Heraklion
Busy, buzzing Heraklion is a hive of activity, with shops, restaurants and bars all vying for your attention – and its out-of-town sights will tempt you even more!
The capital of Crete, Heraklion’s old town is encircled by amazing city walls - up to fifteen metres thick in parts! Head to the city’s main square, surrounded by cafés and restaurants, and take a seat under the palm trees to watch the Cretans go by. Ready to give your credit card a work out? Head to the streets just off the square and hit the fancy shops and designer boutiques. If you’re feeling in need of a culture fix, stop off at the knockout Knossos Palace, with its mass of Minoan treasures, or the amazing Archaeological Museum.
Don’t Miss
Knossos Palace – Ever heard of the Minotaur, the mythical halfman, half-bull? Well here’s where the monster was supposed to have lived.
Lose yourself in the ancient labyrinth – believed to have been designed to contain the man-beast – inside the largest Minoan Palace ever built.
Archaeological Museum – You name it, if it’s Minoan it’s most probably here. Grab yourself a guide or you’ll get pretty confused, then get stuck into some serious history. See the amazing frescoes and mosaics, the famous inscribed disc from Phaestos and the ancient bull’s head drinking vessel.
Morosini Fountain – Meet up in the aptly-named Fountain Square (Platia Venizelou if you’re feeling flash) for a cooling drink in one of the many cafés.
Heraklion Action Ashore
- Kick back in Aghios Nikolaos (Ag Nik for short), clustered around it’s ‘bottomless’ lake, or hit the beach in Gouves.
- Get more of a sense of everyday life in traditional Crete at Kritsa village where goats, cobblestones and garlic clusters make up the street scene.
- Make like a Minoan King in the excavated palace of Knossos.
- Go happy-snapping in Rethymnon, with Venetian facades, a pretty harbour, caves and mountains, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
