Heraklion

UNESCO Sites

Experience Ancient Crete at your own pace with a combined e-ticket for the island's top two archaeological attractions, the Palace of Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Experience two captivating self-guided audio tours on your smartphone. Receive your ticket in a separate email from our local partner, and download the app and audio tours onto your phone prior to your visit. Then travel back in time to experience the grandeur of Crete from the Minoan period to Roman times. Put on your headphones and discover the Palace of Knossos and the exquisite artifacts exhibited in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Through the power of storytelling, learn interesting facts and hear little-known stories from ancient times. The content of the tours is the result of in-depth research, squeezed into brief original stories that will make your visit both engaging and informative. The audio tours can be used repeatedly and anytime, before or after your visit. This is an unmissable opportunity to gain valuable insights into ancient Crete and the Minoan civilization, and to engage with your surroundings in an entirely original way.

Explore the Labyrinth and Palace of Knossos. Skip the long ticket line upon arrival and you meet your own exclusive guide. This site is home to: the Minotaur, the oldest throne in Europe, elegant wall paintings that inspired art Nuevo works centuries later, huge clay earns, advanced draining systems, and quarters sunk into the earth. Together you will see the oldest civilization unfold before your eyes and you will be able to get the best out of your visit to this magnificent structure. Knossos, a complex of more than 1500 interlocking rooms, was an astonishing palace, built for a mighty king of the Bronze Age. As you wander through the labyrinthine ruins, you will have the chance to see the original throne of Minos, the mystifying sanctuaries, the luxurious domestic quarters of the royal family, that were, once upon a time, bursting with Crete’s treasures. Knossos is considered Europe’s oldest city. The first palace of Knossos was erected soon after 2000 BC. In 1700 BC, a catastrophic earthquake destroyed the Palace. A new palace was then immediately built and for more than 300 years it represented the pre-eminent center of power in Bronze Age Crete. The new palace was an imposing complex with important architectural innovations, splendid frescoes adorning the walls, hundreds of rooms distributed across four storeys, impressive storage areas, specialized workshops, and spacious courts hosting ceremonies and feasts.

You will begin your day by visiting the most important archaeological site on Crete and the second most visited archaeological site of the country, the Minoan palace of Knossos and the mythical Labyrinth of Homer. You will be visiting an amazing area which consists of 22,000 square meters. A prehistoric "city", this is the place where the oldest European civilization started and flourished some 5,000 years ago. Following this, in the center of Heraklion Town, you will visit the biggest Archaeological collection of artifacts on Crete. You will explore these pre-hellenic artifacts, focusing on the Minoan period and going deeper into its significance and development throughout time.