The Best Bars in Heraklion, Crete

This chic, cavernous space spills out onto a large, balmy terrace: a modern bar furnished with rope and wicker decor in caramel hues. Its mixologists mean business. Far from your usual piña colada holiday fare, this is where you can get a whisky soda laced with popcorn, or a vodka swizzle featuring avocado and black pepper. Dressed-up couples on dates and suited after-work types meet here to unwind over mellow, clubby music. But holidaymakers will adore it too.

Here’s a petite, under-the-radar watering hole in the bar quarter around Milatou Street. It’s a quirky affair, with classic art muralled on its walls and bird-boxes mounted here and there. Live music bands and singers often appear, playing upbeat rock and folk, and you’re more likely to see people sipping wines and beers than complex cocktails. There’s a bohemian, Parisian wine-bar feel at first glance. But the young crowd of twentysomethings and students in jeans and logo T-shirts is pure 21st-century Greece.

This convivial scarlet-painted cafe spills out onto the pavement – it’s all tables of smokers and drinkers – serving unusual creations garnished with plenty of fruit and herbs. Drinks come in milk bottles or shell-shaped glass dishes, maybe topped with whipped egg-white foam and knocked up by enthusiastic, chatty staff. Try the Greek-yoghurt-infused piña coladas. Just passing by? You can get Negronis to go, among other options, neatly poured into sealed glass flasks.