Crete Complete Guide 2026: Knossos, Heraklion, Chania, Samaria Gorge, Elafonissi and the Minoan Heart of Greece
Browse more guides: Greece travel | Europe destinations Crete Complete Guide 2026: Knossos, Heraklion, Chania, Samaria Gorge, Elafonissi and the Minoan Heart of Greece TL;DR I spent three weeks crossing Crete from Heraklion in the north to Plakias on the south coast, and the island kept widening on me the longer I stayed. Crete is the largest Greek island at 8,336 square kilometres, and it carries more history per kilometre than almost anywhere I have walked in Europe. The Minoan civilization rose here between roughly 3000 and 1450 BCE, making Knossos Palace the oldest organized urban site I have stood inside. Sir Arthur Evans rediscovered the ruin in 1900 and rebuilt sections with concrete and red paint, a choice still argued over by archaeologists. Knossos pairs with the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, where the Phaistos Disc and the Bull-leaping fresco sit a short walk from the harbour. From Heraklion I drove west to Rethymno with its Venetian Fortezza, then to Chania, where ...