The layout of Rethymnon is directly linked to the sea, with the main Venetian street, the Ruga Maistra (today’s coastal Venizelou Avenue) running parallel to the sea.
The old town of Rethymnon is one of the best-preserved towns of the Renaissance period. Lying in the heart of modern Rethymnon, it combines the oriental features of the Turkish period with the Venetian architecture.
Today, the old town of Rethymnon is a living museum of monuments of past centuries. Despite the damage sustained in the Second World War, many Venetian and Turkish monuments still stand and enhance the narrow streats of the town.
The lighthouse of the Venetian harbor of Rethymno is the second largest remaining Egyptian lighthouse in Crete, after the one of Chania harbor. It is built on the edge of the old sea wall of Rethymnon and it can be accessed very easily.