Arkadi monastery / Eleftherna museum / Margarites village tour

Arkadi Monastery

The Arkadi Monastery (in Greek: / Μονή Αρκαδίου) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery, situated on a fertile plateau 23 km (14 mi) to the southeast of Rethymnon on the island of Crete in Greece.

The Arkadi Monastery is located in the Rethymno regional unit, 25 km southeast of Rethymno. The Monastery is situated on a rectangular plateau on the northwest side of Mount Ida (Crete), at an altitude of 500 m. The Arkadian region is fertile and has vineyards, olive groves and pine, oak and Cyprus forests. The plateau on which the monastery rests is surrounded by hills. The west side of the plateau stops abruptly and falls off into gorges. The gorges start at Tabakaria and lead to Stavromenos, to the east of Rethymno. The Arkadian gorges have a rich diversity of plants and native wildflowers.

Museum of Ancient Eleutherna

The Museum of Ancient Eleutherna (Greek: Μουσείο Αρχαίας Ελεύθερνας) is an on-site museum of Greece in the archaeological park of Eleutherna, Rethymno, and houses artifacts found in the nearby archaeological site of Eleutherna and the necropolis of Orthi Petra, as seen in the virtual tour of museum and the archaeological sites.

Margarites village

Located in picturesque green rolling hills of the Rethymnon region, the village is well known for its pottery, and attracts large tour buses in the busy season. The village, which has some extraordinary architecture and lovely narrow winding streets, is well worth exploring.