The Ancient City of Lato in Crete, Greece is another place we enjoyed exploring during our Sept 2021 trip. We love that there is so much to do in Crete and one of our favorite things to do is explore the ancient ruins.
The Ancient City of Lato, named after the goddess Lato (or Leto) was built by the Dorians in the 7th century, B.C. The goddess Lato is also known as the mother of Apollo and Artemis who were conceived by the god Zeus. Built on a high hill, the Ancient City of Lato is located in such a beautiful area of Crete which makes exploring the ruins even better. In addition, you can see Agios Nikolaos and Mirabello Bay from here.
Location
Ancient Lato is in the Lasithi Prefecture in Eastern Crete. Located just 3 km from the picturesque village of Krista, Ancient Lato is easy to find. It is also near Agios Nikolaos. We were staying at the Elounda Peninsula All Suites Hotel and Ancient Lato was about a 20 km drive from there.
The City
When we arrived to the Ancient City it was early morning. There were few cars there but ample parking. After paying admission fees, we entered and could see the city ruins stretched out and also up the hill. You will notice immediately a lot of rock steps. While going up, to the right of the stairs are ruins of shops and houses and to the left are terraces.
When you arrive to the top of the steps you will see the Sanctuary, Portico, and Central Cistern.
Continuing to the left you will find the Prytaneion. A Prytaneion is a city hall, or place where officials meet, in other words, sort of like the governmental center of the city.
Past the Prytaneion you can continue to climb to the Houses of the Prytaneion. Although the path is not very improved and hard to follow, the views are amazing.
Finally, in the other direction from the top of the stairs, you can follow the path to the Great Temple and the Theatrical Area. Again, you will have some great views.
The Town of Kritsa
After exploring Ancient Lato we decided to visit the town of Kritsa, Crete. Although this village is small, it is big on charm and hospitality. We bought a few bottles of olive oil and raki here to take home.
Conclusion
We loved exploring the Ancient City of Lato and it is a perfect place to visit while in Crete. We wish we would have spent more time in Kritsa but we wanted to get back to our hotel to enjoy the amenities there!
Where We Stayed
We stayed at Elounda Peninsula All Suites Hotel. We stayed here in 2019 as well and absolutely love this resort. It is a perfect place for a home base while in this part of Crete. All in all, this resort is fantastic with something for everyone and the rooms are spectacular! This year we stayed in a Villa with a private pool, which was amazing. We found the staff and people at the resort to be second to none, very informative, helpful and also friendly. There is no doubt, we will absolutely be staying here again next time we are in Crete!
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Follow these Links for more posts of my 2021 Greece Vacay:
Aforesmenos Lighthouse, Crete, Sept 2021
Avli Lounge Hotel, Rethymno, 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 and also 2019 Trip can be found in this post:
10 Days in Greece Athens, Crete, Santorini 2019
8 Days in Greece, Athens, Milos, Santorini 2018
Diary of a Gen-X recommendations for hotels, restaurants, & tours are based on our own experiences. We do not receive compensation for recommending at any of these nor are we affiliates of any hotels, restaurants, or tours. The only hotels & restaurants we recommend are places we stay which are clean, comfortable, and provide exceptional hospitality.
The thing I always notice about your Greece photos is how blue the sky is. Maybe it’s the contrast with the white buildings, but they’ve gotta have the bluest skies in the world!
The sky does look so very blue in Greece! I don’t enhance my photos so that is the true colour!
Perhaps you went early enough, but what a stunningly quiet city! Lato is like a step back in time, and it bears vague resemblance to Mdina in Malta (aka “the Silent City”). Love the architecture and views from Lato!
I am sure going early helped but also I don’t think this area is as popular with tourist as some of the other ancient sites are.
the view of the water are so alluring.
the town looks like it would be fun to explore – and how nice to have your own private pool!
It was awesome!
and it looks like you got your travel in just before there might be some more restrictions again…
Yes we did. Fingers crossed though, we are booked for Corfu in Sept 2022. Incidentally we flew to see his mom in Florida last weekend and all of our flights were packed!! I was surprised!
and the travels continue! I guess it’s good to see traveling picking up again…
Yes I suppose it is….but it feels liking something is always lurking around the corner ready to pounce!!
I have that feeling as well. I just hope it goes away soon…
It looks lovely, and that sunshine looks so warm and inviting as I sit here in cold, stormy, rainy England! It’s also great you found the site so quiet for your visit 🙂
It’s cold here now in Iowa too!!
So excellent photos with excellent description. The place is looking nice well shared 🎉😊💕
Thanks. I thought this was a fantastic ruin.
It’s my pleasure 😊🎉
I love all the ancient ruins and how much history this place must have. Your accommodations sound amazing. How lovely to have your own private pool.
It was amazing. We had been upgraded so we had a lot of gratitude for being here!
Such a lovely tour. I am always mesmerized by the contrast between the white walls of the buildings and the blue sky of Greece. We have not been there yet, but hopefully one day we can witness the beauty by ourselves😊
Christie
I do love the blue skies of Greece! Thanks for commenting! Lori
Looks like you had an amazing experience visiting the Ancient City of Lato, Lori!!! To see historical ruins from the 7th century, B.C., is difficult to phantom, and very cool. And, such impressive views from atop the mountain…I hope those rocks were already there to build with, otherwise that is surely a long and very difficult hike under such weight. As a sidebar, it’s always interesting to observe how skillfully ancient architecture was erected, with odd shaped rocks positioned nearly perfectly & with more accuracy than many modern structures. Thank you for sharing, my friend 🙂
I agree that the architecture is well made, I wonder how many buildings built today would last this long?
Greece is on my bucket list so hopefully this covid-19 situation will be gone soon so that we can travel outside of the country. You make it look so enticing.
I love Greece and so does my husband! It is really a fantastic place to travel to. We are planning on returning Sept 2022, hoping the virus settles down!! Lori
Many years ago I lived in Crete – a beautiful island with so much to offer! So I really your posts as reminders of places I’ve visited!
I would love to live in Crete!! Hoping when we retire to spend a few months there anyway!
I lived there for nearly 3 years – I hope you get to spend some decent time there – it has so much to see and offer!
I hope so too! We are going to Corfu this fall for a week, hopefully Crete 2023!
Greece has so much to see, didn’t spend as much time in Corfu but it has some really pretty parts – enjoy!
😊