With a population of some 25,000, Rethimno is Crete’s third largest city. It feels, however, more like a scaled-down, touristier version of Hania, complete with a similar harbour, architecture with clear Venetian and Turkish influences, and a strong traditional culture.

Rethimno was a busy trading centre and port. During the sixteenth century the city boomed under Venetian rule, acquiring a reputation for art and scholarship that it retains to this day.

Southeast of the loggia is the little Venetian harbour, able to take only smaller boats and the local fishing fleet; the bigger inter island and Pireas ferries are forced to moor outside. It is here that the fishermen can be found mending their nets and in the mornings selling their catch from the night before. The sixteenth century lighthouse here is another notable Venetian legacy.