Chania also spelled "Hania" is the second bigger city of Crete with a population of about 65,000 citizens and the capital of the prefecture of the same name. It lies along the North coast of Crete, about 70 km west of Rethymno and 145 km west of Heraklion.
Built on the ruins of ancient Kidonia it has seen and survived many invaders, but has also tasted civilizations that left their marks on building faces, castles, walls, antiquities, monasteries and churches.
The city is mainly divided into two parts. The New Town which is where the day to day business of the Chania goes on, with its shops and offices, the post office and banks, the renowned indoor market and the bus station - and the Old Town, built around the Venetian harbour with numerous picturesque narrow streets and architecture showing the influence of decades of foreign domination.
As well, the city has two entrances: the airport of Akrotiri, and the port of Souda (the largest in the Mediterranean).
The public indoor market holds a master place in the center of the city, a brilliant cross-shaped building that was completed in 1913, and in proportion with the one in Marseilles. Near the city center the Public Garden awaits you next to the "Peace and Friendship of the people" park. The gardens are the prettiest in Crete, and also the public garden offers a small zoo with animals from Cretan fauna.
The Venetian port picturesque any time and season is attractive to visitors and locals, for it's beauty and for it's choices of entertainment for all tastes and demands. The old town "intramural" districts preserve their Venetian nobility. Narrow paved alleys are surrounded with tasteful renewed houses, from various ages, are offered for a pleasant walk. Many neoclassic houses are also saved in districts which "neighbor" with the city of Chania, like Halepa.
In Chania, whether you are in a luxury hotel, in a discounted four-star hotel, or staying in a bargain-priced, self-catering apartment, you will never be treated as a foreigner, but always as a guest! Reasonably, Chania is among the cities with the highest rates of economic and social growth, because of the tourist flow that has.
