Travel Guide > Kreta > Chania > Countryside villages

Many small countryside villages with lovely small traditional cafes (kafeneia), a few shops and traditional tavernas exist in Chania prefecture. The tourists who enjoy living in the countryside in a tranquil location, while being near the sandy beaches of the north coast, should choose living there.

The most famous of the countryside villages can be found in the Apokoronas district. Vamos, Douliana, Gavalochori, and Provarma are few of them and they accommodate thousands of tourists every year.

The tourists should also visit Kournas east of Chania (with the only freshwater lake of Crete), Ano Stalos to the west (with great tavernas), Therissos to the south (with traditional tavernas), Lakkoi and Omalos (on the way and at the entrance of Samaria Gorge).

The locals have created stone built houses and villas in the countryside villages, where the tourists can stay for a few days or even weeks. They have used the local materials (stone, wood) to preserve or to design great stone built arches and they have added private pools to make the lodgings very comfortable for accommodation.