When Chania’s municipal market – the Agora in the city centre – closed in November 2021, it was the end of an era, both for the shopowners and for the citizens of Chania for whom it had been focal point since its opening in 1913. The planned renovation was long overdue and the Municipality saw it as a chance not only to restore and modernise the city’s major landmark but to redress the imbalance in its retail profile.