Elounda
 Elounda is a city on Crete. Get inFlights are available to Heraklion (IATA: HER ICAO: LGIR) from many European countries and via Athens from U.S.A. Drive on E74 to Agios Nikolaos (70km) and then turn for Elounda. Elounda is 80 km from Heraklion Airport and the journey time to Elounda is 60 - 75 minutes by car or taxi. By bus: A local bus service [1] with modern air conditioned buses is available.. Take a bus to Agios Nikolaos and get connecting bus to Elounda. By ferry: Major ferry lines operate to the port of Herakleion, connecting with bus services at the main bus station near to the port. Ferries run to the nearby town of [Agios Nikolaos] via LANE lines [2] from Pireaus and Rhodes. Get aroundCar rental is available. Good and modern public transport is provided by the KTEL bus company. By foot Elounda is a cosmopolitan town/village with a small fishing port. It has several sandy beaches all in walking distance from the centre (square) The square has many bars,restaurants and fast food businesses. You can even find a few kafenions here the real traditional watering holes. Elounda's fishing port also offers boat trips to the nearby Island of Spinalonga (Kalidon) which in the past was used as a leper colony. Near the main beach a little way from the square is a children's play area. There are shops, bars and restaurants close by. The beach has been awarded the blue flag. Near to this beach there is also boat trips and one boat called the Shark's Eye has a glass bottom and is a hydrofoil. If you walk back through the square to the other end..you will see a street going up a bank. You probably came down this street on your coach. On this street there are shops, bars, restaurants and Jewellery shops, Fashion shops, tourist shops, and even a couple of night clubs. Going further up this street you will see a cut going down to the left. You will see a sign saying "Sanken City Of Olous"(yes sanken) This was the original Elounda many questions are being asked about this city "was Olous the real Atlantis from Myths and Legends ?" As you walk along the causeway you may still see some of the walls of the city in the water. Keep walking and you will come across a small beach, with a large old stone building at the end of it. This building was origanally built as a storage building. Keep walking along and to you right you will see some old windmills. Here is a beautiful spot over the bridge a small canal with fishing boats to the side. You will also see the original stone bridge now broken. This Canal was built by the French many many Years ago. There are many things to see this side of the bridge .......and if you are fit and can put up with the heat even a beautiful fine white sand beach. Going back towards Elounda after you have walked back over the causway turn right and keep walking along the seafront. You will pass beautifuly placed restaurants and Taverna's. Maybe this is a good time to stop have something to eat or just a cold glass of beer. Well keep walking and you are back in the centre again. SeeSpinalonga IslandSpinalonga Island is the setting for the bestseller "The Island" by Victoria Hislop. Spinalonga Island is easily accessed by boat from Elounda and the small village of Plaka. The island of Spinalonga (Kalidon) has captured the imagination of many throughout its long history. Since millenia past, artists, musicians and authors have romanticised and wrote about this island. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions on Crete, and thousands of visitors walk along the narrow streets through the village on Spinalonga each year. Actually the name 'Spinalonga', which means 'Long Thorn', came from the Venitians after a small island near Venice. The official name is Kalidon, but so well known is its former name that even the sign posts and the boats that take you to the the island will call it only by its Venetian name. Spinalonga is an island fortress on the south western entrance to the Gulf of Elounda. It is 5.6km away from Skisma. On the rocky island of Spinalonga, a fortress was built even from ancient ages to protect the port of the ancient Eloundians. It is reported that many Christians from the surrounding village took refuge in the ruins to save themselves during the time that the Saracens overtook Crete. In 1579, the Venetian rulers built the powerful fortress that we can admire today, for the safety of the port of Elounda, enclosing the area from hostile ships. In 1630, the fortress seemed to be impregnable but in 1715, the Kapoudan Pasha, the Turkish captain, besieged it at close quarters and took it. During the 1821 Revolution, it was a safe haven for many Turks, and during the 19th century it was the main port which was importing and exporting goods for the entire region of Mirabello. In 1881, it had 1112 Ottoman inhabitants who were involved in commerce, and they comprised the local council. During the revolution of 1821, 1866 and 1897, it was besieged by Cretan rebels. By edict of the State of Crete, from 1904 Spinalonga was used as a gathering point and place of refuge for Cretans suffering from leprosy. For a half century, this barren rocky outcrop had been host to life’s outcasts who lived out a drama of human pain at the height of their tragedy. Here they found their life’s end as well as the paradise of their dreams. With the progress of science, a cure was found to put an end to the misery of these lepers, and the hospital was dissolved in 1957. Spinalonga is a recognized archaeological site, and constitutes an identified historical grouping, one of the few examples of the art of Venetian island fortification and fortress-building in the Eastern Mediterranean. Every year over 30,000 Greek and foreign tourists visit the island.
Do
BuyBuy a trip on The Shark's Eye Boat Tour Bookshops Pay a visit to the Eklektos bookshop for a diverse choice of literature, including those recommended by the ever helpful proprietor. Eat
Sleep
Splurge
Get out
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