Local Area Overview

Panormo is a small, picturesque, seafront village. It still has the feel of a fishing village with traditional tavernas and bars and a couple of good sandy beaches. The village has a post office, ATM, a cultural centre and a tourist mini train leaves from the main street for the nearby Mildoni Cave and the pottery village of Margarites. Melidoni centre is ‘Spílaio tou Medlidóni’, a large cave with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. According to myth, the cave was home to Talos, a bronze giant who guarded the Cretan coasts, but its notoriety was formed during the Turkish occupation when Cretans hiding from the Turks in the cave were killed by smoke when the troops lit fires at the entrances. The capital town of the region, Rethymnon is approximately 22km away and well worth a visit. You can wander up and down the narrow, winding streets and find architecture dating back to the 16th century, or walk along the harbour front and enjoy a drink as you watch the fishing boats bob gently in the water. Crete’s most popular attraction, the archaeological site of the ancient Knossos Palace, is around about 65km away. This palatial ruin dates back to 2000-1350BC but was most importantly inhabited during the Minoan civilization, when tradition says that it housed King Minos. Knossos is also attributed to be the site of the Labyrinth where Theseus finally defeated the King’s beastly Minotaur, according to the myth. Well worth a visit, the site has been restored in places and there are copies of original frescoes and plenty of stunning architecture on display.