10 km
from city center 1 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Heraklion’s old Town radiates the charm of medial European history and is located just next to the modern city. The old town is dominated by Byzantine churches, historical buildings, walls, and fortresses, which emphasize the island's Venetian and Ottoman ruling eras. There are numerous cafes and restaurants dotted across Old Town.

4 km
from city center 2 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Located at the town center, the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion showcases the history and ancient civilization of Crete Island. It exhibits prehistoric findings like statues, jewelry, stone figurines, ancient scriptures, and the remains of the ancient-medieval buildings. The exhibits of greater importance in the museum are the Phaistos Disc, a 1600BC Snake Goddess Figure, the Bull’s Head rhyton and the Bull-Leaer’s fresco from Knossos, beautifully crafted clay vessels- the Kamares Vessels from 2000 to 1700 BC and many more.

4 km
from city center 3 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

The Museum, founded by the society of Cretan Historical Studies, highlights Crete's collection of art and history from the 4th century AD up to the second world war. The museum's finest exhibits are two paintings by El Greco, born in Crete: The Baptism of Christ and View of Mount Sinai, the only works by the artist now on Crete.

4 km
from city center 4 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Koules Fortress is the entrance to the harbor of Heraklion. Also known as the "Sea fortress", it is one of the island's most beloved monuments. In the early 16th century, the old fort was brought down, and the new one is what it remains in its place. The fort is in the shape of a square. The northeastern, western, and southern side walls were decorated with marble relief pictures of the winged lion of Venice, which survives today.

3 km
from city center 5 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

The Church of Agios Minas or the Agios Minas Cathedral, is a 19th-century Greek Orthodox church in Heraklion, Crete. It is dedicated to Saint Minas, the city’s patron saint. It is the largest church in Crete and one of the largest churches in Greece. The highlight is the stunning architecture with impressive interiors.

3 km
from city center 6 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

At Eleftherios Venizelos Square, a renowned fountain and meeting point in Heraklion in Crete, the Morosini Fountain or Lion’s Fountain. This 17th-century historic structure is one of the most beautiful monuments in Crete. It is most notable for four lions that support the central basin and let out water from their mouths into eight ornately carved troughs. There are cafes, restaurants, bars, and a few stores around the fountain.

10 km
from city center 7 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Shopping in Heraklion is centralized in the Old Town, which has a range of shops with products ranging from clothes, books, shoes, gifts, and souvenirs. Traditional goods such as raki, wine, tea, and herbs are some shopping options for exclusive items in Heraklion. The main shopping street is 1886 street in town.

3 km
from city center 8 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

The Natural History Museum is a 1980-established environment museum at Sofokli Venizelou Street. The realistic representation of the Eastern Mediterranean ecosystem is exhibited as The Mega-Dioramas, making up the museum's biggest event. There are small aquariums and East-Mediterranean terrarium animals in the Live Museum region that are worthy of witnessing.

16 km
from city center 9 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

CRETAquarium is an amazing experience of witnessing the giant to the small sea creatures of the Mediterranean, altogether, in a large aquarium. The aquarium has 61 different-sized tanks that contain over 2500 species of marine biodiversity, audio, and video presentations available, VR glasses for exploring the aquatic ecosystem, and special “touch pools” for children.

3 km
from city center 10 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Ammoudara Beach is sand mixed with shingle beach that can be easily reached by bus or car. The beach is regarded as windy, which leads to sea waves splashing all across the shores, enhancing its beauty. Separate spaces are designated for swimmers and kitesurfers.

4 km
from city center 11 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

The Church of Agios Titos is situated in the central region of Heraklion and is counted among the town's most important Byzantine monuments. Decorated beautifully with light interior designs and high raised ceilings that hold a beautiful wooden chandelier, the Church is simple but an architectural spectacle.

11 km
from city center 12 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Heraklion is considered rich in terms of wine tasting and traditional winemaking. “Wine Roads” are special road sign advertisements for winemakers in Heraklion localized in Heraklion's Archanes, Danonino, and Peza regions. Some of the best wineries in Heraklion are Lyrarakis Winery, Douloufakis Winery, Domaine Paterianakis, Scalarea Estate and Diamantakis Winery.

0 km
from city center 13 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

A 34-hour drive from Heraklion, Malta is a small island country full of ancient temples, splendid locations, lagoons and plenty of tourist attractions that will impact your mind. A day trip that offers offers full packages taking you through important locations such as Gozo, the blue lagoon and caves of Malta, shopping centres, temples and pre-historic buildings, monuments and forts, along with different hikes and cliffs of the island.

4 km
from city center 14 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

The 1500 sq meter Historical and Folklore Museum of Heraklion has a rich collection of artifacts from World War II and early Christian times (330 AD). In the large, 22-roomed museum, you can come across various sculptures and ceramics that focus on the essence of Crete, famous paintings by El Greco, and some of the personal items of the great Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis.

3 km
from city center 15 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Nikos Kazantzakis Grave is the tomb of the renowned Cretan writer, Nikos Kazantzakis, situated at the Martinengo Bastion, the highest spot on the walls of Heraklion. The location is quiet, offering the city view from atop, where the writer was buried outside his hometown. The grave has a phrase written over it: "I hope for nothing, I fear for nothing, I am free”.

3 km
from city center 16 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Lakkos is a unique district in Heraklion that will please your eyes with colorful murals painted on the walls of old buildings, quiet abandoned low-raised houses and vibrant streets that indulge you in memories of ancient Greece. It is similar to an outdoor gallery where artists can stay in the old homes under the residency program and contribute to the reformation of Lakkos by painting the spaces.

15 km
from city center 17 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Fodele is a valley worth seeing for various reasons; topping the list is the Pandomandri river flows through the village although the year. Visitors enjoy the shade of Drossia and the trail along the calming water. The town has many options to munch on some Cretan delicacies in the naturally mesmerizing sight of the park in the main square.

3 km
from city center 18 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Bembo Fountain is Heraklion's first fountain, located north of Kornarou Square. The fountain has a headless statue of Roman origin and pillars on both sides, standing on the top of the water sprout. Built-in 1552-1554, Gothic and Renaissance architecture inspired the rush's decorative aspects, and it was named after a Venetian Governor, Gianmatteo Bembo.

34 km
from city center 19 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

The Monastery of Panagia Kera Kardiotissa is one of the oldest monasteries in Kera Village, on the foothills of Mt Dikti. It is a stone church dedicated to Virgin Mary. The monastery is beautifully built in Byzantine architecture and has a small museum with artistic murals from the ancient 14th-15th centuries open to visitors.

56 km
from city center 20 out of 20
Things To Do in Heraklion

Phaistos, also known as the Minoan Palace of Phaistos, is a Bronze Age archaeological site in the south center of Crete at Faistos. The original palace underwent several constructions post damage caused by earthquakes. The present-day site preserves ruins from the old and the new palace and the artifacts and inscriptions unearthed from the site.