HERAKLION - TRAVELER TIPS

Heraklion is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece and one of the country’s major economic, tourist, transportation, cultural and educational centres.

'Liondaria' or 'Lion Square' – Morosini Fountain
This is the heart of Heraklion where tourists and locals share space around the Venetian fountain. Business and pleasure combine here, making it the perfect place to meet whatever the purpose. To give some background, it may also be called the Morosini Fountain or, Liondaria in Greek or, more properly, Platia Eleftheriou Venizelou, after Venizelos, Crete's greatest head of state. The decorated fountain is composed of eight cisterns and decorated with stone relief, depicting figures from Greek mythology, Nymphs, Tritons, sea monsters and dolphins, while the main basin is supported by four sitting lions balancing a circular bowl atop their heads.

The Market – 1866 Street
Walk slowly through the Agora, the Market Street that runs alongside a shopping boulevard called 1866, after a Cretan uprising. From top to bottom, with some shaded sideways, this old Market Street is still a place where ‘Herakliotes' come daily to buy fruit, vegetables, herbs, fish and fresh meat. It's a good place to find thyme honey, raki (the Cretan clear spirit), as well as shops selling everything from selections of Cretan music to the finest cheeses. This market has a long history, always having served as a place to meet and make plans. Walk the side-streets to experience the aromas of good Cretan food and feel the liveliness of Cretan life.

Agios Minas (Saint Minas) Cathedral
You will find plenty of life around the wide space in front of the cathedral, dedicated to the Patron Saint of Heraklion and one of Greece's largest churches, completed in a cruciform shape with twin towers. The church suffered damage in the battles for the city and took thirty years to be rebuilt. In 1896, it was inaugurated with lavish celebrations.

Platia Eleftherias, or Freedom Square
The spacious Platia Eleftherias is worth exploring, built in a crescent shape near the Archaeological Museum, it’s close to Heraklion's municipal buildings and the main foreign Consulates. Apart from breathing space, it offers the shaded park of Georgiades, a fine place to rest the feet and watch the busiest intersection in Heraklion. On the seaward side of the square is the entrance to St. George's Gate, used from Venetian times as a passage between the city and its port, the entrance is down stone steps, leading to an atmospheric dome-roofed chamber and the lower exit.

The City Walls
Heraklion is surrounded by a formidable Venetian wall, which was used to protect it from enemies. Owing to this, the city enjoyed the reputation as a well-fortified state in the Mediterranean basin. It stood up to a siege from the Turks for 21 years, but was finally seized in 1669 after its betrayal by a Greek-Venetian engineer who informed the invaders of the walls' weaknesses at east and west bastions. It is possible now to walk along the top of these walls and enjoy an unsurpassed view over the city. You may reach the grave of the great Cretan writer Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957), where his motto is written: 'I hope for nothing, I fear nothing; I am free'.

Knossos
The Minoan palace is the main site of interest at Knossos, an important city in antiquity, which was inhabited continuously from the Neolithic period until the 5th century AD. The palace was built on the Kephala hill and had easy access to the sea and the Cretan interior. According to tradition, it was the seat of the wise king Minos. The Palace of Knossos is connected with thrilling legends, such as the myth of the Labyrinth, with the Minotaur, and the story of Daidalus and Ikarus. The Palace of Knossos is one of the largest archaeological sites in the world and a visit is the experience of a lifetime.

Archaeological Museum
The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is regarded as one of Europe's most important museums. The present building was constructed between 1933 and 1937 with plans by P. Karantinos, on the site of the imposing Venetian Franciscan friary destroyed by an earthquake in 1856. The museum brings together archaeological finds from all over Crete, covering over 5500 years of the island's history. Please note that currently the Museum is undergoing major reconstruction however, a smaller annex is open to visitors.

St. Catherine's Museum
Situated northeast of the Cathedral of St. Minas, this church once belonged to the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai. The church was founded in the second Byzantine period, and was a centre of intellectual and artistic activity from the 15th to the 17th century. St. Catherine's now serves as an exhibition venue owned by the Archdiocese of Crete. It houses works representative of the Cretan Renaissance, the most outstanding of which are portable icons by Michail Damaskinos. The displays also include collections of altar furnishings, books, vestments and detached murals.

