Crete, Greece - Heraklion, the City of Art

👍️Recommended reason: The nearby Knossos labyrinth is a must-visit to understand the beginnings of ancient Greek civilization. 📅Travel guide: 1-5 days, in-depth slow travel 🍜Food guide: The small restaurants here are good and inexpensive 🏨Accommodation guide: Homestay 💗Other tips: Heraklion is not a beauty at first glance. The airport is old, and the buildings in the old town are simple cement structures without much character. The churches are not grand enough, with only the occasional fountain and Venetian-style building reminding people of its recent European heritage. The biggest attraction in the old town is the 16th-century Venetian-built sea fortress Rocca a Mare Fortress, which extends about 2 kilometers into the sea, forming a harbor. Although grand, it is somewhat monotonous. Walking at night is a good choice, but compared to other harbors, it is not particularly special. If you only stay for one or two days, you won't have a deep impression. However, if you stay for a week, go shopping at the local supermarket, take a morning walk by the sea, and have a beer at a local tavern in the evening, the feeling will be completely different. You will discover the quietly blooming paintings and food on the street corners, and the rich soul beneath the simple exterior. In most European cities, as long as you leave the affluent areas and well-maintained tourist zones, the walls are covered with graffiti, most of which are messy drawings and curses, more shocking than the small ads in our country. In Athens, except for the affluent areas near the Acropolis, other neighborhoods are not spared from graffiti. But Heraklion is an exception. We stayed in a homestay in the south of the old town, with many crisscrossing alleys. A few steps and a turn, you will encounter beautiful murals on the walls, jumping into view under the cover of flowers. Some originally dilapidated walls, painted green, with a window added, a tree planted, immediately become different.