Rethymno is a large city in the north of Crete with a sandy beach, thanks to which it is a popular holiday resort. Built on the site of a Minoan settlement, it acquired great significance in the Venetian times, from which the buildings of the old town with narrow streets and picturesque Gothic and Renaissance tenements and palaces come from.
Rethymno lies in a bay along which a sandy beach stretches. Along it, numerous hotels and guesthouses are built, and the whole coast is connected by a promenade. In turn, the main basin of restaurants and taverns is the Venetian port, where yachts and fishing boats moor. The seaport from which ferries and cruise boats leave is located further south of the historic part.
The main street of Rethymno, Arkadiou was built during the Venetian times. Palaces with richly decorated facades rise here. Above them are the mighty walls of the Venetian fortress called Fortezza, in which the Archaeological Museum with collections of Minoan art operates today. The Old Town is a tangle of narrow, winding streets with numerous restaurants, shops and stalls. Among its buildings you can see the Venetian Basilica of Saint. Francis and the Turkish Nerandzes Mosque, which now houses a concert hall.
