Everything is ready for the Rethymno Carnival 2026, taking place on Sunday, 22 February.

Visitors should be aware that 120 volunteers of the Hellenic Red Cross will be present in the city centre, ready to assist. A fully organised First Aid Station will operate in the courtyard of the 3rd Gymnasium–Lyceum of Rethymno at Tessaron Martiron Square. Members of the Hellenic Red Cross will also support the staff of the General Hospital of Rethymno.

Parking Areas

During the peak of the carnival celebrations, parking will be available at:

• The courtyard of the 1st GEL, accessible from Kondylaki Street

• The courtyard of the 2nd GEL, with access east of the school from Georgiou Skoula Street

• The parking areas at Tessaron Martiron Square

• The Port Fund parking areas at the Commercial Port and the Marina

• The new parking area on Stamathioudaki Avenue (Fragaki Plot)

• The parking areas of the entertainment centres “Megaro” and “Faros”

• The parking facilities at GAK Gallou

Traffic Regulations

On the day of the Grand Carnival Parade, 22 February 2026, traffic will be interrupted along the parade axis. Closures will apply on:

• M. Portaliou (from Saounatsou Street)

• Emm. Portaliou

• Kountourioti Avenue

• Igoumenou Gavriil up to Kriari Street

Additional road closures will affect streets leading to the parade route.

Vehicle Routes

From West to East:
Entry via Atsipopoulo Junction – Stamathioudaki – Kriari – Idaiou Androu – Kourmouli – Dimitrakaki – Moatsou – Zymvrakaki – Ant. Vasilaki – Theotokopoulou – Kolokotroni – Saounatsou – Kapodistriou – Panepistimiou – Portaliou – Mach. Sch. Chor/akis – Emm. Pachla – Exit via Amari Junction.

From East to West:

Route A (before closure of the coastal road at Delfini–Marina):
Entry via Amari Junction – Machis Kritis Ave – Australōn Polemistōn – Ari Velouchioti – Sof. Venizelou – Eleftheriou Venizelou – Ioul. Petychaki – Arkadiou – Kefalogiannidon – Stamathioudaki – Atsipopoulo Junction.

Route B (after traffic interruption from the Port Authority and once the Marina parking is full):
Entry via Amari Junction – Machis Kritis Ave – Australōn Polemistōn – Ari Velouchioti – Eleftherias – Koraka Kamara – Portaliou – Saounatsou – Kapodistriou – K. Palama – Kaouni – Kazantzaki – Satha – Kondylaki – Chatzimichali Giannari – Psychountaki – Spili Junction.

Around midday, once traffic police confirm that parking areas are full, circulation will stop at the entrances of Rethymno (Atsipopoulo Junction, Spili Junction, Amari Junction, Gallou Junction and the entrance via the Old National Road Heraklion–Rethymno at Amari Junction).

Vehicles will then be redirected to designated municipal parking areas:

• Visitors arriving from the west will be directed to the Old Port Authority (Customs), the Fragaki Plot and the OCEAN gym area.

• Those arriving from Spili Junction will be directed to the 1st GEL.

• Traffic will subsequently be redirected towards the Gallou sports facilities and then to the centres “FAROS” and “MEGARO”, from where visitors will be transported free of charge by KTEL buses to the central KTEL station.

Instructions are also available at www.rethymnocarnival.gr

Continuous Service by KTEL Chania – Rethymno

On Sunday, 22 February 2026, an average of 240–250 routes will operate exclusively to transport visitors from parking areas to the city centre and back.

More than 350 buses of all types, from Rethymno and Chania, will be on the streets.

The entire station staff in Rethymno will be on duty, reinforced by personnel from the company’s headquarters in Chania.

From 9:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night, buses of all types with experienced drivers will be stationed at the parking areas of “MEGARO – FAROS” and at Gallou Stadium for the FREE TRANSPORT of visitors to and from the centre.

Vehicle coordinators will also be present at the parking areas.

Depending on passenger flow, departures may run even every 1 minute, if required.

The detailed schedule and the additional routes planned for the Carnival three-day weekend and Clean Monday are available at www.e-ktel.com and on the company’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X).

Instructions are also available at www.rethymnocarnival.gr

Programme Available Digitally – Continuous Updates – TV Broadcast

All events are listed in detail in the events calendar of the Municipality of Rethymno’s Department of Culture MoRE (Municipality of REthymno), as well as on the official website rethymnocarnival.gr.

Information is easily accessible by typing politismos.rethymno.gr or by scanning the QR codes adopted by the Rethymno Carnival since last year, reducing paper use by almost 100%.

Official social media accounts:
Instagram – TikTok – YouTube: rethymno_carnival
Facebook: Ρεθεμνιώτικο Καρναβάλι

Organisation

All events are coordinated by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Rethymno, with the support and collaboration of the O.R.K. (Rethymno Carnival Groups).

The Rethymno Carnival is funded by the Municipality of Rethymno, with sponsors the Region of Crete and the Rethymno Chamber of Commerce.