Island Of Crete Home To Renowned Heraklion Museum

Visitors of all ages will enjoy exploring one of the largest and most important museums in Europe. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum was built in 1937 and is located in the center of town. It was constructed on a site previously occupied by the Roman Catholic monastery of Saint-Francis, which was destroyed by the 1856 earthquake.The museum houses artefacts from Cretan history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The impressive Minoan collection contains unique Minoan art. The artefacts include pottery, carved stone pieces, seals, small sculptures, metal objects and wall paintings. Along with exhibitions, the museum has laboratories, a drawing room, a library, a museum shop and a cafe. After your museum visit, head over to the most important archaeological site in Crete, the Palace of Knossos.

Explore spectacular sea life and reptiles at Crete’s first aquarium. Founded in 1995, Aquaworld Aquarium houses tortoises, sea turtles, iguanas, a variety of snakes, and marine life from around the world. Several of the animals on display were rescued and now have a loving home. Hands-on interaction is encouraged at Aquaworld. Animal lovers of all ages will have a wild time petting a giant tortoise or holding an enormous python. The friendly owners are very knowledgeable and will answer any questions about their amazing animals.

The Mega-dioramas exhibit is the largest exhibit in the Natural History Museum of Crete. It contains realistic representations of ecosystems found in the Eastern Mediterranean regions. The Live Museum has small scale aquariums and terrariums housing living animals also found in the Eastern Mediterranean regions. Visitors can learn about earthquakes and experience real earthquakes at the educational Seismic Table. Cutting edge technology is combined with traditional educational methods to make learning more appealing to children at the Stavros Niarchos Discovery Center. The fossils exhibit contains 8,200 specimens, the majority of which are fossil bones from Crete. This attraction is perfect for the whole family.