 The Chania harbour |  Cobbled street in the Old Town |  Overall Chania view |  Municipal market |
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 Local mpougatsa |  Venizelos Home |  Cretan cuisine |  Delicious meat pie |
 Halepa district |
Kostas lives and works in Chania, Crete, where he will offer a comprehensive whole-day walk around the town, to everything worth knowing about Chania: the municipal market, the old venetian harbour & walls, obscure and unknown spots and areas of interest, the old soap factory, local shops, the great mansions & churches, and a generous sampling of the local cuisine
WHAT you will LEARN:
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Outdoor photography, in the old town & the Venetian harbour
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Cretan food and deli preparation and tasting
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Points of cultural & historic interest: a comprehensive coverage of the town
Kostas - Chania, Crete off the beaten track
Itinerary: how we'll spend the day and what we'll do together
With a camera in hand, we will walk through the old town with the Venetian harbour, the Venetian walls, and the constant hustle & bustle. Reaching spots off the beaten track, we will visit Koum-Kapi, Splantzia, Castelli, Topana, the Jewish distist, and also the knife-making craftsmen’s area and the old ABEA soap factory.
Along the way, we will have a chance to taste the renowned "Iordanis' mpougatsa" (sweet cheese pie, made of mixed local cheeses), eat traditional cretan food at a selected family-run restaurant with exquisite dishes, and drink our coffee at the lavish municipal garden cafe'
As an ALTERNATIVE to the restaurant meal, we can do our shopping at the local flea market (subject to availability) and eat an exquisite home-prepared "shepherd's meal", which includes graviera cheese, olives, wet barley rusks, tomatoes, local wine/tsikoudia, or even a specially made meat-pie
On our way to Halepa district, we can take a bus tour which transcends the main road arteries and makes its way along the periphery of the town, offering an excellent view, from up high, of the whole town
We will visit the Halepa district, one of the most historic districts of Chania. In that area one can see the Aghia Magdalini church, of exquisite Russian architecture, and the embassies and consulates of the Great Powers also located in this area. The house where Eleutherios Venizelos lived (the prominent early 20th century greek Prime Minister) is also in Halepa.
We will also visit the Tampakaria district with the very special buildings and tanneries that date back to the early 19th century (some of them are still active). Leather processing was, initially, done by hand, mostly taking place at the sea front. The whole atmosphere is extremely intriguing.
Booking details
Kostas Mastorakis is your Host
Kostas lives and works in Chania, Crete. Being a multi-talented individual (engineer, photographer, entrepreneur, author, opinion-maker, amateur astronomer, song-writter, media producer) he will walk his guests to everything worth knowing about Chania
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Place: Chania, Crete
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Meeting Point: At the square, which is at the main entrance of the Chania municipal market
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Duration: 8 hours
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Timetable: 11.00-19.00
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Price: 120 euros per person (food, delicatessen, coffee, and bus tickets are included; museum tickets are not included)
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Availability: throughout the year
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Group size: 5 persons max
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What’s SPECIAL about this experience: a thorough acquaintance with Chania for insiders, away from the typical tourists' facade
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Place of ORIGIN: Chania, Crete
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LIVES in: Chania, Crete
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SPEAKS: English
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LOVES: travelling, reading, sports (weight training, martial arts, cycling, wrestling), photography, astronomy, business & marketing, writing, walking in nature, good cuisine, free thinking
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Has TRAVELLED to: many places in Greece
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Personal TRAITS: creative, determined, multi-talented, business-minded
Chania, Crete - Where the Experience will take place
What Wikipedia says
Chania is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north coast of the island, about 70 km (43 mi) west of Rethymno and 145 km (90 mi) west of Heraklion.
During the 1970s Crete became a major tourist destination for Greek and international tourists. Since the decade of 1990 the city of Chania entered a new era, because many constructions have been made, like a new airport, port, educational facilities and it is considered a prominent tourist resort in the Mediterranean Sea.
The city of Chania can be divided in two parts: the old town and the modern city which is the larger one. The old town is situated next to the old harbour and is the matrix around which the whole urban area was developed. It used to be surrounded by the old Venetian fortifications that started to be built in 1538; of them the eastern and western parts have survived. From the south, the old town is continuous with the new, and from the north the physical border is the sea. The centre of the modern city is the area extending next to the old town and especially towards the south.
Other historical buildings in the area include Eleftherios Venizelos’s, the old French school, the Church of Agia Magdalini, The “Palace” and The Church of Evangelistria