Heraklion in 7 days: complete itinerary with map

Hagios Titos Church

The Cathedral of Saint Titus is a Greek Orthodox church in the city of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece. dedicated to Saint Titus. The current church was built in 1869 as a mosque, called the Yeni Cami, after the previous building was destroyed by the earthquake of 1856. In 1925 it was converted to Christian worship. The church was declared a cathedral of the archdiocese of Crete in 2013.

Agios Marcos

The Basilica of Saint Mark, also known as Hagios Markos, is a former Roman Catholic basilica, located in the center of the city of Heraklion, Crete, in Greece. Situated in the Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, the structure was built in 1239, during the Venetian rule of the island, and was primarily used by the local lords and officials of the island.

Morosini Fountain

Lions Square

Eleftheriou Venizelou Square is a square in the city of Heraklion in Crete, named after the Cretan statesman Eleftherios Venizelos. It dates back to the Venetian era and is more commonly known as Lions Square or Leonton Square (genitive), after the Venetian-era Morosini Fountain in its midst, which features four lions supporting the main basin.

Agia Aikaterini

Venetian City wall

Fortifications Of Heraklion

The fortifications of Heraklion are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Heraklion in Crete, Greece. The first city walls were built in the Middle Ages, but they were completely rebuilt by the Republic of Venice. The fortifications managed to withstand the second longest siege in history for 21 years, before the city fell to the Ottomans in 1669.

Parko Katsampa

Knossos

Knossos is an archaeological site in Crete that was occupied from the Neolithic through the ninth century AD. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. During the early Iron Age it was one of the most prosperous Aegean civilizations, and it eventually became a Roman colony during the Classical period.

Palace Of Knossos

Anemospilia

Anemospilia is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan temple on Crete.

Neradje Mosque

The Neradje Mosque or Neradjes, formerly known as the Gazi Hüseyin Pasha Mosque, is a former mosque located in the old town of Rethymno, on the island of Crete, Greece. Completed during the Ottoman era, the former mosque was abandoned in 1924, and the structure was repurposed as a music school.

Rimondi Fountain

Municipal Gallery "L. Kanakakis"

Rethymno is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants. It is believed to have been built on the site of the earlier city of Rhithymna.

Rhithymna

Rhithymna or Rithymna or Rhithymnia (Ῥιθυμνία), was a town of ancient Crete, Greece, which is mentioned by Ptolemy and Pliny the Elder as the first town on the north coast to the east of Amphimalla, and is spoken of as a Cretan city by Stephanus of Byzantium, in whose text its name is written Rhithymnia; Stephanus gives the city's ethnonyms as Ῥιθυμνιάτης and Ῥιθύμνιος. It is also alluded to by Lycophron (76).

Arsinoe

Arsinoe was a Hellenistic era city in Crete known primarily from the coins it minted. Though its location is not entirely certain, numismatic evidence suggests that it was a Ptolemaic refounding of the city of Rhithymna. This evidence includes stylistic parallels between coins minted by each city as well as the find spots for the Arsinoe coins clustering around Rhithymna.

Fortezza Of Rethymno

The Fortezza is the citadel of the city of Rethymno in Crete, Greece. It was built by the Venetians in the 16th century, and was captured by the Ottomans in 1646. By the early 20th century, many houses were built within the citadel. These were demolished after World War II, leaving only a few historic buildings within the Fortezza. Today, the citadel is in good condition and is open to the public.

Agios Nikolaos In Chania

The Church of Saint Nicholas is a Greek Orthodox church located in the Splanzia square in the town of Chania, on the island of Crete, Greece. It is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Originally a Roman Catholic church, it was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman period and then back into a church in the twentieth century. It is the only building in Greece to possess both a bell tower and a minaret.

Kydonia

Kydonia, also known as Cydonia was an ancient city located at the site of present-day Chania near the west end of the island of Crete in Greece. The city is known from archaeological remains dating back to the Minoan era as well as literary and historical sources. It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025.

Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque

The Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque, also known as the Yalı Mosque, is a former mosque located in Chania, on the island of Crete, Greece. Built in 1645 during the Ottoman era, the former mosque was abandoned in 1923, and subsequently repurposed as an exhibition center.

Etz Hayyim Synagogue

The Etz Hayyim Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Chania on the island of Crete, in Greece. Constructed as a church, the building was converted into a synagogue in the 17th century. It is the only surviving remnant of the island's Romaniote Jewish community.

Assumption Cathedral, Chania

The Assumption Cathedral, also called the Catholic Cathedral of Chania and officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is the Roman Catholic cathedral in Chania, on the island of Crete in Greece.

Πλατεία 1866

Nea Chora

Fallschirmjäger Memorial

The Fallschirmjäger memorial is a German war memorial for German parachutists who fell during the ten-day Battle of Crete in World War II. The memorial, known to Cretans as the German bird (Greek: Γερμανικό πουλί, Germaniko pouli) or the Evil bird , was erected in 1941 by the occupation forces and is located about three kilometers west of Chania on the road to Agii Apostoli.

Balos Lagoon

Elafonisi Beach

Pink Beach

Kedrodasos

Tarra

Tarrha or Tarra, also Tarrhus or Tarros (Τάρρος), was a polis (city-state) in the southwestern part of ancient Crete, near the Samaria Gorge, at the village of Agia Roumeli. It is situated near the sea, on the hill.

Samaria Gorge

The Plateau of Omalos PLA 03

Tzanis Cave

Matala Beach

Kommos

Kommos is an archaeological site in southern Crete. During the Minoan period, it served as a harbour town for nearby Phaistos and Hagia Triada. After the Bronze Age, a sanctuary was built over the ruins of the earlier town. It is notable for providing evidence about international trade and local daily life.

Komos Beach

Hagia Triada

Hagia Triada, is a Minoan archaeological site in Crete. The site includes the remains of an extensive settlement noted for its monumental NeoPalatial and PostPalatial period buildings especially the large Royal Villa. It is located in the Mesara Plain about three kilometers from the larger Palace of Phaistos, with which it appears to have had close political and economic ties.

Palace Of Phaistos

Gortyn

Gortyna was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of Byzantium it was originally called Larissa (Λάρισσα) and Cremnia or Kremnia (Κρήμνια).