Many visitors to Crete arrive in the island's capital, Iráklion (Heraklion), but it's not an outstandingly beautiful city, nor one where you'll want to stay much longer than it takes to visit the Archeological Museum and nearby Knossós . Iráklion itself, though it has its good points - superb fortifications, a fine market, atmospheric old alleys and some interesting lesser museums - is for the most part an experience in survival: despite a recent makeover of central areas by the city hall it remains modern, raucous, traffic-laden and overcrowded.

 

The area immediately around the city is less touristy than you might expect, mainly because there are few decent beaches of any size on this central part of the coast. To the west, mountains drop straight into the sea virtually all the way to Réthymnon, with just two significant coastal settlements: Ayía Pelayía , a sizeable resort, and Balí , which is gradually becoming one. Eastwards, the main resorts are at least 30km away, at Hersónissos and beyond, although there is a string of rather unattractive developments all the way there. Inland, there's agricultural country, some of the richest on the island, a cluster of Crete's better vineyards, and a series of wealthy but rather dull villages. Directly behind the capital rises Mount Ioúktas with its characteristic profile of Zeus; to the west the Psilorítis massif spreads around the peak of Mount Psilorítis (Ídha) the island's highest mountain. On the south coast there are few roads and little development of any kind, except at Ayía Galíni in the southwest, a nominal fishing village long since swamped with tourists, and Mátala , which has thrown out the hippies that made it famous and is now crowded with package-trippers. Léndas has to some extent occupied Mátala's old niche.

Despite the lack of resorts, there seem constantly to be thousands of people trekking back and forth across the centre of the island. This is largely because of the superb archeological sites in the south: Festós , second of the Minoan palaces, with its attendant villa at Ayía Triádha , and Górtys , capital of Roman Crete.