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The Venetian Fortezza, Rethymnon

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Historic Site
A relic of the Venetian occupation of Rethymon, The Venetian Fortezza stands in the center of town, offering 360-degree views of the coast below. In 1580, more than 107,00 Cretans were forced to help build the fort to protect the Venetians' last overseas colony. Unfortunately, several flaws, such as the lack of buttresses and a ditch, made the walls easy to scale without a ladder. In 1646, the Ottomans seized the fortress and settled the area inside. Many of the interior buildings have been destroyed, but the exterior fortifications remain intact. Before you head to Rethymnon, plan trip itinerary details with our user-friendly Rethymnon trip itinerary maker, to make sure you see all that Rethymnon has to offer, including The Venetian Fortezza.
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29 days in Greece BY A USER FROM CANADA September, culture, outdoors, beaches, historic sites, museums, slow & easy, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: September, culture, outdoors, beaches, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Slow & easy 11 days in Crete & Athens BY A USER FROM UNITED KINGDOM August, culture, beaches, historic sites, museums, popular PREFERENCES: August, culture, beaches, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 11 days in Greece BY A USER FROM UNITED KINGDOM August, historic sites, museums, hidden gems PREFERENCES: August, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Hidden gems PACE: Medium 17 days in Greece BY A USER FROM CANADA August, popular PREFERENCES: August ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 32 days in Europe BY A USER FROM UNITED KINGDOM July, culture, outdoors, beaches, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: July, culture, outdoors, beaches ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Medium 11 days in Greece BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES August, fast-paced, hidden gems PREFERENCES: August ATTRACTION STYLE: Hidden gems PACE: Fast-paced 7 days in Crete BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES August, kids, culture, outdoors, beaches, historic sites, museums, fast-paced, popular PREFERENCES: August, kids, culture, outdoors, beaches, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Fast-paced 17 days in Greece BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES June, teens, culture, beaches, historic sites, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: June, teens, culture, beaches, historic sites ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Medium 15 days in Rethymnon BY A USER FROM UNITED KINGDOM September, popular PREFERENCES: September ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 8 days in Heraklion, Rethymnon & Chania Town BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES July, culture, outdoors, relaxing, historic sites, museums, popular PREFERENCES: July, culture, outdoors, relaxing, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 17 days in Greece BY A USER FROM CANADA July, outdoors, relaxing, romantic, beaches, popular PREFERENCES: July, outdoors, relaxing, romantic, beaches ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 15 days in Europe BY A USER FROM CANADA September, culture, outdoors, romantic, historic sites, hidden gems PREFERENCES: September, culture, outdoors, romantic, historic sites ATTRACTION STYLE: Hidden gems PACE: Medium
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Reviews
TripAdvisor
  • The fortezza towers over the town of Rethymno and is a good place to visit while in the town. Entry is 4 euros which we felt was well priced, it took around 90 minutes to go around and unlike in the U...  more »
  • The fortress is in excellent condition. All the walls, battlements, towers were preserved. The Venetians had built for centuries. Modern builders have to learn. There are traces of Turkish ownership o...  more »
  • To wander around this fortress, enjoying the sensational views and pondering the history is a great way to spend a couple of hours. Easy walk up and nothing strenuous at all. High worthwhile.  more »
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Google
  • The surroundings here are beautiful. The place is very big and there is a lot to see.
  • Beautiful place, take your camera with you
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