MATALA-GORTYNA-FESTOS…The legend-based area were  Zeus swam until the shore in the form of a bull with Europe on he is back.

Many visitors make MATALA a base for their vacations, as they are centrally located in the south of Crete and away from the urban centers of the northern coast. The beach is 250 meters in length  and 45 meters wide. MATALA is one of the 400 beaches in Greece where the blue flag has been awarded.

5.5

.GORTINA is one of the most important cities of Crete, with a continuous history of 6,000 years and one of the largest archaeological sites in Greece. It is located in the southern central part of Crete in the fertile plain of MESSARA, which is famous for the first human settlement on the island at the end of the Neolithic period (5th millennium BC).

5.6

PHAISTOS, or more specifically the Minoan Palace of PHAISTOS, is located in south-central Crete, in the plain of MESSARA, 55 kilometers south of HERAKLION and a short distance from the archaeological site in AGIA TRIADA, the archaeological site in GORTYS and MATALA. .

SPILI is a mountainous, traditional village that belongs to the Municipality of LAMPIS and is 30 kilometers south  of the city of RETHYMNON. It was the capital of the municipality of Agios Vasilios in the prefecture of RETHYMNON, while it was formerly the capital of the homonymous province.