What to do in Akrotiri

Akrotiri is a peninsula and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Chania, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 112.644 km2 (43.492 sq mi). Its ancient name was Kiamon while the Byzantines called it Charaka. The largest town in the peninsula is Kounoupidiana. The beach at Stavros became famous because of the film Zorba the Greek.

The earliest history of the local area is related to the founding of the nearby ancient city of Kydonia, one of the most powerful cities of ancient Crete.

The tombs of Eleftherios Venizelos and his son Sophoklis are found on Akrotiri, at a site overlooking Chania. At this site, the Greek flag was raised in defiance of the Turks and the Great Powers, with the peninsula acting as a headquarters of the Cretan Revolution.

Three monasteries are found in the hills to the north. Aghia Triada dates from the 17th Century and was founded by two Venetian monks who had joined the Orthodox church, Jeremiah and Laurentio Giancarolo. These brothers renovated an older monastery endowed by the Mourtari family. The imposing buildings are visible across the plateau and from planes arriving at the airport and are set in olive and orange groves. A little way into the hills, accessible by car through a small gorge, is the Gouvernetos Monastery, 5 km north of Aghia Triada. Here the buildings appear fortress-like, with a large square building around a central courtyard, in which stands the church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.