Cheese Festivals in Crete

Great Graviera Festival, Anopoli (Sfakia)

Anopoli sits on a plateau above Chora Sfakion on the south coast, in some of the wildest country on Crete. Its graviera festival, first held in 1985, takes place on 15 August each year, and in 2026 it started at 21:00. Local producers bring their cheese, there is food and Cretan music, and the night goes on late. The Municipality of Sfakia backs the event.

Getting there: drive to Chora Sfakion and take the mountain road up to Anopoli, or stay in Chora Sfakion and take a taxi. 15 August is a national holiday in Greece, so book a room early. Sfakia also has a pie festival at Chora Sfakion in late August, celebrating the thin Sfakian pie filled with fresh mizithra and served with honey.

Cheese Festival, Geraki (Heraklion)

Geraki is a village in the Municipality of Minoa Pediadas, south-east of Heraklion. Its cultural association held a cheese festival on Monday 27 July 2026 as part of the municipality's summer events, with a Cretan glendi led by Lefteris and Manousos Kallergis. The start time was not published.

Shepherd and Cheese Festival, Zoniana (Rethymno)

Zoniana, below Psiloritis near the Sfendoni cave, holds a shepherd and cheese festival each summer, usually in early August, when a giant kefalotyri is cut and shared. The village has not posted dates online, so ask locally or check Rethymno news in July. See Anogeia and the Psiloritis shepherd country.

Cretan Diet Festival, Rethymno

Each July the Region of Crete, the Municipality of Rethymno and the Rethymno Chamber of Commerce run the Cretan Diet Festival in the town's Municipal Garden. In 2026 it ran from 3 to 7 July, 19:00 to 23:00, with 40 producers of cheese, olive oil, wine and other Cretan goods. It is an easy way to taste cheeses from across the island in one evening.

Tips

Village festivals are announced late, often only weeks before. Watch the municipal sites of Sfakia, Minoa Pediadas and Rethymno from June. Bring cash, expect the music to start late and run past midnight, and arrange a lift back: mountain roads after a glendi are no place for the driver to drink.