Paleochora Crete

holiday report and Crete map

Paleochora Crete

The seaside resort of PALEOCHORA is now firmly on the package tourist map with a noticeable surge in new apartments particularly to the west behind the main beach.
Paleochora has a huge 2km long sweep of fine but sharp sand. The beach is remarkably deep and edged by banks of shady tamarisks and then the main road. Hidden under the tamarinds are a few basic beach cantinas and a small children's playground.
On Paleochora beach proper, sunbeds are cheap and well spaced apart on the wide sands. The shoreline is shallow but there are underwater rocks to stub the toes. These rocks surface at the western end to create interesting rock pools and small coves.
A large sign to the west proclaiming NO NUDISTS HERE is completely ignored. To the east is a narrow stone and pebble beach, much smaller but with good tavernas nearby. Paleochora town is a sprawling knot of one-way streets built on a dull square grid. Restaurants, cafes and shops lend a cosmopolitan air that defies Paleochora's backwater position.
August is a good month for cultural events including a music festival. It is also a good bet for a later break as the summer lasts longer in the south.
Above Paleochora is the recently restored fort Castel Seleno, built by the Venetians in 1252 and rebuilt 100 years later after Cretan rebels destroyed it. What remains today is mostly Turkish, rebuilt in the later 1500s and now open to the public.
Paleochora is open all winter and a few tourists spend the winter months here. It can be wet and windy but there are many days of warm winter sunshine. This is a good base too walkers. The road to Paleochora from Chania is particularly scenic.
Germans left their mark in the last war with many villages razed to the ground, their populations shot or simply thrown into the flames. Several local villages have simple, austere monuments to the atrocities.
The most notable is in Kanados where a sign in German says 'HERE STOOD THE VILLAGE OF KANADOS, DESTROYED IN RETALIATION FOR THE MURDER OF 25 GERMAN SOLDIERS' - proud of it then. A similar small plaque in nearby Floria bears a memorial to wanton acts of revenge on civilians.
Further west is Capri Krios, where many idyllic coves lie hidden between rocky outcrops. The best is at Halikia where there is a small harbour. Prigs can steer clear as naturism is the norm.