Rethymno

The town still maintains its old aristocratic appearance, with its buildings dating from the 16th century, arched doorways, stone staircases, Byzantine and Hellenic-Roman remains, small Venetian harbor and narrow streets.

(Sources: GNTO, Wikipedia and various publications)

From Rethymno to Frangokastello - how to come

If you are driving from Rethymno to Oasis Apartments and Frangokastello it's recommended to use E75 Highway - National road (divided) to Vrises and then using Main road over Askifou to Komitades (near Hora Sfakion) and there to go (left) to Secondary road for Frangokastello.

Second option from Rethymno is to choose Highway 77 over Armenoi and then to Secondary road (right at Bale) over Rodakino to Frangokastello and Oasis.

About Rethymno

Rethymno (Greek: Ρέθυμνο, pronounced [ˈreθimno], also Rethimno, Rethymnon, Réthymnon, and Rhíthymnos), a city of 40,000 people about, is the capital of Rethymno Prefecture in the island of Crete. It was built in antiquity (ancient Rhithymna and Arsinoe), even though was never a competitive Minoan center. It was, however, strong enough to mint its own coins and maintain urban growth. One of these coins is today depicted as the crest of the town with two dolphins in a circle.

Rethymno (and Region) is rich with history, most notably through the ancient Minoan civilisation centred at Kydonia west of Rethymno. Rethymno itself began a period of growth when the Venetian conquerors of the island decided to put an intermediate commercial station between Heraklion and Hania, acquiring its own bishop and nobility in the process. Today's old town (palia poli) is almost entirely built by Venetians. It is one of the best preserved old towns in Crete.

The town still maintains its old aristocratic appearance, with its buildings dating from the 16th century, arched doorways, stone staircases, Byzantine and Hellenic-Roman remains, small Venetian harbor and narrow streets. The Venetian Loggia today houses the information office of the ministry of culture. The Wine Festival is held there annually at the beginning of July. Another festival is held on 7-8th of November, in memory of the destruction of Arkadi Monastery.

It has a large Venetian castle called the Fortezza, one of the best preserved castles in Crete. Other monuments include the Neratze mosque (St. Katherine's Catholic Church), the Great Gate (megali porta, Porta Guerra), the Piazza Rimondi (Rimmondi square) and the Venetian Loggia. Today its main income is from tourism, with facilities that have been built the past 20 years. Agriculture is also notable, especially for olive oil and other Mediterranean products. It is also the base of the Philosophical School and the University Library of the University of Crete and the School of Social and Political Sciences having 8000 students on its University Campus per annum at "Galos", where the Academic Institute of Mediterranean Studies is situated.