Comprehensive information and links about Greece Agios Nikolaos

Agios Nikolaos (or Aghios Nikolaos, Greek: Άγιος Νικόλαος) is a coastal town on the Greek island of Crete. It is east of the island's capital Heraklion, north of the town of Ierapetra and west of the town of Sitia. In the year 2000 the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos which includes part of the surrounding villages counted about 19,000 inhabitants. Agios Nikolaos is the capital of the i. The stress lies on the third syllable of the word "Nikolaos". It is pronounced EYE-HOS NIKOL-OWS (rhymes with house)

Note that i) is a common place name in Greece and Cyprus since Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors and of all of Greece.

Agios Nikolaos is a cosmopolitan resort which caters for many nationalities. The lake and harbour area is the focal point of the town and legend says that the goddess Athina once bathed in the "bottomless" lake Voulismeni. Surrounded by mountains and with magnificent views of the Gulf of Mirabello, the town boasts a wide selection of traditional and contemporary reastaurants and tavernas and cafe bars around the harbour are the perfect place to watch the world go by. The recently built marina has hosted several major yachting events in the last two years and is now the focus for art and music festivals which take place throughout the summer. A wide variety of organised and individually guided excursions are available direct from *click hereand the area enjoys more days of sunshine per year than any other part of Europe.

There are regular scheduled bus services along the northern coast of Crete, and it takes about one and a half hours on the National Highway to get from Heraklion to Agios Nikolaos. Buses also connect with Ierapetra on the south coast. A ferry service goes from the port to Pireaus (Athens) and to Rhodes via Karpathos.

The archeological museum has artifacts from the Minoan and Roman eras. Exhibits come mainly from the surrounding area and include a skull with a golden olive wreath still attached. A coin is in the mouth to pay for the soul's crossing to "the other side". There is also a folk museum with exhibits of local craftsmanship and weaving machinery.

table border="1"