The Old Town of Chania at night

Walking around Chania Old Town at night

We start our evening stroll around the Old Town of Chania with a photo of the lighthouse that lights the entrance to the Venetian harbour.
On summer nights Chania is pretty, lively and colourful. Here we are at the Venetian harbour, near the Naval Museum and the Firkas Fortress.
An old Venetian mansion is now a hotel. The photos of nighttime Chania have been taken at various times of year, like this one taken in April when there are still very few visitors. If the same picture were taken in July, the seafront cafes and restaurants would be packed with people.
One of the many restaurants on the Venetian harbour front.
A shop selling carpets and traditional woven goods in the alleyways of the Old Town. Late at night there’s hardly anyone around and the shopkeeper has the chance to play a game of backgammon with his friend.
An evening stroll round the alleyways of the Old Town of Chania is like a journey back in time, with the Venetian past of the city glimpsed on every corner.
Another photo of the alleyways of the Old Town.
A craft shop housed in an old Venetian building. The shops in the Old Town of Chania blend in tastefully and do not detract from its image.
Blue door and window in an old house. Blue is not a very common colour in Chania, but it lends a Greek island air wherever it’s used.
The alleyways of the Old Town are labyrinthine. Pass beneath Venetian archways, climb steps and discover the lovely images that may wait in the next alley. If you get tired and hungry, there are lots of tavernas and restaurants in the Old Town, like the Sultana Taverna advertised on the board in the picture.
There are also lots of souvenir, folk art, weaving and pottery shops in the Old Town of Chania, all open until late at night.
A shop selling handcrafted pottery.
Carpets in the traditional colours and motifs of Crete.
Pretty glassware
A taverna with its tables spread out in the alleyway of the Old Town. As in all medieval Mediterranean cities, the streets were deliberately made narrow and labyrinthine as a defence against invaders, who could only move in small groups and lost their way in the labyrinth of alleyways.
Tourists wander round the town and explore Chania by night.
A more central street in the Old Town with lots of shops.
The Sultana Taverna with live music every night. We’re not advertising it, but the sign in the centre tells the interesting story of the 15th-century building, which was the mansion of the noble Venetian Renieri family. The mansion was two-storey with a chapel dedicated to St Nicholas in the courtyard. In 1645 the Venetians were replaced by the Turks, and a Turkish official took over the mansion and installed his harem.
A pretty cafe-bar, its decoration suited to the Old Town of Chania.
It’s late at night, but the little tables at this taverna are still full. The warm summer nights in Crete impose their own rhythm on Greek and foreign visitors alike.
The large archway you see here is typical of Venetian architecture. The customers at this taverna are mainly Greek, so the cooking must be good.
The simple wooden board and gourd with plants on this Venetian wall create a lovely picture.
The wooden board in the previous photo belongs to this taverna in the beautiful courtyard of a ruined Venetian building.
The distant sound of music led us to this taverna which regales customers and passers-by with rebetika songs.
What’s this pottery piglet doing hanging on the wall under the lamp? Is this also part of the history of Chania? The sow with its piglets was a fertility symbol in ancient Crete. Legend also has it that Zeus was raised with the help of a sow in the cave where he hid from his father, Cronus. Truth or myth? Probably both, but you’ll find your own explanation for this smiling piglet if you visit lovely Chania…