Hiking, history & museums

Choose between archaeological sites, museum visits and walking routes, with practical planning before you set out.

22 guides

The Minoan palace at Kato Zakros, a few minutes' walk from the beach

Combining a Beach and an Archaeological Site in Crete

Five easy Crete pairings of beach and ancient site: Phaistos and Matala, Malia palace and Potamos, Aptera and Kalyves, Kato Zakros, Falasarna.

Hiking, history & museums

A Messara day: Phaistos or Gortyn, then the coast

A day in the Messara: Gortyn's Law Code and Phaistos palace in the morning, lunch nearby, then a swim at Matala or Kommos and sunset on the coast.

A quiet cove at Xerokampos in the south of the Sitia Geopark

Hiking, history & museums

Sitia Geopark Road Trip: A Northern or Southern Day

Two road-trip days in the Sitia UNESCO Global Geopark: Toplou, Vai and Itanos in the north, or Zakros, the Gorge of the Dead and Xerokampos in the south.

Hiking, history & museums

Phaistos Palace: courtyards, the Messara plain and a practical visiting route

Phaistos, on a hill above the Messara: the second-largest Minoan palace, where the Phaistos Disc was found, with a theatral area and views to Psiloritis.

Hiking, history & museums

Gortyn: The Law Code, Roman Capital and Agios Titos

Gortyn in the Messara: the 5th-century BC Law Code, capital of Roman Crete and Cyrene, the basilica of Agios Titos and the Praetorium across the road.

Hiking, history & museums

Aptera near Chania: theatre, Roman cisterns and Souda Bay views

Ancient Aptera near Chania: a city named in Linear B, a 3,700-seat theatre, huge Roman cisterns, a medieval monastery and views over Souda Bay.

Hiking, history & museums

Ancient Eleutherna and its museum: a thoughtful Rethymno day trip

Ancient Eleutherna near Arkadi: Crete's first site museum, finds from the Orthi Petra necropolis and a city inhabited from 3000 BC to Byzantine times.

Hiking, history & museums

Malia Palace: a quieter archaeology stop on Crete’s north coast

Malia, 3 km east of Malia town: the third-largest Minoan palace, its kernos stone, the Chrysolakkos cemetery of the bee pendant and a beach nearby.

Hiking, history & museums

Arkadi Monastery: history, architecture and a thoughtful visit

Arkadi monastery, 23 km south-east of Rethymno: a Venetian façade of 1587 and the November 1866 siege that made it a symbol of Cretan freedom.

Hiking, history & museums

Agia Triada Monastery, Akrotiri: Visit, Wine and Hours

Agia Triada (Tzagarolon) monastery on Akrotiri: a 17th-century Venetian-era monastery with a museum, monks' wine and oil, and Gouverneto nearby.

Hiking, history & museums

Toplou Monastery: icons, eastern Crete and a sensible day trip

Toplou monastery between Sitia and Vai: a fortified 15th-century monastery with Kornaros's 1770 icon 'Great Art Thou, O Lord', a museum and a winery.

Hiking, history & museums

Melidoni Cave: Stalactites and the 1824 Tragedy

Melidoni cave near Rethymno: an ancient cult cave and the site of the 1824 tragedy, when about 400 villagers died, with an ossuary in its main hall.

Hiking, history & museums

Sfendoni Cave, Zoniana: Guided Tour, Hours and Tickets

Sfendoni cave at Zoniana: 14 chambers, a lit 270 m walkway, 25–30 minute guided tours, €6 tickets, open daily mid-April to October.

Hiking, history & museums

Imbros Gorge: Walking from Imbros Down to Komitades

Imbros gorge in Sfakia: about 8–11 km from Imbros village (700 m) to Komitades, roughly 3 hours, with a 1.6 m-wide narrows and taxis back.

Hiking, history & museums

Agia Irini Gorge: The 7.5 km Walk Down to Sougia

Agia Irini gorge in Selino: a 7.5 km, roughly 3-hour shaded walk from the White Mountains to the Libyan Sea, ending 45 minutes from Sougia.

Hiking, history & museums

Heraklion Archaeological Museum: highlights and a manageable visiting route

Heraklion Archaeological Museum: the Phaistos Disc, snake goddesses, bull-leaping fresco and Malia bee pendant, with a two-hour route through the galleries.