Gourmet products local specialties and wines Héraklion

The 1866 market is a must in Heraklion, with its spicy perfumes and daily effervescence. Unfortunately, cheap souvenir stalls are beginning to proliferate, as well as clothing shops and leather merchants' stalls. You will find many typical products, fruits, flowers, oil and olives, soaps, groceries, bakeries, fishmonger, gyros, pharmacy, taverns and Cretan food. Push up to the Membo Fountain, its water is said to grant wishes.

This new pastry café is a sweet treat, with its pastel velvet armchairs and timeless atmosphere. It is one of the few pastry shops where the pastries are of such a high quality. Everything is prepared with care and finesse. You can taste delicious desserts that are not lacking in imagination. With a very low price per piece, the pastry chef invites us to taste a wide range of his "miniature" cakes before choosing the ones we prefer! It is perfect for a snack break during the day. An address that is worth a visit.

A shop of traditional products where the welcome is in French. Large selection of organic or award-winning olive oils. You will also find an important department of cosmetic products based on natural elements such as olive oil. Handcrafted ceramics, objects carved in olive wood, wines, dried aromatic plants... An ideal shop to find Cretan gifts to bring back from your stay. The products are presented with taste and the ranges are wide enough for everyone to find what they are looking for.

This shop offers local products from the small owners. You can find first-press virgin olive oil, herbs, honey with thyme, olives, traditional Cretan pasta, cheeses and very good local cold meats. One of the few shops where you can find raki cooked and aged for a long time in barrels (48,50 € per bottle), organic raki... It is an excellent address where you can find a gift idea among all the good local products or simply to treat yourself.

Nikos Toulis arrived from Epirus in Crete in 1865 and worked as a baker. In 1923, the bakery moved to Smyrnis Street, the present Tsikirtzi Street, and it is at this address that it is still located today. Vassilis Toulis is currently perpetuating the long family tradition of ensuring the quality of the flour and oil, the only fat used to make the different kinds of bread, sweet or savoury petits fours, fruit tarts. Everything is baked in the wood-fired oven. An address that is worth a visit.

Established in 1922 by G. Hosefpian, an Armenian immigrant who met the same fate as the Greeks who came from Asia Minor after the Great Catastrophe, this small shop is part of the history of the city. Hosefpian, alias Kirkor, brought in his luggage the recipe for bougatsa, a puff pastry filled with fresh milk cream, eggs and semolina, and since then, from father to son, Herakleion has enjoyed this delicacy. Sweet or savoury, Kirkor's bougatsa is a delight. Mr. Vassilis will be pleased to prepare one with spinach or ham.

In a space with contemporary curves, follow the expert advice of the staff who will direct you to the best bottles of wines and spirits from the region and elsewhere. An ideal way to discover Crete's vineyards and wine-making traditions from the experts. Tastings are organised on site to help you choose the bottles to your taste. To be consumed (in moderation!) during your stay, facing the sea or the mountains; or to bring back from your holidays to remember the Cretan flavours on your return.