The capital of Crete. A city where life is good and a unique starting point for discovering the region's internationally renowned sites. Historic Handakas (or Kandax), the city of Heraklion and its Venetian port, is a contemporary capital offering a wealth of cultural, accommodation, dining, and leisure options. A city where you can appreciate the pleasures of today and the beauty of yesterday. Stroll through the square in front of the impressive Church of Agios Titos, originally built by Nicephorus Phocas in 961. Admire the Armeria near this church and the Town Hall (Loggia) with its 82 metopes and galleries. Opposite is the lively and ever-changing Lions Square. In Eleftherias Square (Liberty Square), the impressive Prefecture building stands out; it now houses the regional administration of Crete.

After all that walking, you deserve to sit down." In one of the cafes or small tavernas, enjoy traditional music, delicious meze, raki, famous Cretan gastronomic dishes, fine wines, and recipes from the renowned local cuisine. Designer cafes, new-age bars, multicultural meeting places for young people, and large nightclubs where you can dance until the early hours: the choices for dining and entertainment in Heraklion seem endless, and all these places stay open – really – very late.

🏙️ Heraklion of yesteryear: the Venetian port and the city walls, an ideal place for a stroll through history.

🏙️ The vibrant city of today: squares and pedestrian streets filled with young people, small establishments serving ouzo, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. Nearby, a series of exceptional museums and one of the largest aquariums in Europe.

🏙️ Kazantzakis' Tombs (free access)

Heraklion is surrounded by a formidable medieval wall, used to protect itself from enemies. As a result, the city enjoyed a reputation as a fortified state in the Mediterranean basin. It withstood a 21-year siege by the Turks, but was finally captured in 1669 after the betrayal of a Greek-Venetian engineer who informed the invaders of the weaknesses in the walls of the eastern and western bastions. It is now possible to walk along these walls and enjoy the view of the city.

You can reach the tomb of the Cretan writer Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957), where he wrote: "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing; I am free." The tomb is located on the highest point of the walls, on the Martinengo Bastion. Kazantzakis's books "The Last Temptation," "Christ Re-Crucified," and "Captain Michalis" were labeled "anti-Christian" and "sacrilegious," leading the Greek Catholic Church to excommunicate him in 1955. The Greek Orthodox Church even petitioned the Greek state to ban the sale of the books.

🏙️ Agios Minas Cathedral (7:00 AM - 8:00 PM)

Saint Minas is the patron saint of Heraklion, and his feast day, November 11, is a public holiday in the city. The imposing Saint Minas Cathedral, designed by architect Thomas Mousis, was built on March 25, 1862, to express the gratitude of the city's inhabitants for the saint's protection. It took nearly 30 years to complete. To this day, the cathedral remains one of the largest and most impressive churches in Greece. Architecturally, it is a cruciform church with a dome resting on a high base, while the interior has some features of a three-aisled basilica. There are two bell towers, one to the northeast and one to the southwest.

On the north side of the cathedral (outside), you will see a bomb/missile from the German bombing of Heraklion in 1941. The bomb never exploded and was considered a miracle.

🏙️ Lion Square and the Morosini Fountain (free access)

Lion Square is the heart of Heraklion, where tourists and locals share the small space around the fountain, exchanging glances and perhaps a few words. Business and pleasure mingle here, making it a popular meeting place. If you're feeling peckish, you'll find plenty of bougatsas (vanilla pastries), perfect for breakfast, as well as omelets, pancakes, and souvlaki all around the square.

The Morosini Fountain (also known as the Lion Fountain) is one of Heraklion's most beautiful Venetian monuments. The fountain was supplied by the Karidaki spring, whose waters traveled approximately 15 km through a massive aqueduct.

The fountain is named after Captain General Francesco Morosini. During his reign, the aqueduct was built to supply water to the city of Candia (modern-day Heraklion). Until then, most of the water came from wells and rainwater cisterns. The aqueduct was inaugurated on April 25, 1628, the feast day of Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice.

The fountain's basin has an octa-lobed (eight-lobed) shape to allow approximately 40 people to drink at once. It was decorated with relief scenes from Greek mythology, particularly marine figures such as tritons and dolphins, and several Venetian coats of arms. Above the basin are four lions, from whose mouths water flowed (the water no longer flows today). The fountain's summit was crowned by a large statue of Neptune, which collapsed, likely due to an earthquake or at the hands of the Ottomans, who commonly destroyed statues because they were considered offensive to their religion.

On the other side of the square, you might prefer Chandakos Street, now closed to traffic. A bustling thoroughfare since antiquity, Chandakos is an attractive place for walking, shopping, or relaxing.

🏙️ The Venetian Loggia (free access)

The Venetians built luxurious buildings in each of the cities they inhabited. These were places where nobles could spend time in comfort and socialize. In Candia (the ancient name for Heraklion), they built the Loggia (meaning the Noble Club), which now stands on 25 August Street.

The Loggia is considered one of the most beautiful monuments left by the Venetians in Crete. It was built in 1628 under the command of Captain Francesco Morosini, also known for the beautiful Fountain of the Lions a little further along the street.

The exterior of the building features 82 columns decorated with coats of arms and trophies, while the ground floor houses a very beautiful patio hall. The Loggia is linked to the construction of the Armeria, the city's arsenal.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the ruined loggia was completely demolished, deemed too dangerous for public safety, despite strong protests. Fortunately, it was largely restored after World War II. Today, it houses Heraklion's municipal offices.

