The old town was built from the 13C onwards by the Venetians, who enclosed it within a wall that was rebuilt in the 16C to the plans of the great engineer Sanmicheli; a few fragments of the wall are still standing. Don't miss the Kastéli district, which was the site of ancient Kydonia, a rival of Knossós, and the Merchants' District which houses the Naval Museum (historic documents and model ships) and contains old Venetian houses (some doorways have sculpted coats of arms and mottoes).

The old town was built from the 13C onwards by the Venetians, who enclosed it within a wall that was rebuilt in the 16C to the plans of the great engineer Sanmicheli; a few fragments of the wall are still standing. Don't miss the Kastéli district, which was the site of ancient Kydonia, a rival of Knossós, and the Merchants' District which houses the Naval Museum (historic documents and model ships) and contains old Venetian houses (some doorways have sculpted coats of arms and mottoes).

One enters the old town of Réthimno, surrounded by walls, through a late 16C Venetian gate. A slim minaret there marks the site of the domed former Nerandzé Mosque, as well as two other Venetian monuments: the monumental Arimondi Fountain (1629) with its three Corinthian columns, and the loggia or Exchange (early 17C) with massive pillars and rustic stonework. It was turned into a mosque by the Turks and is now a library.

The road up to the gorge (16km long) passes over the Omalós Plateau (1 050m). After passing through Omalós, the road ends in Xilóskalo on the edge of the gorge. First a flight of wooden steps and then a twisting path goes down into the depths of the gorge to a viewing platform. There is an impressive view of the ravine between sheer rock walls rising to over 2 000m. The path soon reaches the narrowest section of the the gorge where the distance between the vertical walls is no more than 2-3m.