The best lounge bars Iles grecques

Here's a magnificent establishment nestled in a typical Cycladic house with exposed stonework and Paros marble. Part café, part Mediterranean restaurant and part cocktail bar, the place is both charming and romantic, while offering a superb view of the waterfront, especially at sunset. The food is excellent, and the place is ideal for both an afternoon coffee break and an evening cocktail. There's also an art gallery on site, with various exhibitions throughout the year.

On the first floor of the Polydoros Hotel, a tastefully appointed family-run establishment in the center of Paleochora, between the Pachia Ammos and Chalikia beaches. Set in a beautiful open-air garden, the hotel's wine bar offers over 40 different Cretan wines by the glass. A place to enjoy some of Crete's finest wines, before dinner or later in the evening, away from the busy tourist life of Paleochora, in a very pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.

A must for food lovers, the Kookoovaya is an allday cafe/tea house offering, above all, a breathtaking view of the sea and the city of Hania. Located in Akrotiri, at the end of the esplanade known as "the tombs of Venizelon", the establishment is a meeting point for the locals who love to have gourmet breaks and take time to relax in a very pleasant setting. Among the pastries, we recommend the chocolate cake with chocolate syrup, the walnut cake with a scoop of ice cream... Several snacks as well.

This cosy lounge café is housed in a former ice cream factory dating from the first half of the ^20th century. Today, the foundations of the building preserve vestiges of the ancient Byzantine and Venetian periods, as well as interwar warehouses. Popular with locals, especially young people, the Pagopoieion offers brunch, popular world dishes (pasta, burgers, pizzas, etc.), salads, pastries and, later in the evening, cocktails.