🏙️ Church of Agios Titus (7am-8pm)

The Church of Saint Titus is located on 25th of August Street and is one of the most important monuments in the city of Heraklion. Saint Titus, a companion of Saint Paul, preached the Gospel in Crete under Roman rule and was martyred in Gortyn, where a 7th-century basilica still stands. His church in Heraklion was built during the second Byzantine period, when it initially served as the cathedral. The church's history dates back to 961, when Nikiforos Fokas expelled the Arabs from Crete and brought the island back under the influence of the dominant Byzantine Empire. The Church of Agios Titos was built at that time to revive Orthodox influence and tradition on the island.

During Venetian rule, it housed the seat of the Catholic archbishop and was renovated in 1466; it was destroyed by fire in 1544. During the Turkish occupation, it served as a mosque and was called Vizier Tzami. The current structure is the result of renovations following its near-total destruction by a powerful earthquake in 1856, and subsequent work in 1922. The skull of Saint Titus was transferred from Venice in 1956 and has been kept in the church ever since. Near the church, you will find the beautiful Agios Titos square, with lovely cafes and bars.

🏙️ 25th of August Street (free access)

The pedestrianized 25th of August Street (25is Avgoustou) is the city's main thoroughfare. It is located directly opposite the old port and extends to Lions Square. It takes its name from a massacre of "martyrs" that took place in 1897. This resulted in the killing of many Cretans and, most notably, British soldiers who had come to help the Cretans fight against the Ottoman invaders, ultimately forcing the "great powers" (Great Britain, France, and Russia) to recognize the Cretan conflict. These events ultimately led to the declaration of a Cretan state and, finally, to unification with Greece in 1913. The street was built in the aftermath of the disaster to project the image of a city rising and renewing itself, but locals took to calling it "Illusion Street" (Odos Planis) because of the magnificent neoclassical building, the "Liopyrakis Megaron," which gave visitors a false impression of Heraklion, which, next to this street, was full of poor and dirty neighborhoods.

Today, old and modern buildings vie for space on this street. In addition to a few important monuments, you will find numerous restaurants, bars and cafes, tourist agencies and many car rental companies, as well as many souvenir shops selling spices, leather goods, carpets, and other Cretan products.

🏙️ The Venetian Fortress of Koules (free access)

The legendary Venetian fortress of Heraklion, also known as Koules (meaning "fortress" in Turkish) or Castello a Mare ("castle by the sea" in Italian), is an impressive fortress surrounding the city's harbor. The massive fortress was built by the Venetians in the early 13th century, when they conquered the city. It was primarily constructed for storing food and military supplies. The fortress also served as officers' quarters and a prison. Several Cretan heroes who rebelled against the Ottomans were imprisoned in the fortress and killed in its dungeons.

Today, the fortress is open to visitors. You can climb to its roof to admire the city, the harbor, and the vast arches under which the Venetians repaired their ships. The fort houses and displays the discoveries from the surveys of the legendary oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau in the 1970s, the most important being those from the French fleet ship La Thérèse, sunk on July 24, 1669, during the final act of the Cretan War. It also occasionally hosts art exhibitions, plays, and concerts.

🏙️ The Historical Museum (11 am – 5 pm except Tuesdays)

With a succession of foreign occupiers, Crete's history is complex yet fascinating. Here you'll see religious icons, stone sculptures, ceramics, textiles, and folk costumes from the Byzantine, Venetian, and Turkish periods, as well as a more somber section dedicated to the Cretan resistance movement and those who lost their lives during World War II. Everything is well-represented and clearly explained, and there's a peaceful café in the garden.

The Historical Museum of Crete was founded by the Historical Studies Society of Crete in 1953, following the issuance of a permit from the Ministry of Culture to establish a museum collection. The museum was initially housed in the Andreas and Maria Kalokerinos House (1903), a listed neoclassical building donated by the A. & M. Kalokerinos Foundation in accordance with the donor's wishes. The museum was founded and is managed by the Cretan Historical Society with the aim of preserving and promoting Crete's cultural heritage from the early Byzantine period to the modern era. This goal has been achieved gradually through the collection, purchase, and donation of objects, as well as long-term loans of artifacts from the Ministry of Culture. From its inception, the Historical Museum of Crete has been driven by a pioneering spirit. Successive expansions and recent renovations, incorporating contemporary museological approaches and new media applications, have contributed to creating a vibrant, up-to-date, and user-friendly museum. The HMC now offers a comprehensive view of Cretan history and art from the early centuries of Christianity to the 20th century. Temporary exhibitions cover a wide range, from Byzantine to modern art, featuring prominent Greek literary figures (Elytis, Kazantzakis) and showcasing major historical events from the late 19th century to World War II. At the same time, our educational programs are constantly expanding. Offered free of charge, they provide a creative source of knowledge about the Museum's permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. Lectures, colloquia, film screenings, and book presentations held in the amphitheater complement the activities of the Historical Museum of Crete, making it a multifaceted and engaging cultural organization.

🏙️ The Natural History Museum (10:00 AM - 5:00 PM)

The Natural History Museum of Crete was established in 1981 and is located on Sofokli Venizelou Avenue in Heraklion, in an industrial building that formerly housed a power station. With an area of ​​3,500 m², this is the largest exhibition of its kind in the Mediterranean, presenting the natural environment of Crete and the Mediterranean region in an innovative and original way. Visitors can explore Cretan ecosystems alongside their counterparts in mainland Greece and elsewhere in the Mediterranean through dioramas—life-size models of natural landscapes. Other areas are dedicated to exhibits such as:

– the giant Deinotherium, the largest prehistoric animal in Crete;

– the Living Museum, an exhibition of animals typical of Crete and the Mediterranean;

– Enceladus, an earthquake simulator where you can "relive" several earthquakes that have occurred in different regions;

– and the Erevnotopos Discovery Center, an area specially designed for young visitors, where they can excavate fossils and explore Cretan nature.