Pickup from your hotel in one of our company’s luxury cars.
During your transfer, enjoy the journey and the luxury of our services.
Our specially trained and experienced driver will carry you to the first stop for our excursion, to the traditional village of Margarites, also known as the village of “Pitharades”.
The region is the largest pottery center in Western Crete and one of the largest in Greece.
During your visit there, you will be captivated by the countless decorative ceramics found on walls and in courtyards, pots, jars and ceramic vessels of all kinds and sizes.
Margarites “bloom” in the northern foothills of Psiloritis, at an altitude of 300 meters and at a distance of 27 kilometers from Rethymnon.
Gavriel Marinakis was born in this village, the abbot of the Arkadi Monastery and the protagonist of the monastery’s blowing up, which took place in 1866 in the name of freedom.
Next stop on our tour is the Sacred Monastery of Arkadi.
The Arkadi Monastery became world-famous with its holocaust during the Cretan Revolution (1866 – 1869) in November 1866. After two days of siege by the Turks, Konstantinos Giamboudakis closed himself with men, women and children in the gunpowder magazine, setting off the barrels with gunpowder.
The Holocaust of Arkadi left 864 Greeks and around 1,500 Turks dead. However, the event shocked the Western world and the Cretans’ heroic resistance drew the eyes of the world’s powerful people, as well as many intellectuals, such as Victor Hugo. After the holocaust, the road to freedom opened.
We leave behind the Arkadi Monastery and reach the village of Archea Eleftherna.
The Eleftherna Archaeological Site Museum is the first archaeological museum in Crete, as it is located next to the ancient city. The central axis of its permanent exhibition is the documentation of the presence of the Homeric world in Crete, while it also includes exhibits that highlight the life in ancient Eleftherna through time, from the end of the 4th millennium B.C. till Byzantine times. The three halls of the museum host the entire history of the city of Eleftherna from 3000 B.C. to 1300 A.D. with everyday life objects and works of art.
Our next stop is Rethymno:
The city of Rethymnon is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Greece: the Venetian fortifications blend harmoniously with the Orthodox and Catholic churches, the imposing Venetian residences, the arches and the cobbled streets creating an atmosphere of awe for the visitor.
Fortezza, the Venetian fortress on the hill of Paleokastro, with its commanding view of the Aegean Sea and the city, is undoubtedly the symbol of Rethymno…
It is impossible to walk through its picturesque old town and not fall in love with the Fortezza Fortress, the Venetian harbor, the alleyways and the buildings dating all the way back to the 16th century, while the Museum of Modern Art and the Paleontological Museum with its impressive domes are a must visit, housed in a 17th century mosque.
The Lighthouse in the city’s Venetian Harbor is the second largest remaining Egyptian Lighthouse in Crete, after the lighthouse of Chania. It was built by the Egyptians in the 1830s, when the Turks ceded Crete to the Egyptians.
Fortezza, the Venetian fortress on the hill of Paleokastro, with its commanding view of the Aegean Sea and the city, is undoubtedly the symbol of Rethymno…
It is impossible to walk through its picturesque old town and not fall in love with the Fortezza Fortress, the Venetian harbor, the alleyways and the buildings dating all the way back to the 16th century, while the Museum of Modern Art and the Paleontological Museum with its impressive domes are a must visit, housed in a 17th century mosque.
The Lighthouse in the city’s Venetian Harbor is the second largest remaining Egyptian Lighthouse in Crete, after the lighthouse of Chania. It was built by the Egyptians in the 1830s, when the Turks ceded Crete to the Egyptians.
Drink cool water from the Rimodi Fountain with its three lion-shaped taps, built in 1626.
Tour the old town, admiring the Church of St. Francis, pass through the Great Gate where you will reach the main square and be imressed by the various public buildings. The old town is the living history of Rethymno, since it takes you back in time and invites you for a visit.
Drink cool water from the Rimodi Fountain with its three lion-shaped taps, built in 1626.
Tour the old town, admiring the Church of St. Francis, pass through the Great Gate where you will reach the main square and be imressed by the various public buildings. The old town is the living history of Rethymno, since it takes you back in time and invites you for a visit.
Duration: 6 hours