A Rethymno photoshoot walks the Venetian Fortezza on the Paleokastro hill, the curved harbour under its Egyptian lighthouse, the Rimondi fountain and the arcaded lanes of the old town. Plan the rest of the trip with Greece Tours.
Where does a Rethymno photoshoot go?
Into the Fortezza on the hill, around the Venetian harbour under its Egyptian lighthouse, past the Rimondi fountain and the Neratze mosque, through the Porta Guora gate and along the arcaded lanes.
Rethymno stands on the north coast of Crete, between Chania and Heraklion.
The old town is small. A Rethymno photoshoot covers it on foot in an hour.
The same streets are covered on the Rethymno walking tour.
What is a Rethymno photoshoot at the Fortezza like?
A walk on the ramparts of the Venetian fortress on the Paleokastro hill, past the domed mosque of Sultan Ibrahim, with the sea on one side and the roofs of the old town on the other.
The site is open ground, so the light reaches every corner of it.
The fortress was built to hold the whole population of the town inside its walls. That is why the space within is so wide.
The site itself is covered at Rethymno Fortezza.
What is a Rethymno photoshoot at the Venetian harbour?
A Rethymno photoshoot on the small curved quay below the old town, lined with fishing boats and tavernas, closed at its mouth by the stone Egyptian lighthouse.
The harbour is the older and smaller of the town’s two ports.
The lighthouse stands at the end of the mole. Steps run up to its base.
The water side is covered at Rethymno boat trips.
What are the old town lanes like for a Rethymno photoshoot?
A Rethymno photoshoot in the lanes finds them narrow and shaded, with wooden Ottoman balconies over Venetian doorways, stone portals carved with coats of arms, and minarets rising above the roofs.
The lanes run between the Fortezza and the harbour. Nothing in the old town is more than a few minutes from either.
Shade holds in the lanes through the middle of the day, when the open sites are too bright.
The Porta Guora is the surviving gate of the Venetian town wall and marks the edge of the old quarter.
What is the Rimondi fountain?
A Venetian fountain on Moschovitou street, and a standard Rethymno photoshoot stop, where water runs from three lion heads between stone columns in a small square of the old town.
It carries the name of the Venetian rector who built it for the town’s water supply.
The square around it is tight, so the frame stays close. Morning is the quiet hour there.
A Rethymno photoshoot pairs the fountain with the Neratze mosque, a few steps away on Mikrasiaton square.
Can a Rethymno photoshoot use the Neratze mosque?
A Rethymno photoshoot can use its square: the building is a former Venetian church turned into a mosque under Ottoman rule, with three domes and the tallest minaret in the town, standing on Mikrasiaton square.
The building now serves as a music school and concert hall.
The minaret is the vertical line in most wide frames of the old town roofline.
The square in front of it is open, which gives room to step back from a group.
Can a Rethymno photoshoot use the beach?
Yes. The town beach runs east from the harbour as a long straight strip of sand, with open horizon, flat ground and clear light in the last hour of the day.
It starts at the edge of the old town, so the walk from the lanes takes minutes.
The western end is the closest to the lighthouse and the quay.
Evening sessions on the sand follow the couples format.
What is the sunset couples session?
Proposal coverage runs on the same terms.
The photographer picks the route on the day by where the sun falls.
The Chania end of Crete is covered at Chania photoshoot.
Which Rethymno photoshoot locations lie outside the town?
Arkadi stands on open ground above the plain and is the monument of the Cretan revolt.
Preveli is reached by a path down to the river, so a session there needs walking time.
When is the light best for a Rethymno photoshoot?
A Rethymno photoshoot takes the hour before sunset on the Fortezza and the beach, early morning at the Rimondi fountain and the harbour, and the middle of the day in the arcaded lanes, where the shade stays even.
The town faces north, so the harbour holds soft light all afternoon.
The Fortezza takes the last sun from the west, straight across its walls.
Inland sessions at Arkadi and Preveli run in the morning, before the heat.
Can a Rethymno photoshoot use the Venetian Loggia?
Yes: a Rethymno photoshoot can use the stone Venetian hall in the centre of the old town, now the information office of the Ministry of Culture, with arched openings on three sides.
