Faneromeni is a quiet and peaceful village on the edge of the plain of Messara and at the foot of Mount Psiloritis. It is inhabited by around 500 residents and has cafes with light meals, a pizzeria and many small stores in summer, where one can find everything.
Faneromeni is a stretched village with a lot of greenery, with many flowering trees, because since the 60's there was an artificial lake, something rare for the season, so running water in the summer. The new dam that created the artificial lake Faneromeni, since 2010, is the largest of Crete and is 2 km from the village, with a wonderful walk through orange groves and olive groves. In the lake there are many fish, eels and swarms of birds that have been washed there by the lake. Also a little out of the village, on the road to the dam, there is a big racetrack for horses, machines and every year there are organized fights. On the adjacent hills one can walk and see many of the native plants of Crete, Sage, thyme, oregano, dittamo, etc.
In the central part of the village there is a large Church "The Entrance of the Virgin" while on distinct peaks around the village there are white small chapels that can be visited by rural roads.
The two major cities, with many restaurants, shops, supermarkets, etc. are Mires and Tympaki at 7 km. Every Saturday, a fairly big bargain on the stalls of Tymbaki is taking place in Mires and Friday in Tympaki for decades, where you can find rural products of the area, clothes and all sorts of things.
Close to Faneromeni there are many big beaches, 8 kilometers (Red Tower, 8 minutes by car) to 16 kilometers (Matala) and intermediate, towns and beaches such as Kalamaki, Komos, Aphrodias etc. There are several important archaeological sites such as Festos, which is considered to be the second most important Minoan city after Knossos (2.5 km), Agia Triada (3 km), Gortyna (or Gorty) capital of Crete Roman times (12 km). In Gortyna there is also the archaeological museum of Messara with very important finds. The largest tourist towns in the region are Matala (16 km), Agia Galini (18 km), Kamilari and Sivas (10 km). In the nearby village of Vori (2 km) with a nice old settlement there are two tavernas, "Alekos", "The Belgians" and a unique folklore museum, where one can see the folk art of the region and the way of life of the inhabitants in the last centuries.
Also Heraklion is about an hour apart, like Rethymno, while nice, with no many beaches, such as Triopetra, Agios Pavlos, Agiofarango, Vathy, Marsalos is 45 minutes.