Experience Knossos Palace which is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. Knossos is the birthplace of Minoan civilization and the origin of the myth of labyrinth. It contains the largest of the Minoan palaces which dated back to 2000 B.C. that has been partially restored. Excavated in the early 20th century by the great English archaeologist Arthur Evans. The ruins and rebuilt parts belong to the last and largest Minoan Palace, the labyrinth of Knossos. Built 3700 years ago, is over 1000 pieces. This palace was even a health system and was decorated with impressive murals. The throne of King Minos is still intact.
It was interesting to see the Palace remains and learn about this period. The audio tour was not easy to follow as they don’t direct you to the next stop. The commentary was of interest but may have been a better visit with a live guide.
This is a complete rip off. It’s only $20 to get into the palace. There is no audio tour. We paid double that on Viatour. Usually, I’m very happy with my purchases with this company, but this is not worth it. Don’t buy it you can buy the tickets at the counter for $20 and download an app your phone for free.
The site of archaeological excavation was quite extensive, with various signboards indicating the various parts of the Palace of Knossos as excavated by the British archaeologists who first discovered the site. The palace of Knossos is the nearest to Heraklion and accessible by taxi, car, and bus, although the bus does take quite a long time to get there. I booked a taxi to get there and then booked it again to get to Heraklion City center. Expect an hour and a half at least to finish exploring the site by yourself or in a family group.
Knossos is old! It was incredible to see the structure of a civilisation we knew so little of and that outdated anything we have previously experienced. The information boards set around the site are helpful to fill in gaps. So much is surmised and not really known. The entry and exit are well organised and there is a good coffee and gift shop. Our tickets worked perfectly and communication from Key Tours was good. Like others before us we found the audio tour difficult to follow but it provided a great deal of information and we enjoyed listening to it more after our visit than during!
Friendly on line booking and excellent price. No problem getting access to the site. I booked few others tours and the experience was very positive. Recommend
The recording is very hard to follow as there are no maps or top views of the site. It also seems to be outdated.
It is fascinating to visit a place so ancient and rich in history. It is necessary to ask for a guide: alone there is the risk of missing many interesting details.
The ruins were amazing and beautiful. The information was very informative. Lots of great details. The App was not very easy to navigate. There were over 20 stations which had incredible information however it was very confusing to find which station we were at. We got lost in the directional part and never found the correct places at the correct time on the journey. It would’ve been great to have a map with each numbered station Overall 3/5
Bought tickets for the afternoon. My youngest started to feel unwell as we were traveling there so we rushed through the experience. Tickets included audio but when we arrived the audio wasn’t working. We were told to scan a QR code and download app for free (which we had paid for from Aviator and didn’t work. Late afternoon tour is better though as it’s extremely hot but it wasn’t as busy as morning tours. Interesting but not having audio made it difficult to appreciate.
Make sure you understand that the audio guide is run off your phone, so make sure you have reception/a long distance plan. It is also seemed cheaper to rent on site. There is a basic/free version available that you can scan with your phone.
The skip-the-line ticket was unnecessary (and more costly) since we arrived early (around 8:30am). However, arrive any later and you'll be standing in long lines behind busloads for tickets... who will subsequently be touring the site along with you!. Knossos is a different archeological site. If you're looking for another millenia-old discovery, you may be a bit disappointed. The site, fundamentally fascinating, was rebuilt according to the vision of Arthur Evans - at least partly debunked throughout the site.
No interest, not much to see given the very high price! It is complicated to navigate with the audio guide. Really very disappointed. The entrance should be 3 or 4 times cheaper.
It was more or less a question of cancelling Knossos from the “Should see list”. It is mostly 1/2 to 1 meter high stone walls that show that it fan room. However, some pieces are a little better that were renovated by Sir Arthur Evans before there was a stop to such changes. You get a much better experience of Minoan culture at the historical museum in Heraklion. We did not take a guide and it was maybe stupid but we had read about Knossos before and been to the historical museum.
It is a place where you are taught part of the Minoan culture, and you can get a little bit into the stories of Greece
The palace of Knossos is a must if you go to Crete. Walking on streets of 4000 years ago is an emotion that leaves its mark. But, apart from the uncertainty of the reconstructions of Evans (the archaeologist who "restored" the site) still very suggestive, for the entrance there are critical issues that must be taken into account: such as the booking of the ticket. With the excuse of the audio guide (very few in Italian!) there are dozens of online offers all quite expensive that also hide traps (like a site that made us complete the purchase and then write to us that the offer had expired and we would be refunded the purchase. But after two weeks, nothing has arrived yet). After such misadventure, with my friend we decided to make the purchase on site, without booking anything, trusting in the low season. And we did well: at the entrance (9 am) there were very few people, we spent 20 euros each (instead of the minimum 27-28 offered online) and we downloaded the guide on our mobile phone through the QR code posted at the entrance. a very well done guide, which followed us with GPS, showed us on the map where we were and clicking on the location of the guide described what we were looking at. Buying online is only convenient in high season, if you do not want to queue at the entrance!
Beautiful archaeological site, absolutely worth visiting passing through Crete. The ticket purchased online allows you to skip the lines at the ticket office. At the entrance there is a bar, a shop and toilets. Everything perfect
An exciting highlight of Minoan history. It's best to organize tickets in advance here or via Google Maps. That saves you having to wait. There are personal tours on site or tablets with cardboard plugs and headphones to enable a VR experience. Our kids found that too embarrassing though... so maybe it's better not to. There's a lot of information anyway. You can get there by hop-on-hop-off or taxi... driving yourself is difficult because of the parking situation. Ideally, visit the archaeological museum beforehand because you can learn a lot about the temple there beforehand.
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