Elounda has a long and rich history, but today it is mainly known as an upmarket beach destination. Greece’s most luxurious hotels are clustered on the coastline toward Agos Nikolaos, along a road leading from a pretty little fishing harbour.

Elounda is on the site of the ancient Greco-Roman town of Olous. If you look from the bridge joining Elounda and the Spinalonga peninsula, you can make out the remains just beneath the surface of the water. Olous has one of the most important harbours in eastern Crete, and there are at least two remaining temples. It is thought that the city was destroyed in the second century BC, when immense land movements caused several areas of eastern Crete to sink below the waves, while parts of western Crete rose.