The lovely serene little town of Agios Nikolaos is the cosmopolitan capital of the prefecture of Lasithi with 20000 permanent residents. The town is built on the site Mandraki, on the west side of the Gulf of Mirabello, but the current name comes from the Byzantine church of Saint Nikolaos located west of the city.
Trademark of St. Nicholas is the picturesque Lake Voulismeni, a small lagoon in the center of the town, used as a small harbor where fishing boats stop. Dozens of legends are associated with it, mainly because of its very deep waters (e.g. that it has no bottom). At the bottom of the lake the Germans disposed all their war material before leaving Crete in 1944. A walk around the lake is a very nice experience indeed.
East of the lake is another favoured spot in Aghios Nikolaos – the beach of Kitroplateia,
for a quick ‘dip’ inside the city limits, alongside of which are a good many ouzeries and cafes, with a view of the sea.
