PALACE OF KNOSSOS – ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF HERAKLION

  • Duration: 4 Hours
  • Location: Departure Point Heraklion City or upon request, pickup and drop off at your hotel (extra charge)
  • Available Seat: min 4 - max 16 guests
  • Price: please request
REQUEST
We do provide the tour on weekends upon request

A Private Guided visit to the marvels of the oldest civilization in Europe, the Palace of Knossos and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion

Visit along with TravelCrete.Tours  Palace of Knossos and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.

Your Guide will take you through the palace of Knossos, a bewildering complex of more than 1500 interlocking rooms, a true labyrinth, was more than a cage of the gruesome Minotaur… It was an astonishing palace, built for a mighty king of the Bronze Age. As we wander through the labyrinthine ruins you will have the chance to see the original throne of ‘’Minos”, still in place after 3,500 years; the mystifying sanctuaries, the luxurious Domestic quarters of the Royal family, the once upon a time bursting with Crete’s treasures pantries and the astonishing water-management systems, just to name a few of the minoan wonders!

Knossos, the capital of Minoan Crete is located about twenty minutes south of the modern port and town of Heraklion and is considered Europe’s oldest city. In the seventh millennium BC a small community of hunters and farmers set the foundation of the islands long history, which lasted for thousands of years. The peak of the Minoan culture lasted about six hundred years, from 2000-1400 BC. The first palace of Knossos, close to the Kairatos river, was erected soon after 2000BC, when the Pyramids of Egypt and the Stonehenge were just a few hundred years old. The wealthy palace, seat of the ruler and the civil/religious authority was the perfect arena of power display in the elaborate palatial feasts with exotic materials shipped from the Aegean, Levant and Egypt. The happy life of its residents came to an abrupt end in 1700 BC when a catastrophic earthquake destroyed the Palace but did not reverse the cultural dynamics of Minoan Crete.

The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is one of the largest and most important museums in Greece, and among the most important museums in Europe. It houses representative artefacts from all the periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The singularly important Minoan collection contains unique examples of Minoan art, many of them true masterpieces. The Heraklion Museum is rightly considered as the museum of Minoan culture par excellence worldwide.

The museum, located in the town center, was built between 1937 and 1940 by architect Patroklos Karantinos on a site previously occupied by the Roman Catholic monastery of Saint-Francis which was destroyed by earthquake in 1856. The museum’s antiseismic building is an important example of modernist architecture and was awarded a Bauhaus commendation. The colours and construction materials, such as the veined polychrome marbles, recall certain Minoan wall-paintings which imitate marble revetment. The two-storeyed building has 27 galleries, a gallery for audio-visual displays, extensive modern laboratories, a cloakroom, a cafeteria and a museum shop that sells museum copies, books, postcards and slides.

Important Info

When: Year round, except national celebrations and Greek official holidays.

Languages: English, French, Russian

Dress Code: Casual; comfortable walking shoes; sunblock

Including: Full services of a professional qualified tourist guide

Food: No

Walking Difficulty: Moderate: mostly flat surfaces and pathways

Rest Rooms / WC: Yes

Gratuities: Optional

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability.

Cruise ship passengers (At time of booking or request), must provide the following information: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time

What to Expect/Inclusions:

  • Private Service
  • Licensed tour guide
  • All taxes and VAT 24% included
  • Bottle of water per person
  • Insurance coverage

What is excluded:

  • Entrance fees of any sites are not included.
  • Lunch/coffee or gratuities are not included.