Agora Market (Chania Municipal Market)

Just inside the line of the old Venetian walls, on the edge of the old town of Chania, a long covered hall built in the shape of a cross has been the city's main food market for over a century. It was constructed in the years before 1913, when Crete finally joined Greece, on the site of a section of the Venetian fortifications that had been taken down. The Municipal Market, known to everyone as the Agora, remains one of the best places to see how people in western Crete shop and eat.

The building has four arms meeting at a central crossing, with high roofs of iron and glass that let in light and allow the heat and smells of the stalls to rise. Four entrances, one at each end, open onto the surrounding streets, and the long aisles are lined on both sides with small shops and counters. Butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers occupy many of them, along with stalls for cheese, olives, herbs, honey, olive oil and bread. Because the layout is symmetrical, it is easy to walk the full cross and find the section you want.

Cretan produce is famous, and the market shows it. Look for graviera and other local cheeses, thyme honey, dried herbs, jars of olives, rusks, and raki, the clear local spirit often offered in small glasses to customers. Some stalls sell spice mixes, soaps and souvenirs aimed at visitors, while others serve the neighbourhood with weekday groceries. Several food stalls and cafes in the hall prepare simple dishes using ingredients from the market, which makes it a good place for a quick lunch.

Visitors will find that the market is busiest in the morning, when cooks and shopkeepers come for the day's supplies, and quieter in the afternoon. It is free to enter, and it opens daily apart from some holidays, though individual stall hours vary. Prices at the souvenir stalls are fixed in most cases, but it is polite to ask before taking photographs of people at work.

The market sits a short walk from the Venetian Harbour and the streets of the old town, so it fits easily into a walking tour. The nearby leather shops of Skridlof Street and the Maritime Museum make natural next stops, and the surrounding tavernas serve dishes that make use of the same produce.