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The Venetian Harbour was constructed during the Middle Ages, while the Koules Fortress stands as a remnant of Ottoman rule, which lasted from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Additionally, the Heraklion City Walls offer a glimpse into the city's defensive structures throughout history.
Too quiet for me as a destination to work from for a month. Would work better as a stop on a month-long tour of Crete or for a week-long stay.
After a bitterly cold couple of months in Tbilisi, I was on the search for warmer pastures and having never visited Crete, a month in it's largest city seemed to tick a lot of boxes.
If you are visiting out of the main tourist seasons (before May) you should have your pick of a vast array of options for a great price.
Not an enormous selection of options, but I particularly enjoyed my time at Comeet, situated just out of the historical centre. There are an absolute glut of coffee shops dotted around all areas of the city if you are just passing by.
Eating out is good value but being such a tourist hotbed, probably not as good value as Thessaloniki and Athens.
While technically a city, the centre of Heraklion feels more like a large town in the UK, with very little going on during the week. This may change during the peak of summer, but visiting out of season, it felt noticeably sterile with a lack of real excitement in any area.
Greece is based in Eastern European Time, perfect if you are used to working in European hours, one hour ahead of CET.
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Heraklion is a small city and easy to get around on foot. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on staying in the immediate centre.
Situated just a 10 minute walk from the boundaries of the City Walls, Comeet provides a peaceful and calm location to work from with both fixed desk and hot desking options. I opted for a fixed desk on the first floor where you have access to the meeting room downstairs for calls if required.
A fully stocked kitchen as well as an espresso machine is provided, with numerous lunch options and grocery shops available close by. A great option if you are looking for a peaceful and professional working environment whilst working from Heraklion.
Greece introduced a Digital Nomad Visa in 2021, allowing remote workers to reside for up to two years. From January 1, 2024, applications must be submitted through Greek consulates abroad, not in-country. The visa provides access to 26 Schengen countries but requires spending at least six months in Greece. Digital nomads can bring family members.
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The ancient city walls actually falls well short of what they could be with some extra investment but still provide a great (if not interrupted) unique skyline walk around the perimeter of the city.
Even with it's southernly positioning, Crete is not immune from the rotations of the seasonal calendar with temperatures routinely dropping under 10 degrees throughout winter. During March it was pleasantly mild, with some stand out days of heat in the mid 20s. Sunshine and high temperatures is of course assured during the summer months.
If you are looking for beaches, the city itself wouldn't be my number one pick, with the better beaches to be found to the East of the city towards Malia.
The demographic make up of the city is likely to swing massively depending on the time of year you visit. In the off season you're likely to see predominantly locals with the swathes of tourists making their presence felt from April onwards. The coworking space was mainly Greek's from either Crete or the mainland, with a few international remote workers present.
I stayed for one month which was plenty and one of the rare occasions where I would have been happy to have moved on early.
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