What is the Chania self-guided walking tour?
The Chania self-guided walking tour is a walk around the old town at your own speed, with audio narration on your phone doing the work a guide would otherwise do. Allow about 3 hours: 41 minutes of that is walking, the route measures 3.2 km, and there are 10 stops where you stand and listen. No departure time, and nobody to keep up with.
At Agios Nikolaos on Splantzia Square the narration explains how one building ended up with both a bell tower and a minaret, having been a Dominican church, then a mosque, then an Orthodox church again. On Talos Square it turns to the bronze giant of myth who was said to circle Crete three times a day. At the Firkas Fortress comes 1 December 1913, the day the Greek flag went up for the union of Crete with Greece, and at the Etz Hayyim Synagogue the story of a community lost in 1944 and a building brought back into use in 1999.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 41 min · 3.2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Greek
What you do on the walking tour
Listen
Every stop brings the history of the place, its legends and the detail you would otherwise walk straight past. The same text is on the screen if you would rather read.
Walk the old town
From stop to stop Google Maps does the navigating, at a pace you set: 41 minutes on foot and 3.2 km in all.
Break off
Sit down by the water for a coffee, give an hour to a museum, then take the walk up again later or on another day.
Eat and browse
Tips for tavernas and shops near the route arrive with the stops. The opening point and the order are yours to rearrange in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walking tour is for
A first visit
One walk lines up the Venetian, Ottoman and Greek layers of the town and explains what you are standing in front of.
Anyone who avoids groups
Nobody to follow and no head count: you stay as long as something holds you and move on when you decide to.
A day away from the beach
3 hours covers the old town, so the rest of the day belongs to the coast or to the mountains behind it.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: Splantzia, the Venetian walls, Firkas, the harbour
10 stops · about 41 min walking · start: Air Force Memorial · finish: Küçük Hasan Mosque
The walk opens at the Air Force Memorial, east of the old town, and goes on to the Sabbionara Bastion on the corner of the Venetian walls. In Splantzia stands Agios Nikolaos Church, and deeper in the lanes the Old Archaeological Museum, the Trimartyri Cathedral and the Etz Hayyim Synagogue, until Talos Square opens up. The Firkas Fortress above the harbour entrance leads to the Museum of Ancient Shipbuilding in the vaulted Venetian yards, and the Küçük Hasan Mosque on the waterfront is the last stop. Another opening stop, or another order, is a setting in the app, and no stop asks for an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Air Force MemorialStart
This memorial honours the airmen of the Greek Air Force who lost their lives in service. Chania has a special link to the history of air warfare: in May 1941 the Battle of Crete began here with one of the largest airborne invasions in history, as German paratroopers landed around the city.
Read the full story →
2Sabbionara Bastion
The Sabbionara Bastion guards the north-eastern corner of the walls the Venetians built around Chania in the 16th century to defend it against the Ottomans. Its name comes from the sandy beach that once lay in front of it, and its thick, sloping walls were designed to withstand cannon fire.
3Agios Nikolaos Church
Agios Nikolaos on Splantzia Square began as the church of a Dominican monastery under the Venetians, became a mosque under the Ottomans and has been an Orthodox church since the early 20th century. It is one of the few churches anywhere with both a bell tower and a minaret.
Read the full story →
4Old Archaeological Museum
The Venetian church of St Francis, once part of a Franciscan monastery, is one of the largest Venetian churches in Chania. The Ottomans turned it into a mosque, and an Ottoman fountain still stands in its garden. For decades it housed the city's archaeological collection, which has since moved to a new museum.
Read the full story →
5Trimartyri Cathedral
Chania's Orthodox cathedral, dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, was built in the mid-19th century on a square in the old town. Locals call it Trimartyri, the church of the Three Martyrs, and its bell tower rises above the shops and lanes around it.
Read the full story →
6Etz Hayyim Synagogue
Etz Hayyim stands in the former Jewish quarter and was originally a Venetian church, converted into a synagogue in the Ottoman period. In 1944 the Nazis deported Chania's Jewish community, who died when the ship carrying them, the Tanais, sank. The restored synagogue reopened in 1999 as a place of prayer and remembrance.
Read the full story →
7Talos Square
This open square on the western edge of the old town, close to the sea, is a meeting place for locals and a venue for open-air events. It is named after Talos, the bronze giant of Greek mythology who was said to circle Crete three times a day, hurling rocks at approaching ships.
Read the full story →
8Firkas Fortress
The Venetians built the Firkas fortress to guard the entrance to the harbour, across the water from the lighthouse. On 1 December 1913 the Greek flag was raised here to mark the union of Crete with Greece, one of the most important moments in the island's history.
Read the full story →
9Museum of Ancient Shipbuilding
Housed in one of the vaulted Venetian shipyards, the Neoria, on the harbour, this museum belongs to the Maritime Museum of Crete. Its centrepiece is Minoa, a full-size reconstruction of a Minoan ship built with ancient techniques, which sailed from Chania to Piraeus in 2004. It shows how the Minoans crossed the Aegean thousands of years ago.
10Küçük Hasan MosqueFinish
Also known as the Mosque of the Janissaries, this domed building on the harbour front was built soon after the Ottomans captured Chania in 1645 and is considered one of the oldest Ottoman buildings on Crete. Its large central dome is surrounded by smaller domes, and today it is used for exhibitions.
Read the full story →
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Marleen– Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Joleane– United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Easy to follow and great value! Have lunch in the square next to St Nicholas church.
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
I had trouble loading it on the day so ended up using a map then reading about it later on using WiFi in the hotel.
Morgane– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Idéal pour se balader dans la ville et voir les lieux d’intérêt. Permet de flâner dans les ruelles a son rythme et de profiter sans se perdre.
Lithuania –
Collected on GetYourGuide
The tour was interesting and easy to do. Sufficient amount of information which is not overloaded or difficult to understand. One thing that confused us was the presentation of information as some information was shown after you get on the spot and looking for the next spot. Other than that was good.