Arts and Culture during your holidays In Chania
Crete culture and arts play a significant part in the island, preserving the long cultural history of Crete. During your holidays at Aisha Petite Suites or at one of our luxury villas in Akrotiri, you can be guided to great art exhibitions and collections throughout the year. Painting, photography and other art exhibitions often take place in large galleries. Museums as well as collections of art and culture of Chania demonstrate the lives of the most important Cretan writers and artists.
Municipal Art Gallery
The Municipal Art Gallery of Chania is housed in a typical commercial industrial building of Greek neoclassical architecture in Halidon St., leading to the Venetian harbor, close to the Archaeological Museum. Its operation began in early 2003 and it features a remarkable collection of approximately 700 art works as well as famous Greek artists such as Dimitris Mytaras, Spyros Vassiliou, Vaso Katraki, Dimitris Galanis, and many other Cretan artists.
The village of arts and crafts between Souda and Tsikalaria, is another destination for art fans. The village was developed to revive and protect local Cretan crafts. You can see the artists working and participating in workshops that demonstrate the traditional art of ceramics, mask making and jewelry making. There, you can learn how traditional Cretan knives are forged, and even understand the particularities of wedding and baptism handicrafts.
Center of Mediterranean Architecture
It is the last of 17 shipyards (“Neoria”), situated in Great Arsenal, in the Venetian harbor of Chania, only a few steps from Aisha Petite Suites. In 1997, the Center of Mediterranean Architecture was founded there. Through the scientific programs, seminars, conferences, lectures and international exhibitions, the aim of the Center is to encourage people to participate in the formation of space and natural environment and make them care about the city esthetics and the inhabitants’ quality of life.
Typography Museum
The only Museum of Typography in Greece is located in Chania, in the Industrial Park of Souda. The collection includes printing press and other machines as well as tools and objects that show the evolution of typography from the era of Gutenberg until today. During their visit, children and adults have the opportunity to print using the old printing press.
The Maritime Museum of Crete
The Maritime Museum of Crete started operating in 1973 and has received an award for its work by the Historical and Ethnological Society. It is situated at the entrance of the Venetian fortress of Firka, which stands guard at Chania Harbor. The two-storey buildings contains 13 displays presenting the maritime history of Crete from antiquity to the Battle of Crete in 1941, as well as models of various vessels, wreck finds, documents of the Greek Navy, navigational instruments, audiovisual material and a library full of maritime books.
