Things to do in Heraklion Prefecture, Crete: The Best Museums

Kazantzakis Museum pays tribute to the important intellectual, author, thinker, philosopher, politician and traveler Nikos Kazantzakis. The Museum holds manuscripts and notes by the author; samples of his correspondence with major thinkers, politicians and authors of his time; first editions of his works in Greek and other languages; rare photographic material; souvenirs from his travels; personal effects; models, costumes and other material from theatre productions of his works in Greece and abroad; portraits and sculptures of the author; dozens of foreign-language editions of his works from all over the world, all a legacy that brings alive the memory of Nikos Kazatzakis and promotes his work and personality. The Nikos Kazantzakis Museum has quite literally become a site of worldwide intellectual pilgrimage. Every day, visitors arrive from all four corners of the globe, bearing witness to the lasting relevancy of the word expressed by the great Cretan, universal author and thinker.

Currently open by appointment only. Please do not hesitate to contact with us. Maria Sanoudaki Ceramic│Art Studio is a local studio based in the traditional village of Old Chersonisos in the island of Crete. You will find me in a traditional stone dwelling that used to be the house of my great-grandparents. In my studio you can discover unique handmade ceramic dishes, pots, home decor and elegant ceramic jewelry. Trying to find the sources of my roots, my work is inspired by the folk and ancient art of Crete combined with my constant research on contemporary and abstract art. Each item in the store is unique and handmade. I use different throwing techniques to create wheel-formed ceramic work as well as pottery hand-building techniques; that’s why each item may be slightly different. You are welcome to visit my studio, feel the cretan hospitality and see my art, which is made with love and imagination.

Welcome my friend..! to the place of tradition, history and legend knowledge, philosophy and poetry..!!! Welcome my friend..! to the place of olive-tree, raki and wine drinking, eating and initiation..!!!

Just 15 km from Heraklion, at the historical village of Krousonas is located the Museum of Greek folk music, musical instruments, research and documentation with the characteristic name "THIRATHEN" ( thyrathen pedia = classical education education in Byzantium who had secular nature). In a renovated traditional house, where the sounds of nature pollinate the traditional instruments and spawn ever insuperable melodies, reserves to the visitor a trip to the charm of the music. One of the purposes of the museum is the local society's acquaintance with Greek traditional music in its entirety and its familiarity with the traditional instruments initial of the local ones, and then those of the neighbouring countries. The Museum's ambitions include the emergence of a cradle of culture through a variety of festivities and actions based on traditional music. An additional goal is the creation of the center for research and documentation of our musical tradition.

A Venetian building of 15th century, in the historical center of Heraklion housing a relatively unknown aspect of Ancient Greek culture through the exhibition “Hi-Tech Inventions of Ancient Greeks”. Come along on a guided and virtual tour of an exceptional selection of unique inventions of the Ancient Greeks. Discover that their technology, just before the end of the ancient World, was extremely similar to the beginning of our modern technology.

A museum delineating the history of the island Crete, complete with artifacts belonging to the ancient civilizations that once populated the island.

The Historical Museum of Crete presents a comprehensive view of Cretan history from early Christian times to the present day. It was founded in 1953 by the Society of Cretan Historical Studies, which had been established two years earlier. The museum is housed in a two-storey neoclassical building, which was constructed in 1903 on the site of an earlier mansion belonging to the Kalokerinos family. The second building, designed by K. Tsandirakis, was clearly influenced by morphological features of the earlier one, and was later listed as a historical monument. The new museum extension to the west constituted an attempt to combine traditional and modern architecture. The original goal of those founding the Historical Museum of Crete was to collect and preserve valuable archaeological, ethnographic and historical material deriving from the medieval and modern periods in Cretan history. The process of enriching the collections, extending exhibition space and redefining the museum's aims has never ceased. Prolific research and publishing activity, the organisation of temporary exhibitions, educational programmes and the use of audiovisual media all form part of the modern educational role adopted by the Historical Museum of Crete over time. The same approach also includes the gradual re-organisation of the collections on display so as to appeal to a wider range of visitors, thus offering them the opportunity to understand the many facets of historical development on Crete from early Byzantine times to the present day.

The Natural History Museum of Crete (NHMC) demonstrates with an impressive manner the natural environment of eastern Mediterranean area with special emphasis on Greece and Crete.