Crete (Greece)

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Country Info (Greece)

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Crete is the largest of the Greek islands - 160 miles long and between nine and 38 miles wide - and the most visited by far, attracting two million holiday-makers a year. It's also the most southerly, on the same latitude as Tunisia and Syria, so the sunny weather starts earlier and lasts longer here than elsewhere in the Aegean.

Lying as it does between three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, it's distanced from the rest of Greece and so has developed a distinct identity of its own. The people are renowned for their passionate love of freedom and independence, and it's a very macho culture.

The north-east coast has highly developed tourist resorts that cater to the package crowds - almost half the island's holidaymakers stay on the stretch between Iraklion and Aghios Nikalaos, and this is the place to go for big-screen football and fry-up breakfasts.

The south coast resorts, meanwhile, are relatively undeveloped, though growing fast.

Everywhere there are beautiful beaches to lounge on but if too much sunbathing bores you stupid, you can explore Venetian towns, admire Minoan ruins or visit Byzantine churches.

For the sporty, there's good windsurfing, mountain trekking and cycling.

Inland, the scenery is ruggedly beautiful, with spectacular mountains, gorges and ravines. Three-quarters of the land is hilly or mountainous. The remaining quarter is flat land taken up by agriculture, the island's second biggest earner after tourism. The island is harsh and barren in places, lush and green in others.

You'll find palm trees at Vai and Preveli, and cedar forests at Gavdos and Hrissi and there are enough species of wildflowers to keep the keenest botanist busy, countless caves to explore, and hundreds of different wild herbs scenting the air.

In the north west, Chania and Rethymnon both have historic old towns, with narrow streets of old Venetian and Turkish buildings, and pretty harbours where you can sit out in one of the many tavernas lining the quayside and concentrate on sipping a glass of raki and watching the caiques bobbing up and down.

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Population: 10.668.400
Languages: Greek 99% (official), English, French
Currency: euro
Currency code: EUR
Local Times:
Greece - Athens

Country Dialling Code: +30
Voltage: 220V 50Hz
Electrical plugs:
2 Parallel circular prongs

2 parallel circular prongs with an earth connector

2 parallel circular prongs with a female earth connector

'Schuko' type with two earth connectors on the sides

Greece appeals to different types of tourist, and very few could fail to find somewhere to suit their taste. From bustling Athens to blindingly bright islands, ancient fragments abound - the belly button of the cosmos at Delphi, fallen columns galore on the sacred island of Delos, frescoed Minoan palaces on Crete and even, quite possibly, the remnants of Atlantis at Santorini. Greeks are fierce guardians of tradition, but that doesn't mean they don't know how to have fun. In addition, hot sun and limpid seas conspire to make Greece a perfect place to relax. Whether you're supping in a beachside taverna , sipping coffee in a shady plateia or disco-dancing till dawn.

The Olympic Games were spawned in ancient classical Greece, along with democracy and the fundamentals of philosophy, science and mathematics. Modern Greece is better known as a great place to vacation rather than a centre of learning and culture. Today the country attracts by offering simple pleasures: delicious food at reasonable prices, local wine, beautiful beaches, sunshine, quaint villages, a seemingly endless lacework of coastline and little islands full of scenic surprises.

The country exudes traditional charm, particularly on its ever-popular islands, which cling to their stereotypical architecture and way of life despite being often over-run by tourists. Black-clad women still deliver vegetables to island tavernas on panniered donkeys, while bronzed, lined fishermen sit in the sun, drink thick coffee, and play dominoes or dice. The tourist infrastructure has intruded in many respects, but the timeless aspect of whitewashed buildings clustered on hillsides around narrow pebbled alleys has been retained. The myriad islands in the Aegean Sea are easily accessible from Piraeus, the historic harbour of Greece's mainland capital, Athens, by ferry or hydrofoil, offering a unique chance for 'island-hopping'. Many of the larger islands also have airports with connections to Athens or seasonally with major European cities.

On the mainland the city of Athens in the south is sprawling, overcrowded and polluted but nevertheless enthralls visitors, while Thessaloniki in the north is vibrant and modern with a Byzantine flavour. Athens is dominated by its major landmark, the Parthenon: the remains of other wonders of the ancient Greek classical world are to be found mainly on the Peloponnese Peninsula, south of Corinth, the gateway to a veritable treasure trove of history.

Greece and Greeks welcome with open arms the thousands of visitors that flock to admire their national assets every year - no-one leaves without having been warmed, both by the sun and the hospitality.