Rethymno City / Arkadi / Eleftherna / Margarites

The city of Rethymno is an ideal tourist destination for visitors who wish to explore the rich cultural heritage and the natural beauties of Crete. This well-organized city offers to visitors a variety of picturesque routes to follow and numerous historical monuments to visit. The old city of Rethymno still preserves its old urban structure to a great extend, formed during the Venetian period and later reformed during the Turkish occupation.

It has been declared a protected historical monument and a traditional settlement. The Municipality actively contributes to the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the old city, and promotes a healthy tourist development and a high quality of life for its citizens through the proper management of socio-economic activities. A number of projects have been realized, or are under realization, covering all aspects of the city life linked to its history, culture and architecture.

The Arkadi Monastery situated on the island of Crete doesnt solely belong to this island; it belongs to Greece, Europe and to all five continents – to the whole world.

It is one of the Eastern Orthodox Monasteries underlining the catholicity and universality of the Church. Each year the Monastery receives and hosts many visitors and pilgrims from all over the world, from distant civilizations. Here are blended many languages, cultures, traditions, history and polymorphism. Nothing from the above can impede the faith unity, the catholicity of the orthodox spirit, the universality of the ecclesiastical testimony.

The Arkadi Monastery has a unique natural beauty, a prestigious history, numerous legends deeply rooted in the time, heirlooms and thesaurus richness. Possibly because the old is livelier than the new, and the modern is often more mature than the aged. Each pilgrim and visitor feels something which is exclusively his, personal, original in his experiential and spiritual experience.

The Museum of ancient Eleutherna - Homer in Crete, the first archaeological site museum in Crete, although smaller in size, is similar to those of Olympia, Delphi, and Vergina. The museum was created to house the results of the excavations carried out for thirty years in the ancient city of Eleutherna.

The originality of this museum is that the objects of the permanent exhibition will be updated periodically with new and older finds, so that the public's interest is continuous and relates to the discoveries and expansion of the excavation work on the site.

The exhibition will be accompanied by original and modern audiovisual exhibits.

Pottery is one of the oldest arts developed in Crete from 3000 BC first Minoan times and is associated with the creation of products based on the four elements of the nature: earth, water, air and fire.

Margarites village consist is the most important and well-known pottery center of Crete. In the area there are plenty of clay deposits which explain the long occupation of the residents with this art. It is located in scenic, green rolling hills at the foothills of Psiloritis.

Traditional settlement with some extraordinary architecture and lovely narrow winding streets. Surrounded by two parallel gorges with rich flora, aromatic plants, trees, herbs and flowers.