Bali has one of the most stunning settings on the northern coast, with a series of little coves strung along the indented shore, marked by hills, promontories and narrow sandy beaches.

The tiny village of Fodele snuggles into a fertile valley dotted with Byzantine chapels. It is the birthplace of the famous painter El Greco.

Visit Rethymno's Venetian-Ottoman quarter is a lyrical maze of lanes draped in floral canopies and punctuated with graceful balconied houses, ornate monuments and minarets that add an exotic flourish.

The Arkadi Monastery, in the hills southeast of Rethymno, has deep significance for Cretans. As it’s a stark and potent symbol of human resistance and considered a spark plug in the struggle towards freedom from Turkish occupation.