Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located at approximately 35° N 24° E. Tourist attractions in Crete include archeological sites at Knossos, Phaistos, Gortys and many other places, the Venetian castle in Rethymno, the Samaria Gorge and many other minor gorges (Agia Irini, Aradena, etc).

Crete was the center of the Minoan civilization (ca. 2600–1400 BCE), the oldest civilization in Europe.

Crete is one of the 13 regions of Greece. It is the biggest island in Greece and the second biggest (after Cyprus) of the East Mediterranean. Crete has an elongated shape - 260 km from west to east and at its widest 60 km, the island is narrower at certain points, such as in the region close to Ierapetra where it has a width of only 12 km.

It covers an area of 8,336 km² and a coastline 1046 km. long. To the north Crete borders with the Sea of Crete (Greek: Κρητικό Πέλαγος), to the south it is bordered by the Libyan Sea (Greek: Λιβυκό Πέλαγος), to the west the Myrtoon Sea, to the east the Karpathion Sea. Its population is 650,000 people (as of 2005). The island lies approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland.

Crete is extremely mountainous and is defined by a high mountain range crossing it from West to East, formed by three different groups of mountains. These are:

These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus like Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha, caves like Diktaion and Idaion cave, and gorges like the famous Gorge of Samaria.
Climate

Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea.

The winter is fairly mild. Snow fall is practically unknown to the plains, but quite frequent in the mountains. During summer, average temperatures are in the high 20's-low 30's (Celsius).

The exception can be the south coast, including the Messara plain and Asterousia mountains, which fall in the North African climatic zone and thus enjoys significantly more sunny days and high temperatures during the summer, as well as very mild winters - consequently in southern Crete date palms bear fruit and swallows stay year-long, instead of migrating to Africa. Probably the best time to visit Crete is spring and autumn.

Crete's principal cities are: Heraklion (Iraklion or Candia) (275,000 inhabitants) Chania (Hania) (139,000 inhabitants) Rethymno (69,290 inhabitants) Ierapetra (21,025 inhabitants) Agios Nikolaos (19,000 inhabitants) Sitia (9,075 inhabitants)