KNOSSOS & MUSEUM OF HERAKLION

Our representative will pick you up from your hotel or the closest pick up point at about 8.00am.

Today you will visit Knossos, Crete’s most famous historical attraction and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, one of the largest and most important museums in Greece.

You will explore the grand capital of Minoan Crete, located 5 km south of Heraklion, and see the palatial complex and various aspects of Minoan culture come alive under the guidance and commentary of your guide. The palace had four wings arranged around a central court, each one with its own entrance. The east wing housed the residential quarters, the workshops and a shrine. In the west wing there were the storerooms, shrines, and the repositories with the throne room and the banquet halls situated on the upper floors. In the West Magazines, where the storage facilities of the palace were located, you will gain an understanding of the well-organized bureaucracy that supported the palace organization, the earliest forms of linear writing, as well as the Minoan economy and trade networks. The north wing consisted of the Customs House with a lustral bin and a stone built theatrical area and at the south wing there was the South Propylaeum, possibly the most imposing building, where you can see the cupbearers and procession frescoes depicting scenes from everyday life and the ceremonial activities in Minoan Crete.

You will discover the copy of the “Prince of the Lilies” at the South Entrance Corridor and gaze out on Mount Juktas, perfectly framed by the eroded walls of the palace. You will also marvel at the Queen’s Megaron decorated with the famous blue dolphins fresco and equipped with a bathroom and a toilet room.

Your next stop will be the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, located in the town center and on a site previously occupied by the Roman Catholic monastery of Saint Francis. The two-storeyed antiseismic building that houses the museum is an important example of modernist architecture and its colours and construction materials recall certain Minoan wall-paintings.  In its 27 galleries you will see representative artefacts from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history and, of course, the Minoan collection of some unique examples of Minoan art.

You will then take a walk to the Cathedral of St. Titus and the Cathedral of St. Minas and other cultural and architectural monuments in the Heraklion center.  You will also have time to enjoy an independent walk through the old part of the city, surrounded by Venetian walls and many boutiques and souvenir shops.

At the end of this fantastic tour and at about 3.30pm you will be transferred to your hotel or the nearest drop off point.

Greca Tip: You will need about two hours in the archaeological site of Knossos and about three hours in the museum of Heraklion, so remember to bring along water, a hat, sunscreen and comfortable shoes.