Let's check out Neapoli, Crete

Welcome to Neapoli, Crete…

Many people on Facebook and social media often ask where is the best place to go when coming to Crete “how long will it take me to get from Agios Nikolaos to Elafonissi Beach?” around 4 hours on a good day and 270kms…… Wherever you plan on staying the first thing you must consider is that Crete is a BIG island and is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea. Crete has an area of 8,336 km2 (3,219 sq mi) and a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi) and as of 2020, Crete had a population of 636,504. The island is divided into 4 administrative regions or prefectures; Heraklion (Central Crete), Rethymnon and Chania (West Crete) and of course Lasithi (East Crete) where you will find Neapoli. Neapoli was maintained as the capital of the prefecture of Lasithi until 1904 but thereafter Agios Nikolaos became the new capital of the region. We know just how quickly the days pass by when on you’re on holiday but would encourage you to try and take some time out to see and experience life beyond the resorts when visiting Crete and check out some of the villages and towns like Neapoli in order to get a “real feel” for Cretan life. This community project was conceived as an attempt to provide information and holiday tips for Neapoli, the surrounding area and what Neapoli can offer visitors. We have also included some other facts and information about Crete and Greece that we hope you find useful. Here is a 4K video of Neapoli - courtesy of Polychronis Drone…

Getting to Neapoli…

Neapoli is easily accessible from all the main resorts and is located next to the National Highway of Heraklion-Agios Nikolaos - the European route E75, which starts in Norway and ends in Sitia, Lasithi. To help you get to Neapoli we have included google maps driving directions from Malia, Sissi, Hersonissos, Elounda and Agios Nikolaos. Neapoli is on the main bus route, which passes through all the coastal resorts between Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos. There is a bus stop and bus station on the main square with buses regularly coming to the town every hour or so. It is very easy to get to Neapoli by bus so why not stop off, enjoy a look around and have an ice cold beer and watch the world go by.

Around Neapoli…

Neapoli is surrounded by the beautiful Cretan countryside and the surrounding area is quite mountainous with the rich olive groves of Lasithi. Neapoli is a traditional Cretan town with narrow streets and cobbled roads. It is a lively provincial town with a population close to 4,000 people and the main square of Eleftherios Venizelos Square is teeming with life with most of its cafes and bars located on this square, where you can enjoy a cool beer or your food, while having fun with your company. One very popular cafe with tourists and the locals is the Cafe Oasis, and at the top of the square adjacent to the park you will find The Finikas Taverna, which opened in 2020 and is very popular with the locals and visitors alike. Take a stroll around Neapoli’s streets with its small traditional houses and the larger neoclassical ones that make up the neighbourhoods of our small town. There are numerous small churches scattered throughout Neapoli with each of them celebrating their “name” day at some point during the year; you will see the little flags (bunting) outside the church on these days. As you walk around the town you’ll come across some beautiful courtyards; small and large squares dotted throughtout the town. Neapoli is also home to a music festival that is held in early August every year called “The Square Festival”. The Municipal Garden between the central square and the Court’s Square, with its characteristic fountain, is at the heart of Neapoli and you can take a stroll under the shade of its tall trees and enjoy the cool that it offers. It’s also a great meeting point for little friends as it has two playgrounds and space for carefree play and also boasts an outside gym for the more adventurous. One of the main attractions of Neapoli is the Church of the Assumption, or Megali Panagia, as it is more commonly known, which dominates the central square. The size of the Temple impresses as it is the largest in eastern Crete. In the Central Square you will also find the Folklore & Historical Museum with a rich collection, which will take you on a journey into the past of the beautiful province of Mirabello. Neapoli has everything you would expect to find in a small town such as supermarkets, local shops with products from the wider area of Mirabello and all of Crete, traditional bakeries, butchers, clothing and shoe shops, hairdressers, a range of shops for household needs as well as freelance engineers, architects, doctors, etc. Important for the lives of residents and visitors is the "Dialynakeio" General Hospital, which serves the needs of the entire wider area after the Agios Nikolaos General Hospital which is located a few kilometers away. But if you're looking for something more specific - just ask one of the friendly residents; they will be more than happy to help you with whatever you might need! Neapoli is waiting to meet you and for you to meet it!

