Air
Greek state airport listed by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA)
Heraklion International Airport Nikos Kazantzakis (code HER) is the air gateway to central Crete, listed among the airports on the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority's site; the Ministry of Culture's access note for Koules simply says to come by plane from various cities or by boat from Athens. A new Heraklion International Airport is being built at Kastelli, and its company's site says trial flights will begin in 2027; until then the company directs questions on the operation of the current airport to the Hellenic Aviation Service Provider. Third party airport guides put the bus ride into the centre at about 20 minutes. hcaa.gr iahc.gr odysseus.culture.gr heraklion-her-international-airport.com heraklion-airport.info
hcaa.griahc.gr
City bus or taxi from the airport
Heraklion Urban Bus (Astiko KTEL Irakleiou S.A.)
Heraklion Urban Bus runs an airport bus departure station, staffed 05:30 to 21:00 according to its own itineraries page. Third party guides say the blue city buses for the centre show IRAKLIO on the front, stop a short walk from the terminal and call at Eleftherias Square and the central bus station by the port; taxis wait outside arrivals. Fares and frequency differ between guides and are not stored here (see What we could not verify, below). astiko-irakleiou.gr heraklion-her-international-airport.com crete-airports.com heraklion-airport.info
astiko-irakleiou.gr
Ferry from Piraeus
Minoan Lines; ANEK Lines
Minoan Lines, a Grimaldi Group company based in Heraklion, sails Piraeus to Heraklion overnight: its route page shows a 21:00 departure and a 06:30 arrival on every day from 6 to 12 October 2026, on the Knossos Palace, Festos Palace and Kydon Palace, and its 2026 offers are listed for the Piraeus, Milos, Heraklion line. ANEK Lines (Attica Group) also sells Piraeus to Heraklion on its own site, with passenger and car packages valid in set periods including 25 August to 15 October 2026. Check times and fares on the operators' own sites; fares are not stored here. minoan.gr minoan.gr anek.gr anek.gr
minoan.granek.gr
Coach from other Cretan towns
KTEL Heraklion Lasithi S.A.
KTEL Heraklion Lasithi runs the intercity coaches of central and eastern Crete. Its timetable page, with notices up to 6 October 2026, lists departures from the Central Bus Station to Malia, Agios Nikolaos, Ierapetra and Sitia from 5 October 2026, express buses from Heraklion to Chania from 1 July to 31 October 2026, departures for Rethymno and Chania from 11 September 2026, and buses from the Chanioporta station to Anogia, Krousonas, Asites and Rogdia. Route and ticket information on +30 2810 246530. Third party guides place the Central Bus Station on Ikarou Avenue by the ferry port. ktelherlas.gr ktelherlas.gr greekislandbuses.com
ktelherlas.gr
City bus to Knossos and the beaches
Heraklion Urban Bus (Astiko KTEL Irakleiou S.A.)
The urban bus itineraries page lists line 2 Knossos to Skalani, line 6 Ammoudara and line 7 Amnissos every day, and line 19 Gournes on weekdays only, each with its own timetable. Its app issues tickets electronically and shows buses in real time. Third party guides say line 2 starts at the port terminus, passes Eleftherias Square and stops close to the Knossos entrance. astiko-irakleiou.gr astiko-irakleiou.gr creteimmersion.com
astiko-irakleiou.grastiko-irakleiou.gr
Places to stay here: city and boutique hotels inside the old town, hotels by the port and the central bus station, beach resorts at Ammoudara and Agia Pelagia. General description only; no property, star rating or price checked. See Where to stay and Rentals for prices and booking advice.
Opening hours and ticket prices change by season: each card links to the official page we read on 7 Oct 2026, so check it again before you go.
