Knossos Palace & Heraklion City Tour
About this activity
Highlights
- Explore ancient Knossos Palace
- Skip-the-line access to archaeological sites
- Discover Heraklion's historic city center
- Visit the Heraklion Archaeological Museum
- Enjoy personalized attention from a private guide
Full description
Included / Excluded
- Skip-the-line entry to Knossos Palace
- Guided panoramic city tour of Heraklion
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Meals and beverages
Itinerary
Start your experience by meeting the guide at the pick up point. Enjoy the scenic ride heading to Visit Knossos, the capital of King Minos and the center of the magnificent Minoan civilization.It is located only a few kilometers south of Heraklion. Searching the keys to the past will travel back in time some 4500 years BC. Knossos Palace is famous around the world for its myths of Europa, the Minotaur, the Labyrinth and Theseus, Daedalus and Ikarus. In order to understand the future Knossos will open us a window to the most ancient civilization of Europe. Knossos’ architectural feats include several stores buildings (first in the world) with light wells and bathrooms, impressive pillars and an ingenuous drainage system, aqueducts, irrigation systems, paved roads and magnificent frescoes. This will impress you and show you an advanced beautiful jewelry and a way of life you never thought possible in the dawn of history.
The Archaeological Museum of Herakleion city is one of the largest and most important museums in Greece and among one of the most important museums in Europe. The museum houses representative artifacts from all the periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5.500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The singularly important Minoan collection contains unique examples of Minoan art, many of them true masterpieces. It is rightly considered as the museum of Minoan culture par excellence worldwide. The museum, located in the town centre, was built between 1937 and 1940 by architect Patroklos Karantinos on a site previously occupied by the Roman Catholic monastery
Pass by: After finishing the sights we will drive arround Heraklio for the Panoramic city tour. Back in 1204 AD the city of Heraklion was bought by the Republic of Venice. Then the Venetians improved on the ditch of the city by building enormous fortifications most of which are still in place including a giant wall, in places up to 40 m thick, with 7 bastions, and a fortress in the harbor. Time at leisure in Heraklion to explore the city and to see the impressive Venetian buildings and castle, the Cathedral of St Tito ,the fountains at Lions square , the open street market. In case you wish to taste the famous Cretan cuisine for lunch just let us know to arange time at disposal.
Important information
Know before you book
- This is a private tour; the price is per group, not per person.
- The tour operates in English; please inform the operator if you require a guide in another language.
- Hotel pickup and drop-off are included; please provide your accommodation details at the time of booking.
Know before you go
- Wear comfortable walking shoes suitable for uneven terrain.
- Bring a hat and sunscreen to protect against the sun.
- Carry a bottle of water to stay hydrated during the tour.
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Accessibility
- Easy Public Transport
- Infant Seats Available
Traveler reviews
Overpriced and Incomplete
First of all, our guide (Katrina) was amazing. So knowledgeable and friendly. Her tour of the palace (where she is an archeologist) was exceptional. However, we met her there. The driver picked us up, did not talk and showed us nothing. He dropped us off at the palace where Katrina was waiting, and he left to do other things, so we had to wait for his return when we were done at the palace. When he got back, there was an infant car seat in the van, so presumably he was picking up other people during our $1,144 outing. This part of the tour as described here on the website never happened: "After finishing the sights we will drive around Heraklio for the Panoramic city tour." We even skipped the museum, so we had plenty of time to see a panoramic tour. Sadly, we were simply driven back to where we were picked up. Although we enjoyed Katrina's tour of the palace, these couple hours were not worth $1,144, especially since tickets to the palace are only 26 euros each, and there were only 4 of us. We had a tour on Santorini for half that cost, and the driver took us everywhere and showed us everything. Why was this tour over a thousand dollars????
Fascinating Minoan History
Our tour guide Panayoitis was very knowledgeable and informative. He had great historic knowledge and could shed much insight into the ruins that we were touring. Only item that was disappointing was the archaeological museum did not open until 1 PM and we were caught off guard. So we opted for a walking tour and then went and had lunch at a great location tour guide recommended. The history perspective of visiting the Knossos Palace was fascinating and I would highly recommend it.
Good tour, but too much talking
Our tour operators were very accommodating as there was an unplanned strike the morning of the tour. The tour operator proactively reached out and rescheduled our tour. The tour was great and our guide is very knowledgeable. Unfortunately due to time constraints we weren’t able to go to everywhere that was planned. One suggestion I have to make: please have your tour guides curb their enthusiasm a little bit. While I appreciate the detail introductions of every artifact, we missed quite a bit. It seems like our guide wasn’t very happy when we interrupted her but given we are pressed for time, I’d rather see everything and read the history later myself.
Wonderful experience
Eleni, our guide, was very knowledgeable, she gave us so much valued information!! A highly recommended tour
Wonderful tour guide, amazing sites
After a bit of a mixup in meeting location, we met up with our extraordinary tour guide Chatzea Eleftheria. Aside from being remarkably knowledgeable (and very fluent in English), she has a wonderful sense of humor and character, and has boundless energy. The historic sites, of course, were amazing, but she also provided context with tales of Greek mythology.