Neapoli Site Overview…

We have tried to make the Neapoli website as easy to get around as possible and the navigation links are pretty much self explanatory but we thought it might helpful to give some pointers:- Νeapoli  - includes information about places of interest and things to see and do in Neapoli, amenities of the Town and other items of interest….     - includes T.V. and films shot on Crete, Greek songs that became international hits and the time “The Beatles nearly bought an Island” and some holiday reads - A small selection of books you might like to read on holiday or when you get back home…. It’s all Cretan to me - A look into life on Crete and Greece; includes Flora & Fauna, a brief look into the life of Nikos Kazantzakis, funny Greek expressions and also some audio to help you learn a little Greek on “It’s all Greek to me”. We are adding to the website as we go along but hope you enjoy some of the topics we’ve currently added to this section…. The biggest celebration is August 15th (Assumption of The Virgin Mary). See the videos of August 15th here to see how busy Neapoli can be during this festival. However, many celebrations take place during the winter months and the town celebrates them all (see celebrations page) , so it might be good to think about coming out of season.

Staying in Neapoli….

Crete is a summer paradise for tourists from around the world, who flock in their thousands to enjoy the brilliant blue skies, pristine, sandy, white beaches, crystal clear seas and the luscious vegetation. However, it is worth a visit during the colder months out of season, in order to see the snow-capped mountains and smell the olive wood burning from the village chimneys. Winter days on Crete are quite sunny but windy and it is 15-17 degrees on average. Neapoli is a great place to stay at any time of the year with a hotel and a growing choice of Air BnB. Unlike all the tourist resorts, it is open all year round and it is an ideal place to base yourself to tour Eastern Crete. Eastern Crete has many hidden gems , beaches, hiking and a great to deal to offer visitors to the region and is very easy to get around. Take a closer look at what Eastern Crete (Lasithi) has to offer you…. The whole Island comes alive during Springtime and many streams and rivers are flowing from the mountains as the snow and ice melts. It is a wonderful time to visit and enjoy all the wild flowers and blossom around the town. A drive up into the mountains and a visit to Lasithi Plateau will reward you with views that simply cannot be seen during the warmer months Simply Breathtaking…. There are several daily flights from Athens to Heraklion and Neapoli is around a 50 minute drive…and with direct flights also starting much earlier in the year Crete is now so much easier to get to. Naturally, we have focused on the Eastern region of Crete and feel it would be wrong not to include information for the whole of our beautiful Island. Whatever your travel plans for visiting Crete might be, we are sure you will be able to find some valuable holiday tips here We Love Crete. Cretan Hospitality Video….

PHILOXENIA:-

This literally means hospitality and the people of Neapoli have it in abundance. “In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown god. Before him all doors and all hearts are opened.” “There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it “soul” – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valour, and together with these something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble.” Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco.

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Not sure how big Crete is? See Island Comparisons here….

Welcome to Neapoli, Crete…

Many people on Facebook and social media often ask where is the best place to go when coming to Crete “how long will it take me to get from Agios Nikolaos to Elafonissi Beach?” around 4 hours, 270kms. Wherever you plan on staying the first thing you must consider is that Crete is a BIG island and is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea. Crete has an area of 8,336 km2 (3,219 sq mi) and a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi) and as of 2020, Crete had a population of 636,504. The island is divided into 4 administrative regions or prefectures; Heraklion (Central Crete), Rethymnon and Chania (West Crete) and of course Lasithi (East Crete) where you will find Neapoli. Neapoli was maintained as the capital of the prefecture of Lasithi until 1904 but thereafter Agios Nikolaos became the new capital of the region. We know just how quickly the days pass by when on you’re on holiday but would encourage you to try and take some time out to see and experience life beyond the resorts when visiting Crete and check out some of the villages and towns like Neapoli in order to get a “real feel” for Cretan life. This community project was conceived as an attempt to provide information and holiday tips for Neapoli, the surrounding area and what Neapoli can offer visitors. We have also included some other facts and information about Crete and Greece that we hope you find useful. Here is a 4K video of Neapoli - courtesy of Polychronis Drone…

Getting to Neapoli…

Neapoli is easily accessible from all the main resorts and is located next to the National Highway of Heraklion-Agios Nikolaos - the European route E75, which starts in Norway and ends in Sitia, Lasithi. To help you get to Neapoli we have included google maps driving directions. Neapoli is on the main bus route, which passes through all the coastal resorts between Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos. There is a bus stop and bus station on the main square with buses regularly coming to the town every the hour or so. It is very easy to get to Neapoli by bus so why not stop off, enjoy a look around and have an ice cold beer and watch the world go by.