Sight
Heraklion Archaeological Museum
At Xanthoudidou 2 in the centre, the museum covers roughly 7,000 years of Cretan art from the Neolithic to the Roman period, with the Minoan collection at its heart, in 27 rooms since the new exhibition was completed in April 2014; the building by Patroklos Karantinos is an example of Greek Modernism. Summer season hours, 28 April to 31 October 2026, as printed on the museum's own site and the Ministry page: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday 08:00 to 20:00, Wednesday 13:00 to 20:00; entry up to 20 minutes before closing. Ticket 20 euros full. Hours from 1 November 2026 were not yet published on the pages read on 7 Oct 2026 (see What we could not verify, below). Tickets at the booth or online at hhticket.gr, valid only for the booked day and time slot; the Ministry says the combined ticket with Knossos is no longer valid. Ramp at the main entrance, lift and accessible toilets; backpacks go to the cloakroom; no flash.
Sources heraklionmuseum.gr odysseus.culture.gr archaeologicalmuseums.culture.gov.gr
Official pageGoogle Maps
Sight
Palace of Knossos
The great Minoan palace south of the city is one of the six components of the UNESCO listed Minoan Palatial Centres, with Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, Zominthos and Kydonia. October 2026 hours, the same on the Ministry of Culture page and on Hellenic Heritage: open every day, 08:00 to 18:30 from 1 to 15 October and 08:00 to 18:00 from 16 to 31 October. Winter hours from 1 November differ between those two official pages and are not printed here (see What we could not verify, below). Both list it closed on 1 January, 25 March, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 and 26 December. Tickets 20 euros full, 10 euros reduced (both pages); online through the Ministry's ticketing service etickets.tap.gr. Free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September and 28 October. City bus line 2 serves the site.
Sources odysseus.culture.gr hh.gr whc.unesco.org whc.unesco.org astiko-irakleiou.gr
Official pageGoogle Maps
Sight
Historical Museum of Crete
Founded in 1953 by the Society of Cretan Historical Studies and housed in the neoclassical A. and M. Kalokerinos House at Sofokli Venizelou 27, it covers Cretan history from early Christian times to the present: Byzantine and Venetian sculpture, the struggles for freedom, the Battle of Crete, a Nikos Kazantzakis room, folk art, a large model of 17th century Chandax (Heraklion), and the only two works by El Greco kept on Crete. Hours on the museum's own site: summer season to 31 October 2026, Monday to Sunday 09:00 to 17:00 (its pages differ on whether summer starts in early May or on 18 May, see What we could not verify, below); winter, November to April, Monday to Friday 09:00 to 15:30, Saturday 09:00 to 15:00, closed Sundays and public holidays. Tickets 8 euros adults, 5 euros concessions (pupils and students with ID, senior citizens), free for children 12 and under. Also closed on 11 November, Heraklion's patron saint day. Audio guide; cafe and shop free to enter during opening hours.
Sources historical-museum.gr historical-museum.gr heraklion.gr
Official pageGoogle Maps
Sight
Koules fortress (Rocca a Mare)
The Venetian sea fortress on the north west pier of the old harbour, entered from 18 Agglon Square (as printed on the fort's own site). Hellenic Heritage says the first fort was destroyed by an earthquake in 1303 and the present one was built in 1523 to 1540, with the marble winged lions of Venice over its three gates. Exhibitions inside and a rooftop terrace. Closed on Tuesdays. Winter hours, 1 November to 31 March, Wednesday to Monday 08:30 to 15:30, the same on the Ministry page, the fort's own site and Hellenic Heritage; closed 25 and 26 December, 1 January and 25 March. Tickets 10 euros full, 5 euros reduced. October hours differ between official pages (see What we could not verify, below). The lift is out of service for now, so the roof terrace is not reachable for visitors with reduced mobility; wheelchair on request.
