04/03/2025
What does the Daily Telegraph say about Crete?
Top Travel writer Heidi Fuller-Love has examined the Top 50 popular Greek islands and comes to an obvious (for us!) conclusion.
Here is the short version
"It would be easy to think that one Greek island is pretty much like another. After all, they belong to the same country, swelter under the same – almost inevitably blazing – sun, and promise the same laid-back vibe. Their tavernas, reassuringly, offer the same delicious staples. In my decades of exploring them, however, I’ve discovered plenty of differences.
From the Minoans to the Romans, the Venetians to the Ottomans, successive invaders have left their mark on each island’s culture, habits, clothes, music, and even food. A major hub of Western civilisation’s earliest maritime trade routes, the Cyclades are littered with ancient sites, while the Dodecanese – occupied by the Italians from 1912 to 1943 – reveal a strong Italian influence, not only in the local dialect which uses a lot of borrowed words, but also in the cuisine – pizza obviously, but also in half a dozen pasta specialities that you won’t find elsewhere.
Crete, birthplace of the mysterious Minoan civilisation, and the island Greeks themselves know as the megalo nisi (the big island), is a world all in itself – head for any village kafenion (Greek café) and you’re bound to hear raki-fuelled talk of epanastasi (revolution), reflecting the islanders’ oft-voiced (if not acted-upon) desire for independence.
So which should be on your travel bucket list. Which lesser-known spots are worth a visit?
Spoiler alert ... The top destination is Crete because it gives a concentrated dose of everything tbat Greece does best.
