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Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Heraklion

4.6

#1 of 75 in Museums in Crete

History Museum Museum Must See

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A vanished culture comes alive at Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which holds the remains of the 3,000-year-old Minoan civilization. The museum's famous collection of artifacts spans more than five millennia, from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The museum's twenty rooms display the most important and representative finds uncovered at several different excavation sites on Crete, including an enigmatic clay disc from the second millennium BCE. Its meaning and purpose have been disputed since its discovery in 1908; the disc remains one of archaeology's most famous unresolved mysteries. For a better understanding of the lost culture represented here, opt for a guided tour of the collection plus a visit to the archaeological sites near the city. Plan a trip to Heraklion easily and quickly by telling Inspirock to suggest an itinerary.

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Heraklion Archaeological Museum Reviews

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6,880 reviews

Google

4.6

• By 5lenas

  Vi har besökt Arkeologiska museet i Heraklion. Besöket ingick i en tur, som innefattade även ruinen Knossos. Tvärt emot vad vi trodde var museet den stora behållningen av turen. Här finns massor av an...  more »

  We have visited the archaeological museum in Heraklion. The visit was included in a tour, which included also the ruins Knossos. Contrary to what we thought, the museum was the great proceeds of the tour. Here are lots of antique items from Crete's stormy history. We had a good guide and it is probably necessary if you are to melt all in formation.
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• By Ruth B

  After visiting the palace we stop and used our ticket again for the museum. I am personally not into museums, but I enjoyed the model of the palace and the mystery coin display.  more »

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• By Tamás Dajka

  Museum is renovated and look great, but in all the whole is just a bit "old fashioned". If you're not a Greek history expert, than you'll have some difficult time to understand the "why"s. There should be a" light tour" - let's say with color marked way - to intruduce the visitors in a bit simpler way. (I really don't most people want to spend 3-4-5 hours in a museum on their vacation seeing the nearly same vases/artifacts multiple times - without knowing the simple meaning of the artifact)

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• By Cotta Ovidiu

  Very nicely organized museum. Try to park in the port, it is cheap and there are plenty of parking spaces, only 15 min walking from the museum. Visit this first (to learn something), then go to Knossos Palace. Plan for 3 hours in the museum if you are really reading and checking information for every artifact. Pay special attention to the ground floor and the first rooms, where you will find important information for the Minoan culture. This will help you later at the Knossos Palace.

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