Archaeological Museum of Heraklion
The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion is one of the largest and most remarkable museums in Greece and one of the most important in Europe. His exhibits include representative samples from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering about 5,500 years, from the Neolithic to the Roman times. Dominant position, however, in his collections are the unique masterpieces of Minoan art, which one can admire throughout its development. The collection of Minoan antiquities is the most important in the world and the museum is rightly considered to be the parochial museum of Minoan civilization.
Information: 2810 279000
Distance: 6 Km
Historical Museum of Heraklion
The Historical Museum was in the beginning inspired by a spirit of avant-garde. The successive extensions of the Museum and the recent re-expositions with modern museological concepts and electronic applications contributed to the creation of a living Museum, friendly to the visitor, with the modern data. Today the IMR offers a complex picture of the history and art of Crete from the early Christian times to the 20th century. The periodical exhibitions range from Byzantine to contemporary art, the emergence of the top literary forms of Greece (Elytis, Kazantzakis), the presentation of great historical events from the end of the 19th century to the Second World War. Similarly, continuously enriched educational programs, offered free of charge, are a creative source of learning in relation to the Museum’s Permanent Collections and Periodical Exhibitions. Lectures, scientific symposia, film screenings and book presentations made at the IMC Amphitheater complement the function of the IMC, making it an extrovert, multifaceted, cultural organization.
Information: 2810 283219, 288708
Distance: 5.5 Km
The Palace of King Minos in Knossos
Knossos is the most important and magnificent example of Minoan civilization, a holy cultural heritage of the whole of Greece and a world-famous monument. 5 km southeast of Heraklion, the Minoan Palace of Knossos welcomes thousands of tourists and locals to an area of 22,000 square meters, on a thrilling trip to the rich and long past of Crete.
Information: 2810 231940, 2810226470
Distance: 10.2 Km
Venetian Port of Heraklion
Next to the modern harbor of Heraklion, the visitor can admire the remains of the small picturesque harbor that now operates as a marina and the imposing fortress of Koules. The 2km harbor of the modern harbor begins here and is one of the favorite streets for fishing and walking. Opposite to Koule, where Marina’s coffee shop is present, there was a smaller fort at the beginning of the 20th century, Mikros Koules. On the seaside avenue, we see today that there are remains of the vaults (elongated buildings where the ships were repaired), the Zane reservoir (next to the large courtyards) and the Salt Warehouse (among the large and small voids).
The first major configuration of the port was made by the Arabs in the 9th-10th centuries, while the continuous course of the harbor continued during the Byzantine fortification of Heraklion (then Chandaka) after 961. During the Venetian occupation the port of Candia (as the Venetians Heraklion) was the most important port of the eastern Mediterranean with the largest export activity. In the 17th century the harbor could accommodate 50 galleries, while every evening the entrance was blocked by a huge chain (mainly during the Cretan War). The Venetians exported the famous Malaga wine to Europe and had the exclusive opportunity to trade salt (mainly Elounda) in Europe. Other products that came to Europe were honey, cheese, candle, silk, raisins, cotton and oil.
During the Ottoman rule, the Turks retained the use of this great harbor. The gorgeous harbor has altered the destructive trend of “modernization” of the 20th century with the construction of the coastal avenue and the new harbor. Most of the canopies were demolished, just like the little Koules