Travel Mail — We’ve timed our trip deliberately out of season to explore the largest and most populous of the Greek islands without doing battle with crowds or heat.
As the most southerly of the Greek islands, the weather is mild enough in winter to make exploration a charm rather than a chore, with temperatures around 14C and plenty of sunshine.
We base ourselves in Chania, a 14th-century Venetian harbour-town crowned by a beautifully preserved lighthouse. As Crete’s ‘second city’, there are plenty of places open all year round, and the port is rimmed with bars and restaurants.
There are no direct winter flights, so we travel via Athens, with a pitstop at the magnificent Grande Bretagne hotel in Syntagma Square, which overlooks the Greek parliament.
As well as cycling, we take a hair-raising drive through Therisso Gorge, where mountain goats have even less road sense than tourists in hire cars.
Visitors can try cheese-making, olive and grape harvesting or local wine tasting. By the wood-lit stove, we learn how to make traditional Greek dishes such as tzatziki and chestnut and olive stew, and talk to the owner, Valia Avgoustidi, about the island’s food culture.
The island might be a magnet for tourists in high season but, go in winter, and you’ll have it to yourself.
