Kritsa itself is one of the most photogenic villages in Crete — white-washed houses stacked up a hillside in natural amphitheatre formation, with views down the gorge and across to the sea on clear days. The main lane through the village is lined with weaving workshops and textile shops selling the hand-made goods — tablecloths, runners, bags, and traditional Cretan lace — for which the village has been famous for generations.
The weaving is genuinely local rather than imported craft-shop merchandise. You can watch women working at traditional looms in several of the workshops and buy directly. The prices are lower than in Agios Nikolaos and the quality is generally higher. Beyond the main lane, quieter alleys lead to small squares, a few kafeneions, and views over the valley that most day-trippers miss entirely.