HERAKLION ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Explore the ancient Palace of Knossos, Europe's oldest city, at 3,700 years old, and tailor your visit with optional guided tours, museum access, and city audio tours. Getting started When you arrive at Knossos Palace, head toward the main entrance, where staff will guide you through a quick security check. Your digital or printed ticket will be validated here, so keep a valid ID handy. Expect a wait of about 30 to 60 minutes for security, especially during the busy summer months from June to August. Knossos Palace The Palace of Knossos is the heart of Minoan Crete, a sprawling, 3,700-year-old complex famous for inspiring the myth of the Minotaur’s labyrinth. Join a small-group guided tour to hear the real stories behind the labyrinth legend, learn how the Minoans designed light wells and drainage systems, and spot quirky details like dolphin frescoes inside royal chambers. Prefer to go at your own pace? Choose the multilingual audio guide and uncover the secrets of Knossos while exploring freely, stopping wherever a story catches your interest. Heraklion Archaeological Museum The museum is a treasure trove of Minoan art and artifacts, best known for its jewelry collection, the famous Snake Goddess statues, and the mysterious Phaistos Disc that still puzzles historians today. Add an audio guide to dive into sacred rituals, everyday life in Minoan Crete, and the ancient mysteries behind these remarkable finds. Heraklion city Walk along the massive Venetian Walls, admire the Koules Fortress by the sea, and cool off by the Morosini Fountain in the heart of the city. Choose the city audio guide upgrade to hear stories of pirate raids, merchants bargaining in lively markets, and how Venetian engineers built walls strong enough to withstand sieges for decades.

Take a cultural odyssey to the island of Crete, and discover the world's most astounding collection of Minoan treasures at one of Europe's most significant museums – the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Experience the museum at your own pace with an e-ticket at your e-mail and travel back in time to explore the masterpieces of Minoan art and representative artifacts from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years. Inside, you'll be met with majestic frescoes, meticulously recreated period rooms, beautiful sculptures, pottery, bronze work, and countless other authentic artifacts from the Minoan civilization of ancient Crete. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a beguiling mix of old and new, a chic modern museum housing some of the rarest and most precious remnants of Greek antiquity.

Pay a visit to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, one of the most important museums in Greece and in Europe. At the center of Minoan art and historic preservation, this museum experience is sure to enthrall you with one-of-a-kind exhibits, artifacts, frescoes, and more. With an English audio guide – which you download onto your smartphone – start your self-guided visit on a smooth note. Your guide not only has history and facts about everything you’ll see but also includes more than 80 stories about the Minoan era. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum was built between 1904 and 1907 over the remains of the St. Francis Monastery, which had fallen apart during an earthquake in 1856. It now houses the most valuable pieces of Cretan prehistory and history in the world, spanning 5,500 years. Some of the figurines that you’ll see include Seated Female Figurine, Snake Goddess figurines – a group of ancient sculptures excavated in 1903 in the Minoan palace at Knossos – The Poppy Goddess, and more. Coming to other significant artifacts, you can’t miss the Golden Bee Pendant, Phaistos Disc, Minos Ring – supposed to have belonged to the legendary King Minos – and Stone Bull’s Head Rhyton, and much more. Each artifact tells a story of its own. One of the most unmissable frescoes on view at the Museum is the famous Bull-Leaping Fresco, one of the most completely restored stucco panels. Archaeologists and anthropologists have studied this fresco for centuries to understand its meaning. Other priceless frescoes include the Blue Bird Fresco, The Cup Bearer, Prince of the Lillies, and more.