Villages & Towns

Kolymvari

Platanias, Chania · Free

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

About

A seaside village with a monastery.

Kolymvari is a seaside village at the base of the Rodopou peninsula, about 23 km west of Chania. It's known for its fish tavernas, olive oil and calm beaches.

The Gonia monastery stands just outside the village. Kolymvari is also home to the Orthodox Academy of Crete, a centre for conferences and dialogue.

The municipal unit of Kolymvari includes the mostly empty, barren Rodopou peninsula and a ring of villages in the hills, such as Spilia, Episkopi, Vouves and Afrata. Near Vouves stands one of the oldest olive trees in the world, still producing olives and estimated to be at least 2,000 years old. Kolymvari is also the home of the Orthodox Academy of Crete, where religious and environmental conferences are held.

The Platanias area stretches along the coast west of Chania, with a string of lively resorts such as Agia Marina, Platanias and Maleme, and long sandy beaches facing the island of Thodorou. Inland, the land rises quickly into green valleys, orange groves and mountain villages where life is slow. This area saw fierce fighting in the Battle of Crete in May 1941, remembered at the Maleme cemetery and in many village memorials. It's a convenient base, with Chania only a short drive away.

Around Platanias

Nearest town: Kissamos, about 16 km by road
Nearest airport: Chania airport (CHQ), about 43 km by road

The west of Crete is the island at its most dramatic. Chania has the most beautiful Venetian old town on Crete, wrapped around a harbour with a lighthouse and a domed mosque. In the evening the narrow lanes of Splantzia and the old Jewish quarter fill up with tavernas and small bars. More about Chania