25th of August Street
The pedestrian-only 25 August St. is directly opposite the Old Harbour and extends to Lion Square. It takes its name from a massacre of 'martyrs' which occurred in 1898. This involved the killing of many Cretans and, crucially, British in this area, by the Turks, finally forcing the ‘Great Powers' (Britain, France and Russia) to recognize Crete's struggle. These events led eventually to the declaration of a Cretan State and, finally, unification with Greece in 1913. Old and modern buildings compete for space now on the street named to commemorate 25th August.

Walking up the short hill, passing the shops and tourist offices, we reach St. Titus' Cathedral, an impressive sight. Saint Titus, a fellow traveller of Saint Paul, preached the gospel in Crete during Roman rule and was martyred in Gortyn, where a 7th Century basilica stands in his memory. His church in Heraklion was built during the second Byzantine period, when it first served as the city's cathedral. During Venetian rule, it housed the seat of the Catholic archbishop and was renovated in 1466, only to be ruined in a fire in 1544. During the Turkish Occupation it served as a mosque and was called Vizier Tzami, when a minaret was added, now gone. The present-day structure is the result of further renovations after its almost entire destruction by a strong earthquake in 1856, and later work which followed in 1922. The skull of St Titus was transferred here from Venice in 1956 and has since been kept in the church. If the cathedral is open when you visit, it is well worth going in.

A little further and you discover the Venetian architecture of the Loggia which functioned as a club for the nobility to gather and relax. The Loggia is a wonderful example of Venetian building, unmistakeable with its semi-circular arches, it was built in the 16th century and was located in the Piazza dei Signori (Square of the Administrative Authorities). Today, the Loggia, decorated with sculptured coat of arms, trophies and metopes, houses part of the town-hall of Heraklion. The Loggia was awarded the Europa Nostra first prize in 1987 for the best renovated and preserved European monument of the year.

St. Mark's Basilica, almost next door, is now the Municipal Art Gallery and often host to arts and crafts exhibitions, almost always open to visit. Built in 1239 in the Piazza delle Biade (Square of Blades), it was at one time the Cathedral of Crete. The Basilica belonged to the reigning Duke, eventually becoming his burial place. In May 2006, the Basillica was host to the First International Conference on Ethics and Politics, featuring speakers from all over the world. You will welcome its cool, dignified interior and may begin to feel the great age of this city inside its venerable walls.

Historical Museum of Heraklion
Historical Museum of Heraklion, on Sofokli Venizelou, facing the sea, is dedicated to bringing 2,000 years of history to life. The museum was founded in 1952 in a handsome turn of the 20th Century townhouse. It houses important examples of early Christian artefacts, stonework and decorative objects of Roman, Arab, Byzantine, Venetian and Turkish origin. There is a panoramic wooden model of mediaeval Heraklion, or Candia as it was called by the Venetians (after its Arabic name El Khandak) in one room, beautifully detailed, with push-button spotlights picking out the locations of many important sites of worship, defence and government.

Some of these buildings are still standing, some are still in use, and the Venetian roads continue to give Heraklion its shape. The museum offers a genuine learning experience to visitors. You will read about and see evidence of the siege of the city that lasted 21 years (1648-1669) ending with its capture by Ottoman Turks and the start of a desperate epoch. Almost constant insurrection and strife for 250 years followed until final unification with Greece. More recent exhibits are concerned with the 20th Century, and the 1913 unification is dealt with, under the leadership of Eleftherios Venizelos.

Other rooms offer evidence of the island's most recent warfare and the 10-day Battle of Crete in 1941 is powerfully evoked. Another room holds a reconstructed library, dedicated to Crete's most famous writer, Nikos Kazantzakis, who captured for a moment the soul of Crete. Restaurants outside the museum offer shade and fine foods.

Creta Aquarium
Experience the Mediterranean marine world, on a journey of discovery beginning here. Hundreds of species and thousands of organisms come face to face, fascinating you with their behaviour and revealing the wide variety of shapes, colours, habits and needs of their own world. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about them and reflect on what our common future may be. Along the 600m seascape of the Mediterranean, the Greek seas and tropical waters awaiting them, visitors can view first-hand approximately 2.500 organisms belonging to 200 species. These are kept in 32 tanks, with a total capacity of 1.600.000 litres.