Spinalonga

Spinalonga is a small island fortress at the northern entrance to the Gulf of Elounda in north-eastern Crete, about 750 m from the village of Plaka. The Venetians began building the fortress in 1579, and work continued until 1586; the name comes from 'Spina Longa', the 'long thorn'. In 1715 the island passed to the Ottomans, who let a settlement grow here. It later served as a leper colony: the first patients arrived in 1904 (other sources say 1909), and people with the disease lived here until 1957. The last inhabitant, a priest, left the island in 1962.

Boats run regularly from Plaka, Elounda and Agios Nikolaos. Sights include vaulted cisterns, the garrison building, a gunpowder magazine and the Church of St Nicholas, along with houses of the Ottoman settlement and the leper colony, and the cemetery. Since 2000 the island has been officially open to visitors, and after Knossos it is the second most visited site on Crete. There is a small snack bar at the landing stage.