A small traditional town (~4000 people) 15 km south of Iraklion on the foot of the sacred mountain Yiouhtas. Renowned for its excellent wine (from the varieties: vilana, kotsifali and madilari) and the archaeolocical sites and caves.
In 1912, Xanthoudides noted the importance of Archanes, but Sir Arthur Evans was the first to characterize the site as palatial, declaring that Archanes was likely a Summer Palace for the Knossos kings. Spyridon Marinatos and N. Platon excavated minor areas in the region, but nothing supported Evans' theory. In 1964, J. Sakellarakis dug trial trenches at the Tourkoyeitonia site and uncovered the first evidence of a palace site. Since 1966, Archanes has been excavated by the Greek Archaeaological Society under the supervision of John Sakellarakis and Efi Sapouna-Sakellarakis.

The small town of Epano Archanes, one of the most famous places of the Cretan land, with its colorful courtyards, teaches culture, taste, tradition, colors, aromas and life itself. The silvery grays of the olive groves, the red, pink, salmon and tiled walls, the blue and green shutters, the colorful bougainvillea boldly climbing the walls of the houses, the manicured flower beds, but also the elaborate, colorful signs in coffee shops and grocery stores. All this makes Archanes the most colorful village of Crete, but also of Greece.

The town is full of atmospheric neighborhoods with well-maintained houses, painted in cheerful colors. At each step the visitor learns more and more about it. That's why the locals have taken care of it: the Folklore Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the sculpture workshop, the Museum of Cretan History and Tradition just outside.

Capacity: 26,240 (seated)- Location: The stadium is located in Heraklion (also: Iraklio) 3 km west of the city centre (at Lido beach)... The building began 15 years ago and the 2004 Olympic Games proved to be the golden opportunity for the Pancretan, as the Athens Organising Committee named it as one of the venues of the football tournament.
It was inaugurated on 31 March 2004, when it hosted an international friendly match between the National teams of Greece and Switzerland. The stadium is currently the second largest stadium of the country.
The stadium is actually part of a sports complex. A training ground with an 8-lane athletics track, Lido Indoor Hall, and a swimming pool are located right next to the Pancretan Stadium.

Established in 1927, AGRUNION is one of the largest agricultural cooperative unions of Greece, with 167 members of 1st degree and over 47.000 members (farmers). Its range of products include olive oil, wines, vinegar and table grapes, sold into the Greek and foreign markets. They are produced in new-built factories equipped with foremost technological equipment, totally owned by AGRUNION.

Crete's only freshwater lake, Lake Kournás (GR: Λίμνη Κουρνά), is relatively large, with a perimeter of 3.5 km. Although almost all touristic leaflets say that it is possible to walk around the lake, that is not true. At least not at the end of the rain season (winter). There is a nature preserve on the Southwest of the lake. But there is a rustic road from the North of the lake to the Hills on the West of the lake too.

The fortified enclosure of the Venetian Chandakas of the 15th century, which is still preserved today, is one of the most significant monuments of its kind in the whole Mediterranean basin.
Triangular in shape, with its base at the sea, the mighty enceinte has a perimeter of about 5.5 kilometres. The hallmark of the defensive layout are the bastions, linked by curtain walls decorated at many points by escutcheons and the lion of St. Mark, symbol of Venetian omnipotence. The gates in the enceinte, which served to link the town to the countryside, still stand as important architectural monuments.
To this day, the walls that withstood the Ottoman siege in the mid-17th century mark out the boundary of the old town.

Iraklion (Heraklion or Herakleion GR: Ηράκλειον) is the largest urban centre in Crete, the capital of the region and the economic centre of the island. The first European civilisation, the Minoan civilisation, flourished on this land 5000 years ago. Currently the population of Iraklion is approximately 150.000 people. It is a very dynamic and cosmopolitan town, particularly during the summer period when thousands of visitors can be seen shopping in the market or visiting the museums and other places of interest. Today Heraklion is the top choice for tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. The city is also the commercial and scientific centre of the island. During the last 20 years the city has made remarkable progress in the academic and technological fields...

The bastion heart shaped in plan with an acute angle, has two "piazza bassa" and one cavalier. It defines the southeast and the highest part of the fortification. Its name is due to Gabriele Tadini Martinego (1520) who started the construction of a circular tower at the place of the later bastion. It was one of the strongest bastions (the others were that of Pantocratora and that of Vittouri) which also suffered the main attack and most of the bombardment from the Turks.
On the top of the bastion itself there was made a cavalier (which looks like a smaller bastion), whose main purpose was the better defense and control of the area around the bastion.

The grave of Nikos Kazantzakis, the famous Cretan writer, is situated on the highest point of the Venetian fortification at the Martinego cavalier. The inscription by the wooden cross reads: " I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free ", a phrase taken from "The Odyssey" which Kazantzakis considered as one of his most significant works.

The playgrounds of the Academy of the local football team "Ergotelis" are located today on the main bastion and in the ditch around the bastion are the botanical gardens of the city.

In the heart of the city center of Heraklion, opposite the church of Agios Minas, is the Museum of traditional music, instruments, research & documentation with the characteristic title 'Thirathen'.
The Museum was founded in 2012 with its headquarters in the historic village of Krousonas, in the Municipality of Malevizi. In December 2023, it opened its doors to the public, in its new space in the center of the city of Heraklion.

