Agia Triada Monastery

Agia Triada Tsagarolon was founded in the early seventeenth century by two brothers of the Venetian-Cretan Zangaroli family, and the architecture shows it: a Renaissance facade with Doric and Corinthian columns fronts an Orthodox church, an unusual hybrid, set in a courtyard of ochre walls with palms and cypresses. The monastery kept an important library and school, and today its working estate is part of the attraction: olive groves and vineyards on the surrounding slopes produce olive oil and wine sold at the gate, with a small production area open to view. A museum room holds icons and manuscripts. The setting on the dry Akrotiri plateau, with the White Mountains on the horizon, is quiet and unspoiled.

What to look for

• The Venetian facade - classical columns fronting an Orthodox church.
• The courtyard - ochre walls, palms and cypresses around the church.
• The estate production - olive oil and wine made on site.
• The museum room - icons, manuscripts and monastic objects.

When to go

Spring and autumn for the grounds at their best; the monastery keeps a midday break and modest dress is required. Harvest work is visible in late autumn.

Before you go

The visit is short, about an hour, and part of the complex is closed to visitors as a working community. Photography inside the church is restricted. The shop is a genuine part of the operation rather than a souvenir stand.

Nearby

Stavros lies north-west and Seitan Limania east on the peninsula; Chania is twenty minutes west.

Key facts