Palekastro is a small village in the east of Siteia. It is a quiet village with super friendly people. By the time you arrive at the village, you feel that something is different. Local hospitality is beyond expectations. Don’t be surprised if they invite you to their home for dinner or if they treat you with delicacies or raki on the road when they see you. This is common here, and they love meeting new people. Festivals with hundreds of people are held in the village square, and you will find yourself dancing to traditional Cretan music. It is an experience that you will never forget. Palekastro is not for wild nightlife lovers but for those who love hanging around drinking and discussing the morning session.
Palekastro is a historic site because it was an important trade center during the Minoan times. The port of Itanos, today several meters below sea level, has great historical significance. The Minoan commercial settlement Roussolakkos close to the Chiona beach, excavated by English archaeologists, clearly shows that the region was one of the most important commercial centres of the east’s Minoan culture of the island of Crete. Palaikastro Kouros is a carved figure of a young persons remains that were recovered in fragments between 1987 and 1990. Traditional and modern factors beautifully blended in this area.
The Minoan commercial settlement Roussolakkos close to the Chiona beach, excavated by English archaeologists, clearly shows that the region was one of the most important commercial centres of the east’s Minoan culture of the island of Crete.
Palekastro Kouros is a carved figure of a young persons’ remains recovered in fragments between 1987 and 1990. Traditional and modern factors are beautifully blended in this area. You can find a lot of taverns to enjoy delicious seafood dishes.
WHERE TO EAT
East Crete is famed for its good food and hospitable atmosphere. Most of the restaurants in Sitia are along the paved beach road, where you’ll see tourist restaurants offering international food, but also more traditional tavernas, with relatively reasonable prices and many different Cretan dishes and recipes.
Locals call the little tavernas serving mezedes (titbits) rakadika. You can enjoy your mezedes with raki, but you can also choose to wash them down with wine, beer or ouzo.
Some of the traditional local dishes are aromatics or omathies (pork chitterlings stuffed with rice, chopped liver, sultanas and spices), xygalo (type of creamy cheese) above all, the sweet cakes.
Sitia is famous for its xerotigana (crispy pastry spirals with honey), which are slightly softer and lighter than those you may have tried elsewhere.
The kalitsounakia (sweet cheese pastries) are small and square and leavened with yeast.
BARS AND CAFES
There are several bars and cafés which work as bars in the evening.
You can enjoy a drink in one of the seafront cafeterias and bars, with a view of the sea or the Kazarma fortress in Siteia, prettily lit up at night, or chilling in Paleksastro Square.
You can also find bars in the side-streets of Siteia. Some of these are small but welcoming and tastefully decorated. The nightlife is not exactly hopping; things are relatively calm and quiet, as it is not a place for clubbing, but you can certainly enjoy the warm, lovely nights in a more relaxed atmosphere.