Alle Dörfer & Städte

Kasteli (Pediada)

Minoa Pediadas, Heraklion

About

A market town among vineyards.

Kasteli is a small town in a fertile valley of vineyards and olive groves, about 35 km south-east of Heraklion. In the Middle Ages a castle stood here, which gave the town its name. The new international airport of Crete is being built nearby.

The area has many Byzantine churches with frescoes, and the ancient city of Lyttos lies in the hills to the east.

The region around Kasteli, called Pediada, is one of the most fertile in Crete, with vineyards, olive groves and fields. Ancient Lyttos, in the hills above, was one of the most powerful cities of Dorian Crete, and its ruins are being excavated. The Byzantine churches around Kasteli, such as those in Sklaverochori and Potamies, have beautiful frescoes.

Minoa Pediadas is the farming heartland of central Crete, a land of vineyards, olive groves and villages east of Heraklion. Kasteli is the main town, and the new airport of Crete is being built nearby. The area has many Byzantine churches with frescoes, the ruins of ancient Lyttos and quiet villages where tourists are rare. It's a good area for discovering the everyday life of rural Crete.

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

Around Minoa Pediadas

Heraklion is the heart of Minoan Crete and the island’s busiest region. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are the two places almost everyone visits, and they work well together on one day. In the south, the wide Messara plain holds the palace of Phaistos, the Roman ruins of Gortyna and the famous caves above the bay of Matala. More about Heraklion