In the evening the old harbour is the centre of life in Chania, where people come out to have a drink and watch the world go by,eat in one of the many restaurants and maybe go onto one of the bars and clubs. Also, there are some excellent places to go away from the harbour. Some in picturesque little streets just behind the harbour, others in or nearer the new town. In the summer months most social life takes place out of doors.

Eating possibilities range from charming garden tavernas, often set in the ruins of some majestic building of the past, to simple village cafe "kafenions" with good, basic homecooked food at incredibly low prices. You can find takeaway meals of every description all over town or why not try the traditional cafes around the indoor market with their simmering pans of meat, fish and soup.

There are a vast number of cafes and bars around Chania, varying in popularity from month to month. Some are very fashionable whilst others are more traditional. You will find every sort of music played: popular Greek, jazz, Latin, hard rock, Euro pop whatever you want, you will find it somewhere in town.

Nightclubs tend to come and go, often changing their name and decor from season to season. Music is varied, some play only Greek music. Others are a little out of town. All tend to start late, winding down at about 5am.

The cinema is another option for a good night out. In the summer Chania town has 2 outdoor cinemas and another some kilometres out of town. In the winter there is a choice of 4 indoor cinemas. Performances start at about 8pm with another performance at about 10:30pm. In the height of summer the open air theatre will have a series of productions ranging from dance to a play or maybe a concert.