Planned tour
Leaving the area of Platanias, we head to the city of Chania, where the symposium attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy a city tour with an experienced official city guide. After the end of the city tour, we will have free time to wander around the narrow streets of Chania. Chania is one of the oldest cities in Crete, with a rich and tumultuous history. Today it is the second most populated city on the island, which has preserved its traditional architecture and most of its monuments from Venetian and Turkish times. The Venetian harbor with its lighthouse and the old town in the center have bestowed on Chania the reputation of the most picturesque city in Crete, welcoming thousands of visitors each year.
Our next stop is Venizelos Graves, one of the most beautiful points for a photoshoot. Little known to foreign tourists, the graves of Venizelos, located in a small park on a hill overlooking Chania, are very much worth a visit, if only for the superb view you get.
The spot on the hill of Prophitis Ilias (after the name of the 15th-century church located there) is the resting place of one of the most illustrious Greek (and Cretan!) stateman, Eleftherios Venizelos and of his son Sophoklis.
The statue of Spyros Kagiales in the same park refers to a legendary feat of bravery in 1897. Venizelos and a group of rebels had raised a Greek flag at that spot. The Ottoman forces had requested help from the foreign admirals and attacked the rebels, with the ships of the Great Powers fleet bombarding the rebel positions. A shell broke the flagpole and threw down the flag, which was raised again immediately by Kagiales.
After the tour, we will head to the restaurant to enjoy Cretan and Greek cuisine and music.