Around Neapoli…

Take a stroll around Neapoli’s streets with its small traditional houses and the larger neoclassical ones that make up the neighbourhoods of our small town. There are numerous small churches scattered throughout Neapoli with each of them celebrating their “name” day at some point during the year; you will see the little flags (bunting) outside the church on these days. As you walk around the town you’ll come across some beautiful courtyards; small and large squares dotted throughtout the town. Neapoli is also home to a music festival that is held in early August every year called “The Square Festival”. The Municipal Garden between the central square and the Court’s Square, with its characteristic fountain, is at the heart of Neapoli and you can take a stroll under the shade of its tall trees and enjoy the cool that it offers. It’s also a great meeting point for little friends as it has two playgrounds and space for carefree play and also boasts an outside gym for the more adventurous.

One of the main attractions of Neapoli is the Church of the Assumption, or Megali Panagia, as it is more commonly known, which dominates the central square. The size of the Temple impresses as it is the largest in eastern Crete. In the Central Square you will also find the Folklore & Historical Museum with a rich collection, which will take you on a journey into the past of the beautiful province of Mirabello. Neapoli has everything you would expect to find in a small town such as supermarkets, local shops with products from the wider area of Mirabello and all of Crete, traditional bakeries, butchers, clothing and shoe shops, hairdressers, a range of shops for household needs as well as freelance engineers, architects, doctors, etc. Important for the lives of residents and visitors is the "Dialynakeio" General Hospital, which serves the needs of the entire wider area after the Agios Nikolaos General Hospital which is located a few kilometers away. But if you're looking for something more specific - just ask one of the friendly residents; they will be more than happy to help you with whatever you might need! Neapoli is waiting to meet you and for you to meet it!

Neapoli Site Overview…

We have tried to make the Neapoli website as easy to get around as possible and the navigation links are pretty much self explanatory but we thought it might helpful to give some pointers:- Νeapoli  - includes information about places of interest and things to see and do in Neapoli, amenities of the Town and other items of interest….     - includes T.V. and films shot on Crete, Greek songs that became international hits and the time “The Beatles nearly bought an Island” and some holiday reads - a small selection of books you might like to read on holiday or when you get back home…. It’s all Cretan to me… A look into life on Crete and Greece; includes Flora & Fauna, a brief look into the life of Nikos Kazantzakis, funny Greek expressions and also some audio to help you learn a little Greek on “It’s all Greek to me”. We are adding to the website as we go along but hope you enjoy some of the topics we’ve currently added to this section…. The biggest celebration is August 15th (Assumption of The Virgin Mary). See the video on the celebrations page to see how busy Neapoli was this year. However, many celebrations take place during the winter months and the town celebrates them all (see celebrations page) , so it might be good to think about coming out of season.

Staying in Neapoli….

The whole Island comes alive during Springtime and many streams and rivers are flowing from the mountains as the snow and ice melts. It is a wonderful time to visit and enjoy all the wild flowers and blossom around the town. A drive up into the mountains and a visit to Lasithi Plateau will reward you with views that simply cannot be seen during the warmer months -Simply Breathtaking…. There are several daily flights from Athens to Heraklion and Neapoli is around a 50 minute drive…and with direct flights also starting much earlier in the year Crete is now so much easier to get to.

Cretan Hospitality….

PHILOXENIA:-This literally means hospitality and the people of Neapoli

have it in abundance.

“In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown god. Before him all doors and all hearts are opened.” “There is a kind of flame in Crete – let us call it “soul” – something more powerful than either life or death. There is pride, obstinacy, valour, and together with these something else inexpressible and imponderable, something which makes you rejoice that you are a human being, and at the same time tremble.” Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco.

Here is a short video about Cretan Hospitality