It stands near the Rimondi fountain, on the same short walk.
The arches frame a standing subject cleanly, with shade under them at midday.
A wine festival is held at the Loggia at the beginning of July.
What else stands in the old town?
A Rethymno photoshoot also passes the Great Gate known as Porta Guora, the Piazza Rimondi, Byzantine remains among the Venetian houses, and the small harbour under the lighthouse.
The Ottomans took the town in the 17th century and called it Resmo. The minarets date from that period.
The Fortezza is one of the best-preserved castles on Crete.
The Neratze mosque now serves as the municipal arts centre.
How long does a Rethymno photoshoot run?
About an hour in the old town, longer when the route adds the beach or the Fortezza, and half a day when it leaves the town for Arkadi, Preveli or the gorge.
Driving time counts on the inland sessions. Arkadi is in the hills south-east of the town.
The photographer sets the start time by the sunset hour for that week.
Groups move slower than couples, so a family route covers fewer stops.
What do you wear to a Rethymno photoshoot?
A Rethymno photoshoot asks for flat shoes for the cobbles and the fortress ground, light fabric for the wind on the ramparts, and a second outfit when the session covers the old town and the beach.
The lanes are paved with worn stone that turns slippery after rain.
The Fortezza is open ground with no shade, so a hat helps between frames.
Pale colours hold their tone against the honey-coloured stone of the walls.
Which season suits a Rethymno photoshoot?
Spring and autumn suit a Rethymno photoshoot. The light is softer, the old town is quiet, and the heat is off a session that runs an hour or more.
July and August fill the lanes and the harbour with visitors, so sessions run at either end of the day.
Winter brings rain and short daylight, and the shaded lanes lose their light early.
Spring is greenest inland, at Arkadi and along the gorge road.
How do you book a Rethymno photoshoot?
Sunset slots go first in July and August.
Transport is included on the sessions that leave the town.
The photographer confirms the route and the frames before the day.
How old is the Fortezza?
The citadel was built by the Republic of Venice between 1573 and 1580, in limestone, on the small hill beside the coast, and it stayed in use into the twentieth century.
Its walls run 1,307 metres and carry a line of demi-bastions. The St Nicolas bastion closes the eastern end and holds a Venetian building.
The House of the Rector stood inside the walls as the residence of the provincial governor. Only its prisons survive.
The fortress is intact and owned by the Ministry of Culture, which is why a Rethymno photoshoot can use the whole circuit of ramparts.
What is the mosque inside the Fortezza?
The mosque of Sultan Ibrahim, a domed building that began as the cathedral of Saint Nicolas and was converted after the Ottoman siege of the city.
The dome is the tallest structure inside the walls and sits alone on open ground.
An Ottoman force besieged Rethymno in the autumn of 1646 during the Cretan War.
The building no longer serves as a mosque and stands empty, which keeps the space around it clear for photographs.
Why were the town walls built?
Venice began a line of fortifications around Rethymno in the spring of 1540, designed by the architect Michele Sanmicheli and finished around 1570, after raids on the Cretan coast.
They proved too weak. Uluc Ali Reis attacked in 1571 and the Ottomans sacked the town.
The Fortezza on the hill was the answer to that failure, built in the decade after it.
The Porta Guora gate is what remains of the earlier wall line inside the town.
What is Arkadi monastery?
A monastery on a fertile plateau 23 kilometres south-east of Rethymno, with a museum and a gallery, still inhabited by monks, and the site where local people blew up the powder store rather than surrender in 1866.
The church facade is the best-known Venetian front on Crete.
The town holds a festival in memory of the destruction on the eighth of November.
A Rethymno photoshoot at Arkadi runs in the morning, before the tour coaches arrive.
What is at Preveli?
A monastery complex 37 kilometres south of Rethymno in two parts, the lower and the back monastery, dedicated to Saint John the Theologian, above the palm-lined mouth of the Megalopotamos river.
The monastery is known for its part in the resistance during the Second World War.
The palms and the freshwater pools are the reason a Rethymno photoshoot goes that far south.
What are the gorges near Rethymno?
The Kourtaliotiko gorge on the road to Preveli and the Kotsifou gorge to its west, both cut by a road that runs between vertical rock walls.
