HERAKLION tourist attractions

Heraklion is the largest city of Crete and its main tourist center. The city with a history of many thousands of years encourages tourists with monuments from the Venetian rule, nearby beaches and the amazing MIno Palace in Knossos.

Probably around the year 2000 BC a port operated in place of today's Heraklion. In its vicinity stood the Minoan Palace of Knossos, one of the most important Greek ancient monuments. The golden age of ancient Crete ended with the fall of this civilization around 1400 BC. A magnificent collection of monuments giving an idea of this culture can be seen at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion.

The city in today's sense of the word was founded in the ninth century. Due to its strategic location, the city, like the whole of Crete, changed hands many times. Stabilization occurred at the beginning of the 13th century, when Crete was bought by Venice. It was then that most of the most important monuments of Heraklion were created. They include the Rocca a Mare Venetian Fortress (Sea Castle), the Old Venetian Port, the Spilia Venetian Aqueduct, the Venetian Shipyards in Heraklion, the Venetian Loggia or the Venetian Walls with gates, Bethlehem Gate, Jesus Gate, Venetian Pantokrator Gate.

The charming Old Town of Heraklion is full of restaurants, bars and cafes. Among the houses you can also see historic temples, the Cathedral of Saint Titus, the Cathedral of Saint. Menesa in Heraklion or Orthodox church of St. Jan and Nikon. The pride of the Old Town is the fountains, including the Karavola Fountain, the Bembo Fountain and the most beautiful Morozini Fountain.

Heraklion is for many tourists only a stop on the way to the resorts of Crete, but almost everyone comes here on a trip to get to know one of the most important centers of the island, both now and in antiquity.