Things to do in Heraklion Archaeological Museum
Leaf through over 5000 years of Cretian history and Europe’s first advanced civilisation – the Minoans – at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The museum holds an impressive status that warrants a visit and is a great way to understand the island. Explore the 27 different rooms and exhibits inside to learn about everyday life as a Minoan – from colourful murals and frescoes, detailed ceramics and clay pots to their favourite sports and games. You’ll even see something that looks like chess.
Explore the symbols and legends of the Minoan era, including the sacred double axe and the bull’s head. Look out for the museum’s most prominent exhibit too – the Phaistos Disc. Join in to speculate what it’s for. The hieroglyphic carvings and images are a mystery that has yet to be deciphered. Meet the Snake Goddesses statues, the ladies that hold snaked in both hands in traditional costume, as well as a selection of impressive jewellery, in particular the gold bee pendant. It’s a showstopper.
The museum spans from the Neolithic Ages to Roman times, so you’ll see sculptures, coins and inscriptions from Classical to Roman Crete, as well as a series of portraits of Roman emperors. For the full picture of Minoan civilisation, head to the nearby Minoan Knossos Palace.
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Heraklion Archaeological Museum
Heraklion
Greece
Reviews Heraklion Archaeological Museum
“Mealtime somewhat chaotic Drinks prices exorbitant Staff generally good trip to from airport too long Adequate but could have been better”
“Very long trip, but clean and comfy coach Group too big to get benefit from tour guide. Headset keep cutting out and couldn't really see what guide was talking about. Long queues as many groups at same time. Site itself ok, but historically disappointing as a lot of work done not necessarily historically accurate. Town tour nothing really interesting apart from museum.”
“The guide was clearly very unsure of himself and looked lost, he left people standing in the sun for prolonged periods with no direction as to what was going on. This lead to people then filtering off to use the toilet facilities and extending this wait further. This could have been managed if he had given a time to move into the museum and allowed people to manage their own needs and find shade etc. The audio tour was very hard to understand. We spoke to guide and left the tour halfway through.”
“The guide was very knowledgable and good. However, when you say a trip is 4-8 hours long, I don't expect it to be nearly 11 hours long. You crammed too many hotel pickups ups in which ruined the whole day.”
