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North of Ayios Nikolaos, the swankier hotels are strung out along the coast road, with upmarket restaurants, discos and cocktail bars scattered between them. ELOUNDA , a resort on a more acceptable scale, is about 8km out along this road. Buses run regularly, but if you feel like renting a scooter it's a spectacular ride, with impeccable views over a gulf dotted with islands and moored supertankers. Ask at the bookshop near the post office, on the central square facing the sea, about the attractive seaview Delfinia Apartments (tel 08410/41 641, fax 41 515; up to ?24-58). Or you could try the friendly Pension Oasis (tel 08410/41 076, fax 41 128; ?24-33), which has rooms with kitchenette just off the square, behind the church; there are quite a few similar places along the same road. Alternatively, one of the many travel agents around the main square can help with finding a room or apartment; try the friendly Olous Travel (tel 08410/41 324, fax 41 132), which also gives out information and changes money or travellers' cheques. For eating , Britomares , in a plum spot in the centre of the harbour, is the town's best taverna, and more economical fish and mezedhes are to be had at the simple Ouzeri Manos , last in line on the north side of the harbour. Nightlife tends to be generally low key, and centres around cafe terraces and cocktail bars. The Hellas cafe, on a backroad behind the beach, has live Greek music at weekends. Just before the centre of the village, a road (signposted) leads downhill to a natural causeway leading to the ancient "sunken city" of Olous . There are restored windmills, a short length of canal, Venetian salt pans and a well-preserved dolphin mosaic , inside a former Roman basilica, but of the sunken city itself no trace beyond a couple of walls in about two feet of water. At any rate swimming is good, though watch out for sea urchins. From Elounda, kaikia run half-hourly in high season (about ?6 return) to the fortress-rock of Spinalonga . As a bastion of the Venetian defence, this tiny islet withstood the Turkish invaders for 45 years after the mainland had fallen; in more recent decades, it served as a leper colony. As you watch the boat which brought you disappear to pick up another group, an unnervingly real sense of the desolation of those years descends. PLAKA , back on the mainland, and 5km north of Elounda, used to be the colony's supply point; now it is a haven from the crowds, with a small pebble beach and a couple of ramshackle fish tavernas , one of which, Taverna Spinalonga , can arrange a boat to take you across to Spinalonga for about ?4.50. There are boat trips daily from Ayios Nikolaos to Olous, Elounda and Spinalonga (costing around ?7.50-9), usually visiting at least one other island along the way.
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