If in your honeymoon travel to Greece you want a unique cultural experience in one of the most charming small cities in Europe, then Chania city is for you.
If culture is an important part of your honeymoon travel to Greece, you don’t have to limit yourself to the (magnificent in any way) cultural past of ancient Greece. Greece, after all, has played a major role in most civilizations in the history of what we now call “the western world”.
So, if you want something different than the remnants of the ancient Greek civilization in your honeymoon travel to Greece, then the city of Chania in Crete should be first on your list.
Chania city is by no means most recent than Athens or Sparta. It used to be inhabited during the years of the Minoan civilization, which flourished in Crete centuries before classical Greece, and it is considered the first organized civilization in Greece and Europe.
Chania city has a history so rich and varied that it is impossible to even summarize it in just one article. But there is a period in the city’s history that has left the biggest impact in the character and the atmosphere of today’s Chania city: The Venetian period.
Honeymoon travel to Chania city, Greece: The Old Venetian Harbor
During the period that the Venetian ruled the Mediterranean Sea, Chania city became their most important harbor in the eastern Mediterranean, and the second most important harbor after Venice itself. It was in this period that the amazing Old Venetian Harbor of Chania was gradually built.
A masterpiece of civil engineering in its time, the Chania Venetian Harbor soon filled with architectural masterpieces – a trend that continued during the years of the Ottoman occupation of Crete.
Today, in the harbor you can see the impressive Old Sea Wall that the Venetians built to protect it. On the edge of the wall lies the Arabian Lighthouse – called this way by the craftsmen who restored it during the Ottoman years.
Across the Old Sea Wall there are the grand Venetian Arsenalis (meaning “dockyards”), which are slowly and carefully restored year after year. The biggest of them, the Great Arsenali, was the first to complete its fine restoration, and now houses the Center of Mediterranean Architecture. We highly recommend to visit this magnificent building in your honeymoon travel to Greece.
Important buildings of the Ottoman period of Chania in the Old Venetian Harbor include the Yali Tzamisi, with its characteristic dome, and Firkas fortress, which used to be a prison for revolting Cretans, and now houses the Naval Museum of Chania.
Honeymoon travel to Chania city, Greece: The Old Town
Chania Old Town is the part of the city just behind the Venetian Harbor. A maze of small cobbled streets and alleys, the Old Town is the most vibrant part of the city, being full of people from all over the world day and night.
Get the best of your honeymoon in Greece and take your time to explore the hidden corners and charming shops of the Old Town of Chania. Here you will find some of the best taverns, restaurants, cafes, bars and handicrafts shops in Crete.
Inside the Old Town, you will find many buildings with centuries of history behind them. Every corner of the Old Town is literally a place where something important happened in the city’s long history. The Old Town of Chania will most possibly be one of the cultural highlights of your honeymoon travel to Greece.
If you want to go further than ancient Greek culture, a travel to Chania city in Crete will reward you in many ways. This charming city that most Greeks believe is the most beautiful city in Greece, is the ideal destination for your honeymoon travel to Greece.
