Ask anyone who has spent time in Crete what they remember most, and it is rarely a beach. It is the people. Cretans are proud of their island, and you feel it in the way they welcome you, cook for you and talk about where they come from.
Filoxenia: hospitality
The Greek word filoxenia means love for the stranger, and in Crete it is taken seriously. Do not be surprised if a café owner brings you a little plate of fruit you did not order, or if a meal ends with a free carafe of raki. Saying yes, and a warm efcharistó, is the polite answer.
Music and dance
The sound of Crete is the lyra, a small three-string fiddle, usually played with the laouto, a kind of lute. At weddings and village feasts you will see the circle dances: the slow syrtos, the proud pentozali and the lively pidichtos. Join in when someone pulls you into the circle; nobody expects you to know the steps.
Mantinades
Cretans love mantinades, rhyming couplets of fifteen syllables, often made up on the spot. They are about love, loss, politics or teasing a friend, and a good one can win a whole table over.
Raki and the panigyri
Raki (or tsikoudia) is the clear grape spirit you will be offered everywhere. Each village celebrates its saint’s day with a panigyri, a feast with music, dancing and food until late. If you see one announced, go.
Easter
Easter is the biggest celebration of the year, bigger than Christmas. Candlelit processions, fireworks at midnight and lamb on the spit on Sunday. The date follows the Orthodox calendar, so check before you book.
Anogeia
Proud mountain village on Psiloritis, famous for lyra music, weaving and shepherd cuisine.
Dörfer & Städte · Anogia
Arkadi Monastery
Symbol of Cretan resistance and the 1866 revolt against Ottoman rule.
Kirchen & Klöster · Rethymno
Updated: 2026-10-29