Chapels stand at the foot of both gorges, set against the cliff.
The road runs through them, so the frames are taken from lay-bys rather than on a hike.
Light reaches the floor of each gorge only in the middle of the day.
What else lies inland?
Eleftherna, an ancient city with an excavated site and its own museum, and Mount Ida, the highest mountain on Crete at 2,400 metres and a UNESCO Geopark.
The Eleftherna site sits on a ridge with its necropolis below.
Mount Ida stands behind the town and closes the southern horizon on clear days.
The ground on the mountain is unstable in places, so sessions stay on the marked routes.
Which beaches lie outside the town?
Damnoni on the south coast and the long sand strip that runs east from Rethymno towards Adele and Bali.
Damnoni faces south, so it takes the sun all afternoon.
The eastern strip is flat and wide and runs for kilometres past the hotels.
A Rethymno photoshoot on the sand is shot in the last hour, with the water behind.
What does a Rethymno photoshoot include?
A private photographer for the session, a route agreed in advance, and edited photographs delivered afterwards.
No other clients join the route on any of the three formats.
The meeting point is named at booking, so the group and the photographer start together.
Sessions that leave the town include the transport.
Is a Rethymno photoshoot worth it on a short stop?
Yes. The old town route takes about an hour on foot and covers the harbour, the lanes, the fountain and the gate without a car.
Rethymno sits between Chania and Heraklion, so many visitors pass through for a day.
The Fortezza adds half an hour, including the climb and the ticket.
The inland sites need half a day and a vehicle.
Where do families shoot in Rethymno?
A family Rethymno photoshoot runs on the town beach and along the flat lanes near the harbour, where the ground is level and the walking distances are short.
The Fortezza has uneven ground and a climb, so it suits older children.
The beach starts at the edge of the old town, which keeps a family route compact.
Group frames and individual portraits are taken at each stop.
Can you photograph a proposal in Rethymno?
Yes. On a proposal Rethymno photoshoot the photographer works from a distance at the harbour or on the Fortezza ramparts, then joins the couple for portraits once the answer is given.
The signal and the spot are agreed before the day.
Sunset on the mole beside the lighthouse is the most booked setting.
What can go wrong on the day?
Crowds and weather. The harbour fills with diners from early evening, and rain in winter closes the open sites for photographs.
A Rethymno photoshoot avoids the crowd by starting early or by using the Fortezza, which empties before closing time.
The lanes stay usable in light rain because of the balconies overhead.
Wind off the sea is strongest on the ramparts and on the beach.
How does a Rethymno photoshoot compare with shooting alone?
A local photographer knows the hour each place takes its light and where to stand to keep other visitors out of the frame.
The Fortezza is large and mostly empty, and knowing which wall faces the sunset saves the session.
The lanes change light every few metres, which is hard to judge without knowing them.
The result is a set of edited images of the whole party, rather than phone shots with one person missing.
How do you reach Rethymno for a photoshoot?
By road from Chania or Heraklion, both about an hour away, or by ferry into the marina, which runs a summer link to Santorini.
The two nearest airports are at Chania and Heraklion.
Buses run along the north coast highway between the three towns through the day.
A Rethymno photoshoot that starts in the old town needs no car once you arrive.
Where do you park for a Rethymno photoshoot?
The old town itself is closed to most traffic.
The lanes are too narrow for cars, which is why every town session runs on foot.
The Fortezza has its own approach road and parking at the gate.
Sessions that go inland leave from the town and return to the same point.
How big is the old town?
Small. The Fortezza, the harbour, the Rimondi fountain, the Neratze mosque and the Porta Guora stand within a few hundred metres of each other.
The town community holds about 35,000 people, and the historic core is a fraction of that area.
Every stop on a town route is minutes from the last.
That density is what lets a Rethymno photoshoot cover five settings in an hour.
What is the history behind the buildings?
Venice held Rethymno for four centuries and left the fortress, the fountain, the Loggia and the gate. The Ottomans took the town in 1646 and added the minarets and the fountains.
Under Ottoman rule the town was called Resmo and governed a district of the province.
Byzantine remains survive among the Venetian houses in the old quarter.
