Rethymno, Crete is another harbor town that has a beautiful Fortress called The Fortezza and a quaint old town area. We explored some of this area during our 2021 Sept/Oct Greece trip. Actually, Rethymno is one of the towns we choose to stay as our base. Since we had some busy days, we did not have the time to explore Rethymno as much as we would like. We did wander the streets a bit in the evening and enjoyed walking in the fortress one early morning.
Location
Rethymno is a city located in North Central coastal area of the island of Crete in Greece. Situated between Chania to the East and Heraklion to the West, Rethymno is a good central loctation and also a perfect home base for our first few days in Crete. You may also see this town referred to as Rethimno, Rethymnon, Réthymnon, and Rhíthymnos. Regardless of the name, this town can trace it’s roots back to the Minoan era.
Rethymno Fortezza
The Fortezza of Rethymno is the fortified part of the city and is one of the first things we explored in Old Town Rethymno. The Fortezza is built upon a hill that once was occupied by an Accropolis. After the Venetian’s took over the area in 1540, a fortification was built around the city. Unfortunately this fortification was attacked and plundered by the Ottoman’s. In 1573 a new fortress was built and completed in 1580 to protect the city and harbor. In 1646 the Ottoman’s seized the city and took over. The Ottoman’s made a few changes, including changing the cathedral into a mosque and building additional outer walls for protection.
Venetian Harbor
The Venetian Harbor in Rethymno is along the water by the Old Town and down the hill from the Fortezza. The perfect place to roam on a great day. The water is crystal clear and you have a great view of the Egyptian Lighthouse.
Egyptian Lighthouse
The Egyptian Lighthouse in Rethymno, built in the 1830’s, is the second largest Egyptian Lighthouse in Crete
Rimondi Fountain
The Rimondi Fountain is located in Old Town and was built in 1629 by the Venetians. The three fountains have water running from lion heads.
Neratze Mosque Minaret
The Neratze Mosque was originally a Venetian church but was turned into a Mosque in 1657 when the Turks ruled the area. A minaret was built with two praying balconies. We did not go past the Mosque but we could see the minaret from our hotel balcony. The Mosque currently is used for musical concerts.
The Streets of Old Town
Of course, what I always enjoy most in these towns is roaming through the narrow streets. There are many shops and also places to eat. We found Ice Cream at Wok Spot one evening which was delicious! Another evening we ate our first Loukoumades with cinnamon, honey and walnuts and they were fantastic.
Conclusion
Rethymno Old Town and Fortezza are definitely worth a visit, We just wished we would have spent another day here exploring the town.
Where We Stayed
While in this area of Crete we stayed at the Avli Lounge Apartments in Rethymno and could not have been happier. Staying here was very special. The room was comfortable, clean, had lots of space and nicely decorated. The service was outstanding. We enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant each morning and it was so fresh and delicious. I highly recommend Avli when in the Rethymno area. I loved this hotel so much I even wrote a blog post about it. Click here for more on Avli Hotel.
Travel Items and Planning
If you plan on using your cell phone a lot for GPS or taking photos I found this I Walk phone charger to be a life saver. None of the vehicles we drove had adaptable phone chargers to our I phones. This is lightweight and easy to carry.
I do recommend a map. I used the National Geographic Map of Crete and glad we had it as we lost our GPS several times. The map is also very accurate and durable. Although the map is quite large it folds up like a typical map. Half of Crete is on one side of of the map while the other half of Crete is on the other side.
While planning our trips to Crete, I found the travel guide Top 10 Crete to be very useful. For one thing, it lists the top 10 places to go, restaurants, and sites. Additionally, it also lists the top 10 by region and area. Given these points, I felt it was a great planning tool, plus it came with a pocket size map which we did use.
Follow Me on Instagram!
Follow these Lins for more posts of my 2021 Greece Vacay:
Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel, Revisited 2021
Ancient City of Lato, Sept 2021
Aforesmenos Lighthouse, Crete, Sept 2021
Avli Hotel and Restaurant, Crete, Sept 2021
Matala Beach Caves, Crete, Sept 2021
Hike to Martsalos Beach, Sept 2021
The Chapel at Georgioupoli, Sept 2021
Koutalas Beach and Sea Cave, Sept 2021
A Walk Through Chania, Sept 2021
You can also follow my other Crete adventures here:
Elounda Peninsula Hotel, Sept 2019
Knossos Palace, Crete Sept 2019
Seitan Limania Beach, Sept 2019
Katholiko Monastery, Sept 2019
Links to our 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 Trip can be found in this post:
2 Weeks in Greece, Delphi, Meteora, Corfu, Santorini, Sept 2022
14 days in Greece, Crete, Naxos, Santorini, Athens 2021
10 Days in Greece Athens, Crete, Santorini 2019
8 Days in Greece, Athens, Milos, Santorini 2018
The Gen-X Travels recommendations for hotels, restaurants, activities or tour companies are based on our own experiences unless noted. We are not sponsored by any business or company and all trips are at our expense. All photos are by myself or my husband unless otherwise noted. We are affiliates of some companies such as Amazon,Viator, and others which we do receive a small commission from, at no cost to you if you buy or book through one of our links.