Crete and is now attracting so many visitors that it is also one of the busiest.

Agia Galini is another picturesque little town suffering from an overdose of tourism. The once sleepy little village perched on a hill overlooking the sea consists almost entirely of hotels, rooms-for-rent, restaurants, bars and shops. In the season it is very very busy but manages to retain quite a bit of atmosphere.

The province of Amari

The Amari province is often seen as the heartland of Crete and the repository of its culture. Its capital Amari is surrounded by tranquil, unspoilt villages. From the legend of Zeus to the horrific bloodbath at Moni Arkadiou, Crete's tormented history took shape under the shadow of the looming Mt. Psiloritis. You will need your own transport to visit this province which is poorly deserved by public transport, although there are three buses a day from Rethymnon to Amari.
The Amari valley can be reached either from Rethymnon or from Agia Galini. This region harbours around 40 well-watered, unspoilt villages set amid olive groves and almond and cherry trees

Moni Arkadiou is an impressive 16th century monastery. In 1866 the Turks sent massive forces to quell insurrections which were gathering momentum throughout the island. Hundreds of men, women and children who had fled their villages used the monastery as a safe heaven. When 2000 Turkish soldiers attacked the building, rather than surrender, the Cretans set light to a store of gun powder. The explosion killed everyone, Turks included, except one small girl. She lived to a ripe old age in a village nearby.

Rethymnon on the web

Information about Rethymnon and the region is scarce on the Internet. Below a few of the links that I could find.