Three periods stand in most frames of a Rethymno photoshoot: Venetian stone, Ottoman wood, and the whitewash of the modern town.
Which frames suit the harbour?
Wide shots from the quay across the moored boats to the lighthouse, and close portraits against the coloured taverna fronts on the inner curve.
The mole is narrow, so groups stand in a line rather than a cluster.
Boats move with the swell, which is why the wide frames are taken on a calm morning.
The lighthouse is stone and holds warm colour at the end of the day.
Which frames suit the Fortezza?
Wide shots from the ramparts over the roofs and the sea, and tight portraits against the limestone walls and the dome of the mosque.
The ground inside is open and dry, with low walls and paths between the ruins.
Views run west over the water and north over the town, so both directions work.
A Rethymno photoshoot on the walls finishes as the site closes for the day.
How far are the inland sites?
Arkadi is 23 kilometres south-east of the town, Preveli 37 kilometres south, and the Kourtaliotiko gorge sits on the road between the town and Preveli.
The road to Arkadi climbs through olive groves onto a plateau.
The road south crosses the island to the Libyan Sea.
Half a day covers one of them with a session at the end.
What do the seasons look like in the frame?
Green hills and wildflowers in spring, hard light and full streets in summer, warm stone and quiet lanes in autumn, and dark skies over the Fortezza in winter.
The olive groves inland stay green through the year.
Summer sun bleaches the limestone of the fortress at midday.
Autumn keeps the sea warm enough for beach frames without the summer crowd.
Which streets hold the best doorways?
The lanes between the Rimondi fountain and the harbour, where carved Venetian portals sit under wooden Ottoman balconies and painted shutters.
Stone frames around the doors carry coats of arms and dates cut into the lintel.
Bougainvillea grows over the facades in the quarter.
A Rethymno photoshoot uses these doorways for close portraits, with the lane out of focus behind.
What is the marina for?
The modern harbour east of the old port, where the ferry to Santorini runs in summer and larger boats tie up.
Boat trips along the coast leave from there.
A Rethymno photoshoot stays with the old harbour, which is the one with the lighthouse and the colour.
Can you shoot from the sea?
Yes, on a boat trip along the north coast, which gives the town, the beach and the Fortezza on its hill in one frame from the water.
The fortress is the landmark on that skyline from every angle at sea.
Morning is the calm window, before the afternoon wind.
Trips leave from the marina rather than the old harbour.
How many settings fit in one session?
Two or three in an hour in the old town: the harbour, a lane or the fountain, and the beach or the Fortezza.
Adding the Fortezza means a ticket and a climb, so that route drops one town stop.
A Rethymno photoshoot that leaves the town covers one inland site instead of three town ones.
What is the town beach like east of the harbour?
Flat, sandy and straight, running east from the old town past the hotels towards Adele, with shallow water and an open western view down the coast.
The first stretch is a short walk from the lanes, so it joins a town route without a car.
Tamarisk trees line parts of the promenade and throw broken shade onto the sand.
A Rethymno photoshoot ends here when the couples format runs into the sunset.
What does a Rethymno photoshoot find at the Venetian houses?
Carved stone doorways, wooden balconies on corbels, inner courtyards with wells, and coats of arms cut into the lintels along the old town lanes.
Many of the houses now hold small hotels and shops.
Courtyards are open during business hours.
The stone is honey-coloured and warms in the last light.
What does a Rethymno photoshoot find on the seafront?
The long promenade east of the harbour, the palm trees along it and the open beach behind, with the Fortezza on its hill at the western end.
The promenade runs from the old harbour towards the hotels.
It faces north, so the light is even for most of the day.
The sand starts where the paving ends.
Which Rethymno photoshoot routes work in one morning?
The harbour and the lighthouse first, then the lanes to the Rimondi fountain and the Loggia, and up to the Fortezza gate before the heat.
The whole circuit runs under two kilometres.
Shade holds in the lanes until late morning.
The fortress opens early and is quietest then.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a photoshoot in Rethymno?
Where is the best backdrop in Rethymno?
The Fortezza ramparts, the Venetian harbour under the Egyptian lighthouse and the Rimondi fountain.