The General Hospital of Heraklion "Venizeleio & Pananio", named after the great statesman Eleftherios Venizelos, is one of the largest hospitals in Crete with 500 organic beds. It is located 4km away from Heraklion center on the road to Knossos, and occupies an area of ​​25,000 sq. meters. Venizeleio hospital provides high quality health services to citizens in a friendly and human environment. It was established in 1953 by a donation of Cretans of America and worked initially for Pulmonary Diseases. It was for many years the major hospital in East Crete.
Telephone: (+30) 2813 408000
Website: www.venizeleio.gr/

The Natural History Museum of Crete is housed in the renovated former premises of the Heraklion Public Power Corporation, on Dermatas’ Bay. With an area of 3,500 m2, it is the largest exhibition of its kind in the Mediterranean, showcasing the natural environment of Crete and the wider Mediterranean area in an innovative, original way.

Behind the "N.Kazantzakis open theatre", in the low square of the Gate of Jesus, was made after the proposal of Manos Hatzidakis and the design of Dionysis Fotopoulos, the Small Open Theatre, that recently named after the famous composer. It is constructed in a way so that is not caused damage in the Venetian Walls, that have been characterized as preservable monuments. In the "Manos Hatzidakis open theatre" (400 - 450 seats), as in "N.Kazantzakis open theatre" a lot of important events took place during the Heraklion Summer Festival.

Oasis is the part of the ditch of the new Venetian fortification that corresponds to the Rampant of Jesus. East of the entry of Oasis is the Cyprus square, roughly 600m from the centre of the city. For the first time, Oasis functioned as a small theatre during the 2nd world war when enough pines were cut. Then, up to 1963, a lot of assemblies took place here, mainly political. In 1963, the first serious effort of exploitation of Oasis as summer theatre, which was maintained up to 1976. In 1976 the theatre was created with the form that it has today. It became a modern open theatrical space of 1200 seats with all the necessary comforts.

Agia Ekaterini church and Exhibition of Byzantine Art and Ecclesiastical objects. A small sinaitic church of St. Catherine with a Basilica design, houses an exhibition with works of art from the Cretan renaissance. Among the exhibits are some of the most important icons of the Cretan School, ecclesiastical books and manuscripts, vestments, ecclesiastical vessels and relics, wall-paintings, wood-carvings and sculpture.

The Cathedral of St. Minas:The small church of St. Minas did not meet the religious needs of the constantly growing Christian community, so the demand arose for the erection of a new cathedral. The plot for the new church used to be a garden that belonged to a Turk from whom it was bought. The architect was Athanasios Moussis and in 1862 the foundation stone of one of the most magnificent and impressive Greek churches was laid. The outbreak of the Cretan revolution of 1866 demanded the stopping of the building work which will continue in 1883 in order to be completed in 1895, when the inauguration of the exquisite temple took place. The church is of the cruciform type with a dome based on a high spandrel, while internally there are also elements of a three aisle basilica. It has two bell towers, one in the northeastern corner and the other in the southeastern one. The right aisle is dedicated to Apostle Titos and the left one to St. Ten Martyrs of Crete. The inside of the church has gone through many changes with new additions. With plans of the architect Anastasios Orlandos the woodcut icon screen was replaced by another one made of marble, the same happened with the bishop's seat. The religious painting of the church was assigned to St. Kartakis who followed faithfully the principles and the models of the Byzantine icon painting. The hundredth anniversary from the inauguration of the Cathedral Church of St. Minas (1995) was celebrated with every solemnity that is suited in an equal occasion and more specifically to one of the most glorious and imposing Greek churches.

The «General Provisioner» Antonio Priuli made it in 1666 and it is situated today behind the "Bodosakeio" Primary School (in the area of the Venetian Dermata Gate). He decorated it with round and square columns with Corinthian type capitals, while a triangular pediment crowns the whole construction. From both sides of the columns there are niches with their metopes elaborately decorated. In the middle of the fountain there is a Turkish inscription where there is a reference to the name of the Turkish pasha who managed to bring water again in the fountain.

It was made by "capitano" Gianmatteo Bembo between 1552-1554, it dominates in today's Kornarou square, next to a later Turkish philanthropic fountain. It is decorated with coats of arms and other elements of the renaissance and of gothic type, while in the middle a big headless statue stands out of the roman period. The spring is ornated with floral and embossed elements.

It was built in 1776 by Hadji Ibrahim aga. In order to keep it working, he dedicated almost all his property. It is unique in its kind that is still preserved today. It is of a circular type building with a "tholos" and around the walls there are semi-circular windows with rails, in front of each one of them there exist a tap with a stone basin for the water to be collected. Today it is used as a coffeehouse.

Villa Ariadne was built at Knossos, Crete, by Sir Arthur Evans soon after he discovered the Minoan palace, when the site was his own private property. The villa became home, in turn, to John Pendlebury, who used it as a base for his excavations at Knossos and his explorations of the island. After Pendlebury's death at the hands of invading German paratroopers, the Villa Ariadne was taken over by General Karl Kreipe, who was living there when he was kidnapped by Patrick Leigh Fermor and his team.
Ariadne villa is surrounded by the only existing Greek Edwardian garden, a large oasis of Cretan and other flora and shrubs in specific formations. The garden has been fully studied by the British School of Archaeology with the participation of special architects and agronomists from Heraklion.

The famous Palace of king Minos and the centre of the Minoan civilisation 5km south of Iraklion. The Great Palace covered an area of 20.000 sq. meters and had 1.400 rooms. Every section of the Palace had a specific use. In the west side of the Palace were the chambers of the ceremonies, of the administration and of the public storehouse...

The "Morosini's fountain" or "Lions' fountain" that dominates the center of Eleftherios Venizelos square in Iraklion old town, is a landmark both for locals and visitors. A masterpiece of the Venetian era that would be the pride of any city in the world.
It was made in 1628 AD, under the supervision of the General Provisioner Francesco Morosini, to satisfy Candia's (Candia was the Venetian name of Crete and its capital - Iraklion - as well) needs for water. For this purpose an aqueduct was constructed to bring the water from the sacred mountain Giouhtas.