The Region of Crete in Greece has officially been named the European Region of Gastronomy for 2026 by the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism (IGCAT). The title “celebrates Crete’s culinary excellence and strongly validates the Cretan diet’s  global relevance and  health benefits”. On this occasion and because it’s travel season now, I thought you might want to relook a blogpost I did a few years ago on Crete, updated, with tips on foodie activities and local products as well as other things to do and where to go in this, the largest of the Greek islands. It’s the result of our having spent several weeks there on each visit for the past four years.

Tips on Crete Travel:

Interesting historical fact: Crete is arguably the most fought over of all of the Greek territories. It has been invaded by Arabs, Genovese, Venetians, Ottoman Turks, and Germans. You can see the remainders of the Venetian and Ottoman Turkish empires throughout the island.

If you go, plan on at least a week for Crete travel . Begin your visit in  Heraklion, the major international gateway, and  site of the Minoan culture with its Palace of Knossos and the Archeological museum considered to be one of  the top three in Greece. Don’t miss the Cretan Food Tour in Tours by Locals with Georgios and a wine tour.  And of course take a tour to learn about the highly advanced Minoan civilization.

Then on to Chania, where we spend the bulk of our time,  with its well preserved and lovely Venetian harbor and fortifications  and happening street life, filled with appealing shops, restaurants and tavernas, bars. I have never ever seen more restaurants in any place.

Near the Old City and harbor are some of the many dozens of “Blue Flag” beaches (beaches that meet world criteria of water quality, environmental management, safety and more), many with white sand, chairs and umbrellas for rent, and all with pristine waters and  seaside tavernas.  Use Chania as a base for a day trip to Elafonissi beach,  named by Tripadvisor the best beach in the world or to Falassarno that’s also spectacular in the quality of the water, pristine quality and long stretch of white sand. Or closer to the harbour is Marathi which we regularly go to that has a solid taverna beachside.

Also in the Old City find numerous boats and yachts offering snorkeling trips and sunset cruises. Drive over the mountains to any of the small villages and enjoy their specialty, delectable roast lamb and potatoes. Don’t miss the new archaelogical museum and the Marine Museum.

A recent welcome discovery in Chania’s Old Town is the Carlos Monastery Museum. It’s a Venetian monastery of Santa Maria della Misericordia dating from 1583 with a fascinating history that mirrors the history of Crete itself. It was converted into a museum with the artworks by the artist and founder Carlos Cambelopoulos.  It features everything from paintings and decorative objects to furniture, musical instruments, and more, from the 16^th century to today with works by Carlos and major names like Sonia Delaunay,Alberto Giacometti, François Léger,  and Jean Cocteau . There’s also a serious library with books on art, artchitecture and rare editions dating from the 17^thcentury onwards and even a hair salon (Carlos made his fortune as a hairdresser to international celebrities).  Tickets include a guided tour. For more information go to museumcarlosmonastery.com.

In Chania the Crete travel  tour to go on is GS Tours’ Day Trip to 7 Cretan Villages where you visit a bakery,  cheese factory, with interesting nuggets of culture and history along the way, ending up with lunch.

And if you go, do not miss Tu Antikristo that makes what is arguably the best roast lamb anywhere, that’s marinated for four hours and then made as you’ll see in the video.

To get to Crete, fly to Heraklion, the capital, which has the most flights. There are also some international flights to Chania but fewer of them. It’s a two hour drive from Heraklion to Chania. We usually opt for an Air BNB in both cities. That being said, there are a few small three star hotels in the center of Heraklion and in Chania, near the harbour is the Samaria which is four star and quite good. The J.W. Marriott Crete Resort and Spa recently opened near Marathi, about a 30 minute drive from the Old City.

Interesting Foodie Stuff

The most famous olive oil in Greece comes from Crete and with good reason. After having it, I’m hooked and ordered a tin on Amazon. If you do, be sure to get the one that’s cold extracted, D.O.P.(protected destination of origin) which ensures it’s locally grown and packaged, and extra virgin. Store it out of the sunlight. Speaking of olive oil, if you lived in a home in Crete, you would most likely have your own olive grove. It’s customary for everyone who lives in a house to have one. Then you take your olives to one of the 700 mills on the island to make the oil. Everything is used in the olive: the branches for cooking; juice for oil; and the pits also for fuel.

Traditional Cretan hospitality calls for serving fruits and/or sweets and a white distilled liquor considered a digestif called Tsikoudia at the end of the meal (in mainland Greece it’s called tsipouro). Similar to the Turkish raki,   it contains 25% to 32% alcohol by volume.In a visit to I.F.Peroulakis, a leading raki distillery we learned that it’s made from the skins of the grapes called mash, a byproduct of wine making. A variation is mixed with lemon rind, rosemary or honey (and at one place we had it infused with pomegranate juice) It’s said to have medicinal qualities. Whatever restaurant you go to you’ll be treated to anything from seasonal fruits to loukamades – Greek honey donuts– and yogurt at the end of the meal (no need to order dessert).