Fres

Fres is a village and Municipality in Chania Prefecture. Fres is the ‘seat’ of the municipality. Fres is very much a living village and has a population of about 450 permanent residents. There is a large main square surrounded by several kafenions where (of course) the Greek men of the village meet. In the village there is a bakery, dairy and a minimarket.

Fres is situated in the foothills of the White Mountains with views opposite to the valley of Vrisses which is 10 minutes away by car. The beaches at Kalyves and Giorgioupolis are about 20 minutes away. The views from most places in the village - of the mountains and the pine trees, are fantastic.

In the village of Fres there is a bakery, butcher dairy, various tavernas, kafenions and also a minimarket. The taverna 'To Pizitiko' on the outskirts also has a good reputation.

Fres, Taverna 'To Pizitiko'

A lovely arch from the square leads through to the upper village and the chapel ‘Our Lady / Madonna of the Rocks’. This is built (the name says it all) high up on two rocks and there is an adjacent picnic area / well kept terraced garden. From there, a path takes you up to St. Antonius’ cave, offering panoramic views to Souda Bay and the Akrotiri.

Fres is a fantastic location to both live and holiday and is the starting point for many walking trails. Not surprisingly, it’s very popular with walkers as the local scenery is just wonderful.

Finally, John Cleese told us not to mention the war, but I’m going to do just that. The Cretan people suffered badly in the last war . There are a number of books written on the subject but whilst looking on the Internet I found one with a reference to Fres and its an uplifting little story from very grim times. Only a couple of pages about Fres but the extract is well worth a read. The extract is from a book that is for sale, the company selling it will (not unreasonably) only let you view it a small number of times. I assume they leave a ‘cookie’ on your computer and can tell how many times you look. IE you can look at it again if you use another computer (confused? I was!). If you have problems contact us and we’ll send you a copy of the extract. The book is called 'The Nazi Occupation of Crete 1941 - 1945' and is written by G C Kiriakopolous. The pages about Fres start at page 199

View Dreamcatchers properties for sale in the village of Fres