11 Best Sights in Crete, Greece

The first major monument visible is the Byzantine Basilica of Agios Titus, probably built on the remains of an older church. A soaring apse and two side chapels have been restored. Adjacent, is the Odeion, levelled by an earthquake and rebuilt by Emperor Trajan. Within the walls of the theatre are the 600 lines of the Law Code, engraved upon a wall tablet.

Crossing the road that bisects the site, the main attractions are the Praetorium, the palace of the Roman governor of Crete that dates back to the 2nd century AD, and the Nymphaeum, a public bath originally supplied by an aqueduct and adorned with statues.

Climb to the hilltop Acropolis for a view of the site; below you will see the evergreen plane tree that served as Zeus and Europa's mating-bed according to mythology. From this union, the three kings of Crete were produced: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon.

This most amazing of archaeological sites once lay hidden beneath a huge mound hemmed in by low hills. Heinrich Schliemann, father of archaeology and discoverer of Troy, knew it was here, but Turkish obstruction prevented him from exploring his last discovery. Cretan independence from the Ottoman Turks made it possible for Sir Arthur Evans, a British archaeologist, to start excavations in 1899. A forgotten and sublime civilization thus came again to light with the uncovering of the great Palace of Knossos.

The magnificent Minoans flourished on Crete from around 2700 to 1450 BC, and their palaces and cities at Knossos, Phaistos, and Gournia were centers of political power and luxury—they traded in tin, saffron, gold, and spices as far afield as Spain—when the rest of Europe was a place of primitive barbarity. They loved art, farmed bees, and worshipped many goddesses. But what caused their demise? Some say political upheaval, but others point to an eruption on Thira (Santorini), about 100 km (62 miles) north in the Aegean, that caused tsunamis and earthquakes and supposedly brought about the end of this sophisticated civilization.

The Palace of Knossos site was occupied from Neolithic times, and the population spread to the surrounding land. Around 1900 BC, the hilltop was leveled and the first palace constructed; around 1700 BC, after an earthquake destroyed the original structure, the later palace was built, surrounded by houses and other buildings. Around 1450 BC, another widespread disaster occurred, perhaps an invasion: palaces and country villas were razed by fire and abandoned, but Knossos remained inhabited even though the palace suffered some damage. But around 1380 BC the palace and its outlying buildings were destroyed by fire, and around 1100 BC the site was abandoned. Still later, Knossos became a Greek city-state.

You enter the palace from the west, passing a bust of Sir Arthur Evans, who excavated at Knossos on and off for more than 20 years. A path leads you around to the monumental south gateway. The west wing encases lines of long, narrow storerooms where the true wealth of Knossos was kept in tall clay jars: oil, wine, grains, and honey. The central court is about 164 feet by 82 feet long. The cool, dark throne-room complex has a griffin fresco and a tall, wavy-back gypsum throne, the oldest in Europe. The most spectacular piece of palace architecture is the grand staircase, on the east side of the court, leading to the domestic apartments. Four flights of shallow gypsum stairs survive, lighted by a deep light well. Here you get a sense of how noble Minoans lived; rooms were divided by sets of double doors, giving privacy and warmth when closed, coolness and communication when open. The queen's megaron (apartment or hall) is decorated with a colorful dolphin fresco and furnished with stone benches. Beside it is a bathroom, complete with a clay tub, and next door a toilet, with a drainage system that permitted flushing into a channel flowing into the Kairatos stream far below. The east side of the palace also contained workshops. Beside the staircase leading down to the east bastion is a stone water channel made up of parabolic curves and settling basins: a Minoan storm drain. Northwest of the east bastion is the north entrance, guarded by a relief fresco of a charging bull. Beyond is the theatrical area, shaded by pines and overlooking a shallow flight of steps, which lead down to the royal road. This, perhaps, was the ceremonial entrance to the palace.

For a complete education in Minoan architecture and civilization, consider touring Knossos and, of course, the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion (where many of the treasures from the palace are on view), then traveling south to the Palace of Phaistos, another great Minoan site that has not been reconstructed.

After a long day at the archaeological sites you may feel like you've earned a drink. Follow the signposts to one of the numerous vineyards that surround the pretty village of Archanes, 9 km (5½ miles) south of Knossos, and enjoy tasting some of the world's oldest wines.

The Palace of Phaistos was built around 1900 BC and rebuilt after a disastrous earthquake around 1650 BC. It was burned and abandoned in the wave of destruction that swept across the island around 1450 BC, though Greeks continued to inhabit the city until the 2nd century BC, when it was eclipsed by Roman Gortyna.

