Sights in Rethymno
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Municipal Park
The pleasant municipal park offers a respite from the heat and crowds.
reviewed
-
B
Loggia
A major town landmark is the 16th-century Loggia, a Venetian version of a gentleman's club. It was once a meeting house for Venetian nobility, and is now a museum shop selling good-quality reproductions.
reviewed
-
C
Rimondi Fountain
Pride of place among the many vestiges of Venetian rule goes to the Rimondi Fountain with its spouting lion heads and Corinthian capitals, built first in 1588 and rebuilt in 1626 by a rector of the city, A Rimondi.
reviewed
-
D
Historical & Folk Art Museum
Rethymno's Historical & Folk Art Museum gives an excellent overview of the area's rural lifestyle, with its collection of clothing, baskets, weavings and farm tools, and useful explanatory labels. It is in a lovely historic Venetian building.
reviewed
-
E
Venetian Harbour
Rethymno's tiny Venetian harbour is crammed with fish tavernas and cafés fronted by touts, but you can get a better sense of it by walking along the old harbour walls past the fishing boats to the landmark lighthouse, built later by the Turks.
reviewed
-
F
Hellenic Conservatory
The Nerantzes Mosque (converted from a Franciscan church in 1657) now houses the Hellenic Conservatory and makes a lovely venue for concerts and recitals. The management is happy for you to have a look around. The building's minaret was built in 1890.
reviewed
-
G
Municipal Art Gallery
The Municipal Art Gallery near the fortezza houses a permanent exhibition of works by Rethymno painter Lefteris Kanakakis, as well as contemporary Greek artists since 1950. It is part of the Centre for Contemporary Art, which holds periodic exhibitions.
reviewed
-
H
Porto Guora
At the southern end of Ethnikis Antistaseos is the well-preserved Porto Guora or Great Gate, a remnant of the defensive wall that was once topped with the symbol of Venice: the Lion of St Mark, now in the Archaeological Museum. Around the Porto Guora lies a network of old streets built by the Venetians and rebuilt by the Turks.
reviewed
-
I
Centre for Byzantine Art
The Centre for Byzantine Art is a great example of a restored Venetian-Turkish mansion and has exhibitions, workshops and a terrace café with great views of the old town. Other Turkish legacies in the old quarter include the Kara Musa Pasha Mosque, which has a vaulted fountain, and the Nerantzes Mosque, which was converted from a Franciscan church in 1657.
reviewed
-
J
Archaeological Museum
The small Archaeological Museum , near the entrance to the fortress, was once a prison. The exhibits are well labelled in English and contain Neolithic tools, Minoan pottery excavated from nearby tombs, Mycenaean figurines and a 1st-century-AD relief of Aphrodite, as well as an important coin collection. There are also some excellent examples of blown glass from the classical period. Various displays outline the history of archaeological excavations in the region.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Fortezza
Rethymno's 16th-century fortezza is on the site of the city's ancient acropolis. Within its massive walls a great number of buildings once stood, of which only a church and a mosque survive intact. The ramparts offer good views, while the site has lots of ruins to explore. The main gate is opposite the Archaeological Museum on the eastern side of the fortress, but there were once two other gates on the western and northern sides for the delivery of supplies and ammunition.
In summer it is a stunning concert venue for the Renaissance Festival.
reviewed