Tours of the Palace of Knossos

Knossos is the largest Minoan palace that survives, five kilometres south of Heraklion. The first palace rose around 1900 BC; an earthquake probably destroyed it around 1700 BC, and the rebuilt palace was bigger. UNESCO lists it with five other Minoan palatial centres.

How long Knossos takes

Allow ninety minutes to two hours. The guided Knossos tour listed here adds a wine and olive tour and lunch in Archanes, ten kilometres south by road. It runs from April to October, with entry included.

Ancient stone, modern concrete

Arthur Evans dug here from 1900 to 1931 and rebuilt much of what he found. Scholars dispute how far that goes beyond the evidence.

• Columns. The red ones that taper downward are reinforced concrete; the wooden originals left only imprints.
• Throne Room. The gypsum seat is ancient, the painted griffins are not, and whether it was a throne room at all is debated.
• Frescoes. The bull-leapers and the Prince of the Lilies on the walls are copies; the originals are in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
• Storerooms. The west wing still holds giant jars, first uncovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos.
• The Labyrinth. A later Greek legend, not a find; the tangled plan may have fed it.

Practical

• Hours. Open from 08:00 in summer and 08:30 from November, closing between 20:00 and 17:00 depending on the date.
• Closed. 1 January, 25 March, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 and 26 December.
• Tickets. A full ticket costs 20 euros and a reduced one 10, sold at the entrance or through the Ministry of Culture's e-ticket service.
• Weather. Heraklion's daytime highs average 30C in July and August and 15C in January, and heat waves pass 40C.
• Closures. The Ministry's page posts weather closures; Knossos has shut in bad weather and its sister sites in heat waves.
• Getting there. City bus 2 runs from Heraklion, and the drive takes ten to fifteen minutes.