Sources odysseus.culture.gr koules.efah.gr hh.gr
Official pageGoogle Maps
Sight
Venetian walls and the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis
The Venetian walls that ringed the old town can be walked in parts. On the Martinengo Bastion, which Visit Heraklion calls the highest point of the walls, lies the grave of Nikos Kazantzakis, born in Heraklion on 18 February 1883 and buried here at his own request: a simple tomb with a large wooden cross and his epitaph 'I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.' The bastion is one of the few places with a panoramic view over the whole city. Free; no official hours page found.
Sources visitheraklion.eu mygreecetours.org
Google Maps
Sight
Old town walk: Lions Square, the Morosini fountain, 1866 Street and Agios Minas
Lions Square, officially Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, is the heart of the city, named for the four lions of the Venetian Morosini fountain; the Basilica of San Marco on the square hosts exhibitions, and arches of the Ducal Palace survive nearby. From the Meidani crossroads the central market of 1866 Street runs to Kornarou Square and the Bembo fountain, with fruit and vegetables, herbs, cheese and meat, and fishmongers on Karterou Street. A few minutes away, the cathedral of Agios Minas, the city's patron saint, was begun in 1862 to plans by Athanasios Moussis, halted by the Cretan revolution of 1866, resumed in 1883 and inaugurated in 1895; the small church of 1735 in front of it is the first Agios Minas. The saint's feast on 11 November is a public holiday for the city, and Visit Heraklion says the cathedral is open to the public throughout the day.
Sources visitheraklion.eu explorecrete.com visitheraklion.eu explorecrete.com heraklion.gr visitheraklion.eu visitheraklion.eu
Official pageGoogle Maps
Sight
Cretaquarium (Thalassocosmos), Gournes
The public aquarium of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, at the former American base of Gournes east of the city, with sixty tanks and more than 2,000 marine organisms. Open 365 days a year, holidays included: summer hours 1 April to 31 October, Monday to Sunday 09:30 to 19:00; winter hours 1 November to 31 March, 09:30 to 16:00 (the same on both of the aquarium's official sites). Ticket prices differ between those two sites and are not printed here (see What we could not verify, below). The urban bus lists a weekday line 19 to Gournes; whether it stops at the aquarium was not checked.
Sources cretaquarium.gr cretaquarium.her.hcmr.gr astiko-irakleiou.gr
Official pageGoogle Maps
Ammoudara
Long sandy shore with shallow water west of the city, popular with windsurfers and lined with tavernas (Greeka); city bus line 6. greeka.com astiko-irakleiou.gr
Karteros
Sandy beach close to the city on the north coast, listed by Explore Crete among the Heraklion north coast beaches and described by BeachAtlas as golden sand and family friendly. explorecrete.com beachatlas.com
Agia Pelagia
Sheltered bay about 24 km north west of the city (Greeka), sandy and organised with a diving club and usually calm water; linked to Heraklion by a regular bus service. greeka.com blog.karatarakisgroup.com
Our venue cards for Heraklion and the places around it, with Google Maps, Tripadvisor and Review this place buttons, are on the Crete food page:
Lions Square is ringed by shops, cafes and grill houses serving souvlaki or gyros in pita, and it is where travellers off the morning ferry stop for bougatsa while the city wakes up (Visit Heraklion).
On 1866 Street, the central market, locals and visitors stop at the traditional cafes for a raki (Visit Heraklion).
April to October for the long summer hours: Knossos keeps 08:00 to 18:30 from 1 October and 08:00 to 18:00 from 16 October 2026 before its shorter winter day from 1 November; the Archaeological Museum's summer season runs to 31 October 2026. odysseus.culture.gr hh.gr heraklionmuseum.gr
The Historical Museum keeps its summer hours (every day 09:00 to 17:00) until 31 October 2026; from November it closes on Sundays and public holidays. historical-museum.gr
Cretaquarium opens every day of the year, with winter hours of 09:30 to 16:00 from 1 November. cretaquarium.gr
11 November, the feast of Agios Minas, is a public holiday for the city: the Historical Museum is closed that day. visitheraklion.eu historical-museum.gr