(Heraklion, Crete, Greece)

Heraklion is Crete’s largest city. We spent our first full day here getting our bearings. That might not sound too ambitious, but it is important to remember that the city really expanded under Venetian rule. So, it is not surprising that the old city is a warren of narrow non-linear streets…just like Venice.

It was so confusing that we managed to get disoriented on our first extended exploration of the city. I was sure that we were travelling west, but it turned out that we had been travelling south. And with such narrow streets, you can’t look to the sea or to other landmarks to navigate. We were glad that we had a map with us, and we never left our hotel without it.

It didn’t take us long to realize that Heraklion has a very strong café culture. Cafés were everywhere. On the main streets, the crowd tended to be younger and the offerings were trendier. It’s not unusual for those places to have five (or more) types of hot chocolate in addition to a few dozen coffees. On the side streets, the crowd skewed older and largely male. The coffee selection was much smaller. But those places might serve raki too. It remains a key element of Cretan culture.

After a caffeine hit, we felt emboldened to trek even further. But this time, we headed for the water. Heraklion has a huge harbour…or, rather, harbours. The one closest to downtown is the old Venetian harbour, and comes complete with a Venetian fortress and a 2.5 kilometre-long pier. East of that is the new harbour, where massive ferries sail to Piraeus (the port of Athens) or to other Greek islands. These ferries are basically floating cities.

I will cut to the chase: yes, the sea seems especially blue here. Every photo I took just seemed more vivid than marine pictures taken elsewhere. I didn’t use any filters or trickery. The only other place where I’ve seen such blue water is the Croatian coast around Dubrovnik. There’s a good reason why blue is so prominent on the Greek flag!

Travelling in the off-season has its pluses and minuses. Most importantly, the tourist crush is non-existent. But, as a result, many sites and museums have shorter hours. Places that might be open until 8:00 p.m. in the summer months might close at 3:30 p.m. at this time of year. It means that some advance planning is required. But one thing stays constant throughout the year: Cretans tend to eat dinner very late. 10:00 p.m. seems to be the preferred time here.

While Heraklion has more than its share of narrow, winding streets, it does have some grand boulevards too. Happily, many streets are also pedestrian only…or really only see periodic traffic in the form of motorcycles or delivery vehicles. And the pedestrian streets are full! The streets are humming well into the night, and the restaurants stay open until midnight or later too.

As much as the Heraklion lifestyle is growing on us, we also want to see other parts of Crete. Stay tuned for our first Cretan road-trip!