Visit to Chania and its surroundings on join-in tour

Chania is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania regional unit. Chania is a city on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. It’s known for its 14th-century Venetian harbor, narrow streets, and waterfront restaurants. At the harbor entrance is a 16th-century lighthouse with Venetian, Egyptian and Ottoman influences. Opposite, the Nautical Museum has model ships, naval objects, and photographs. The former monastery of St. Francis houses the Archaeological Museum of Chania.

The Archaeological Museum of Chania is a museum located in the former Venetian Monastery of Saint Francis at 28 Chalidon Street, Chania, Crete, Greece. It was established in 1962. The exact date that the building was constructed is unknown although it was mentioned in writing as standing during the great earthquake of 1595 and being the largest in the city. It served as a Venetian church inhabited by Franciscan friars, and became an important monument of the city. During the period of the Ottoman occupation, the building was used as a mosque and named after Yussuf Pasha. After World War II it served as a storehouse for military equipment, until it was converted into the museum in 1962.

The Chania Cathedral celebrates its feast-day on 21 November, the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin. It is called “Trimartyri” because, while the central aisle is dedicated to the Virgin, the north aisle is dedicated to St Nicholas and the south aisle to the Three Hierarchs. It is not known when the first church was built, but it was definitely there in the Venetian period. The cathedral had just been completed when it was damaged in the 1897 Revolution. It was restored at the expense of the Tsar of Russia, to make amends for the Russian bombardment of Akrotiri. The cathedral bell was also a gift from the Russian Tsar. In the cathedral square stands a statue of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras.

The Chrysopigi Monastery is situated 3 kilometers outside of Chania towards Souda. It dates from the 16th century and is lived in by nuns that are known for painting icons. It was founded in the middle of the 16th century in the last period of Venetian rule in Crete. The Monastery is dedicated to our Lady of the Life-Giving Spring, who is known popularly as ‘Chrysopigi’, the Golden Fountain. The founder of the Monastery was a physician and philosopher by the name of Ioannis Chartophylax, a prominent citizen of the town of Chania, who founded the Monastery in the middle of the 16th century. During the period of Venetian rule the Monastery of Chrysopigi developed into an important spiritual centre for Chania with numerous monks and a rich library.