You enter the site by descending a flight of steps leading into the west court, then climb a grand staircase. From here you pass through the Propylon porch into a light well and descend a narrow staircase into the central court. Much of the southern and eastern sections of the palace have eroded away. But there are large pithoi still in place in the old storerooms. On the north side of the court the recesses of an elaborate doorway bear a rare trace: red paint in a diamond pattern on a white ground. A passage from the doorway leads to the north court and the northern domestic apartments, now roofed and fenced off. The Phaistos Disk was found in 1903 in a chest made of mud brick at the northeast edge of the site and is now on display at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion. East of the central court are the palace workshops, with a metalworking furnace fenced off. South of the workshops lie the southern domestic apartments, including a clay bath. From there, you have a memorable view across the Messara Plain.

Another Minoan settlement that was destroyed at the same time as Phaistos by Mycenean attackers is only a few miles away on the other side of the same hill. Ayia Triada was once thought to have been a summer palace for the rulers of Phaistos but is now believed to have consisted of a group of villas for nobility and a warehouse complex. Rooms in the villas were once paneled with gypsum slabs and decorated with frescoes: the two now hanging in the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion show a woman in a garden and a cat hunting a pheasant. Several other lovely pieces, including finely crafted vases, come from Ayia Triada and are now also on display in Heraklion, along with more Linear A tablets than at any other Minoan site. Though the complex was at one time just above the seashore, the view now looks across the extensive Messara Plain to the Lybian Sea in the distance.

This impressive, stalactite-rich cavern is one of a few places in Crete that claim to be the birthplace of Zeus, king of the gods, and where he was reared in secret, out of reach of his vengeful father, Kronos. Approach the cave, once a Minoan sanctuary and now the plateau's most popular tourist attraction, on a short path from the large parking lot on foot or by donkey.

The hill where the Venetians first settled rises above the east end of the harbor and it became the quarter of the local nobility. Their palaces, now partially in ruin from neglect and World War II bombings, still line the ridge above the harbor. Kastelli had been occupied much earlier; the Minoan city of Cydonia was sited here.

This ancient city in the hills just above Ayios Nikolaos was built by the Doric Greeks in a dip between two rocky peaks and named for the mother of Artemis and Apollo and her image appears on coins found at the site. Lato reached its peak in the 3rd century BC, but was gradually abandoned, although its port near latterday Ayios Nikolaos was in use during Roman times. Make your way over the expanse of ancient masonry to the far end of the ongoing excavations for one of the best views in Crete: on a clear day you can see Santorini, 100 km (62 miles) across the Cretan sea, as well as inland across a seemingly endless panorama of mountains and valleys.

A sunken, ancient city is visible just beneath the turquoise waters off a causeway that leads to the Spinalonga Peninsula (not to be confused with the island of the same name), an undeveloped headland. Don't imagine you are going to discover Atlantis, but the outlines of a Roman settlement on the seabed and the warm, shallow waters make for an enjoyable diversion from the hotel pool. A mosaic floor from an Early Christian basilica with a striking fish motif can also be seen about 300 feet onshore.

Like the palaces of Knossos and Phaistos, the Palace of Malia was built around 1900 BC; it was less sophisticated both in architecture and decoration, but the layout is similar. The palace appears to have been destroyed by an earthquake around 1700 BC, and rebuilt 50 years later. Across the west court, along one of the paved raised walkways, is a double row of round granaries sunk into the ground, which were almost certainly roofed. East of the granaries is the south doorway, beyond which is the large, circular limestone table, or kernos (on which were placed offerings to a Minoan deity), with a large hollow at its center and 34 smaller ones around the edge. The central court has a shallow pit at its center, perhaps the location of an altar. To the west of the central court are the remains of an imposing staircase leading up to a second floor, and a terrace, most likely used for religious ceremonies; behind is a long corridor with storerooms to the side. In the north wing is a large pillared hall, part of a set of public rooms. The domestic apartments appear to have been in the northwest corner of the palace, entered through a narrow dogleg passage. They are connected by a smaller northern court, through which you can leave the palace by the north entrance, passing two giant old pithoi (large earthenware jars for storage of wine or oil). Excavation at the site continues, which is revealing a sizable town surrounding the palace.

A sprawling Minoan town, formerly known as Roussolakkos, is currently being excavated by archaeologists. Palaikastro is missing any Knossos-type drama; here, for instance, there is no large palace structure, but you get a strong sense of everyday life amid the stony ruins of streets, squares, and shops.

Nearby, Chiona and Kouremenos beaches make for pleasant diversions after clambering over the excavations.