Ilian Beach Hotel

Rethymnon, a diverse city on the North coast of Crete. The City holds many worthwhile places to tend a visit. The actual history of the city was lost over time but the general area of Rethymnon was inhabited from as early as 1300BC. The Golden Period of the city was in the fourth third century BC, as gold coins of that period ware found in the area. The old part of town will show you many foreign influences, mostly Venetian and Turkish.

In some of the small streets, you still get a taste of the old looks of the town. The old traditional buildings now give the house to shops, but the old style still remains seen in the upper floors. On the beach road, you can find many nice restaurants and shops as well as playgrounds for the kids. Every week there are large markets near the harbor, ask a local for the days. Overlooking the city and the harbor is the Fortezza, it offers a great view over the city, harbor and the sea. The Fortezza was built around 1580 by the Venetians as protection to the Turkish. It star-shaped form houses the church of St Nicolo, but when occupied by the Turks it was turned into the mosque of the Sultan Ibrahim Han.

The Rimondi fountain is easy to find among the many small streets near the harbor. Its intersection with a number of small streets made it an opportune place for restaurants and bars. This fountain can be seen on many postcards from Rethymnon.
Near the Rimondi fountain is the Loggia, a Venetian gentlemen’s club. An archaeological museum is now housed in the Loggia, an early
16-century building. On the main exhibit are the archaeological finds of the area, but the museum also has a large collection of coins.
At the end of the street, you can find the last remains of the old city walls, the Guora Gate. These walls ware build in the Venetian times
of the city. At night the old area comes to life with tourist and locals who go out for a drink in a taverna.