Tourist information - Agios Nikolaos
Agios Nikolaos Crete is set around a supposedly bottomless salt lake, now linked to the sea to form an inner harbour. It is supremely attractive and has some style and charm, which it exploits fully. There are no attractions as such but the excellent archeological museum (Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm) and an interesting folk museum (daily except Sat 10am-1.30pm & 7-9.30pm) both are worth searching for. The lake and port are surrounded by restaurants and bars, which charge over the odds, and whilst the resort continues to be very popular, many tourists are distinctly surprised to find themselves in a place with no decent beach at all.
There are swimming ventures further north, however, where the pleasant low-key resort of Elounda is the portal to the mysterious islet of Spinalonga ,and some great backcountry to the north - perfect to discover on a scooter. Inland from Áyios Nikólaos, Kritsá featuring its prominent frescoed church and textile sellers is a tour-bus haven, but just a couple of kilometres away, the imposing ruins of ancient Lató are typically deserted.
At least with regards to eating, there's certainly no chance of missing out, even though a lot of the expenditure are fancier restaurants. There are tourist-oriented tavernas all over the lake and harbour and little to select from them, besides the different perspectives you will enjoy on the passing fashion show. Try a drink here perhaps, or a mid-morning coffee, and select any place else to eat. The places all over the Kitroplatía are usually fairer value, nevertheless you are paying for the venue.
After you've eaten you can get into the one thing which Ayios Nikolaos undeniably does well: bars and nightlife. Not that you actually need a guide to this - the bars are difficult to avoid, and you can just follow the crowds to the most famous places centred all on the harbour and 25-Martíou. For a more enjoyable drink you could try Hotel Alexandros on Paleológou (behind the tourist office), with a rooftop cocktail bar overlooking the lake, which after dark metamorphoses into a 1960s to 1980s period music bar. A similar pace rules at Zygos on the north side of the lake which serves low-priced cocktails and ices until the small hours. One curiosity worth a glance in the harbour itself is Armida, a bar inside a magnificently refurbished century-old wooden trading vessel, serving cocktails and simple mezedhes.