Day’s Drive from Irakleio

This day’s drive from Irakleio takes in highlights including the traditional village of Arolithos, a mountain village, and Minoan remains at Tilisos.

This day’s drive from Irakleio lets you take in some of the highlights to the west of the city, from Minoan remains to mountain villages. Although the total driving time is less than three hours, the drive will take all day, allowing for stops and a lunch break. The roads are mostly hood, with one or two steep curving sections – nothing to be worried about, though!

Fodele

This pleasant village is a 30-minute drive west from Irakleio along the coast. It’s surrounded by orange groves and claims to be the birthplace of the artist El Greco. It’s a peaceful place with a shady town square, where a memorial plaque to the painter is on display. Across a small bridge spanning the river is the church, which has many copies of El Greco’s works.

To see his birthplace, walk along the path (signposted) out of town beside the orchards for about 15 minutes. The house is greatly restored and contains a few displays on the painter’s life.

El Greco's Last Supper — El Greco’s Last Supper

Opposite the house is the delightful church of the Panayía. Built in the early 14th century, it incorporates the nave of an earlier 8th-century basilica. The baptismal font beside the church (set in the floor for total immersion) also dates from this period. The partially restored frescoes depict angels, saints and scenes from Christ’s life.

Anoyia

The mountain village of Anoyia is almost an hour’s drive south from Fodele. It has suffered greatly at the hands of foreign invaders. It was twice destroyed by the Turks after rebellions in 1821 and 1866. Then, in 1944, German troops shot every male in the village and burnt the houses to the ground in retaliation for the abduction of the German General Kreipe. A statue commemorating the freedom fighters stands in the square in the upper part of town.

Anoyia is known for its woven goods and embroidery. The streets of the lower town are draped with brightly coloured textiles, and you can often watch the local women at work inside their shops.

Behind the café tables in Platía Livádhi, notice the odd wooden sculpture of Elefthérios Venizélos (1864-1936 and eight times the Prime Minister of Greece) with his arm in a sling. It is the work of the late local artist Alkibíades Skoúlas, whose son has opened a museum to display his father’s works. Anoyia is also renowned as a centre of lyra music, and many top musicians have come from here.

Tílisos

The remains of this ancient Minoan town sit right within the village of the same name, a delightful example of the continuity of life through the ages. It’s about a 30-minute drive, heading back towards Irakleio. This small peaceful spot beneath shady pines is little visited and makes a refreshing change from Crete’s larger archaeological sites, like Knossos and Phaistos. It centres on three Minoan villas, which are thought to have been part of a larger community.

Tílisos (or Tylissos) was one of the first Minoan sites on the island to be excavated, prompted by the discovery of three giant bronze cauldrons; these and other finds are now in the Irákleio Archaeological Museum. The ruins are well preserved, and you can wander among the stone walls and through doorways into small rooms and courtyards. Tílisos is surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, where sweet, dark Malmsey wine has been produced since Venetian times.

Arolíthos

Ten minutes beyond Tilisos is the ‘traditional village’ of Arolithos. This was actually purpose-built for tourists and centered on a hotel, but it’s charming all the same. Its name means ‘a natural hole in a rock which collects rainwater’, and so too does this village aim to gather up the folkloric traditions of Crete.

You can watch weavers, potters, icon painters and other artisans producing traditional crafts, enjoy Cretan food and music, or learn how raki is made in the agricultural history museum. There are several places to eat too, from a coffee shop to a proper restaurant.

The hotel has several rooms decorated in traditional Cretan style, if you don’t want to head back to Irakleio, although if you do return it’s just a 20-minute drive. To check room prices click here.