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As the largest of the Greek islands, Crete is also the most popular tourist destination. However, its size and diversity of landscape means that it has something to offer for everybody. Many of the busier and more lively resorts are located on the north coast, and if you are looking for something quieter there are.....
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As the largest of the Greek islands, Crete is also the most popular tourist destination. However, its size and diversity of landscape means that it has something to offer for everybody. Many of the busier and more lively resorts are located on the north coast, and if you are looking for something quieter there are plenty of small and beautiful villages and towns in the south. In between are rugged mountain ranges and spectacular gorges including the Samaria Gorge, the longest in Europe, where you can spend a day walking. The two main airports are in the north, allowing easy access to the large resorts of Malia and Hersonissos, which cater excellently to a package holiday party crowd looking to stay out til dawn. Elsewhere on the north coast the towns of Heraklion, Chania and Rethymno offer a very slightly more low key and perhaps more sophisticated nightlife, with a mixture of international and Greek pop and some traditional Greek music. Access to the south of Crete is by road or sea. On Crete’s south coast you could visit the pretty village of Sfakia and from there take a boat trip up the coast and spend the day in beautiful places such as Loutro or Sweetwater which are only accessible by sea or by hiking. As in most of Greece the food is delicious, and Cretan cuisine is well known for being especially healthy and nutritious. The island is also rich in history, not only as the home of the Minoans, said to be the earliest European civilisation, but also as having been settled by the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires as well as the Venetians, and hence provides a plethora of interesting sites to visit. Crete can be accessed by plane into either Heraklion or Chania or by ferry from Athens or from many of the nearby islands.
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