Halepa wakes up slowly. By eight, the bakery two doors down has its shutters half up, and the street outside Museum Cozy Apartment is quiet enough to hear the gulls.
Walk five minutes downhill and you reach the Archaeological Museum of Chania, easy to fold into a morning before the heat sets in. From there it's a short stroll to Eleftherios Venizelou Square, the old Halepa mansions, and the seafront promenade.
We always tell guests: skip the rush and go early. The light on the water before 9am is worth setting an alarm for.