Venetian harbour and the lighthouse

Chania's old harbour curves in one unbroken sweep — Venetian townhouses in faded ochre and rose, the Küçük Hasan mosque's domes at the waterline, fishing boats on their moorings, and the stone mole running out to the lighthouse. Walk the mole and the whole town lines up across the water with the White Mountains behind it; stay on the quay and the lighthouse anchors every frame the other way.

Dawn is the working window. The harbour faces north-east, so first light rakes along the facades, the water is glass for reflections, and the quay — solid tavernas by 10am — is empty. Sunset works from the mole looking back at the lit town, but expect strollers in frame.

The stones of the mole are uneven and unlit at the edges, worth knowing for dawn starts. Behind the harbour, the Tabakaria tanneries and the lanes of Topanas quarter add texture — peeling shutters, stone arches — for the second half of a session.