Things to do in Knossos Palace
Seeping in history, mystery, and with a strong connection to Greek mythology, the ancient Knossos Palace is an enigmatic archaeological site located about 20 minutes south of modern-day Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete. Knossos Palace dates back to 1900 BC and is believed to have been the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization. Knossos is also considered by some to have been the first city in Europe.
Knossos Palace is heavily associated with the Greek myth of the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature imprisoned in a labyrinth commissioned by King Minos and built by famed architect Daedalus. The palace is also connected to the story of Daedalus and Icarus.
Evidence suggests the area surrounding Knossos Palace was first settled by humans in the Neolithic period around 7000 BC. The palace itself was constructed in 1900 BC and mysteriously destroyed around 1380-1100 BC. The ruins were left abandoned until being discovered, excavated, and restored in the early 20th century by a team led by British archaeologist Arthur Evans.
Our recommendations in Knossos Palace
Self-guided virtual tour of the Palace of Knossos
Discover Knossos from home with a virtual tour.
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Self-guided virtual tour of the Palace of Knossos
Discover Knossos from home with a virtual tour.
en
How to get there
Knossos Palace
Heraklion
Greece
Reviews Knossos Palace
“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.”
