Top 10 Things to do in Heraklion Prefecture, Greece

Boutique family winery. Organic wines and olive oil. Tour and tasting. Very very nice view. Visiting times. April-October 11.00-19.00 every day. November-March 11.00-16.00 except Saturday and Sunday

Aquaworld - Crete's first Aquarium - opened in Hersonissos in 1995 - near Bus Stop 20. It features local sea life and reptiles from Crete and from all around the world. Most of the animals are rescued or are unwanted pets which have found a new home at Aquaworld. Our philosophy is simple - bring people and animals closer together and, inevitably, people will begin to respect and care more about the animals!

The winery is open to visitors all year round (after appointment). The visitors' wine experience starts even before arriving at the winery, as the route and the surrounded landscape is filled with images that emphasize the viticulturist character of the region. The tour starts from the production areas of the winery, continues at the cellar and ends at the tasting room where the guest then has the opportunity to taste our wines. Please contact earlier to inform us about your visit for wine tasting (via booking form/phone/email). There is a tasting fee of 5€ per person. Opening hours: Monday-Friday, 10:00-15:30, after appointment.

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

The Lyrarakis Estate is a family winery which has been producing high quality wines since 1966 with a strong focus on rare local varieties and producing single variety wines. Surrounded by the idyllic setting of the vineyards and the Lassithi Mountains we offer you the opportunity to enjoy nature and discover local varieties abd wines distinguished by the uniqueness of their origin and heritage.

The Cretan open- air Museum "LYCHNOSTATIS" is located at Hersonissos, by the sea- side. It consists of four main collections: Nature & Flora Collection, with Gardens of fruit- trees, aromatic herbs, cactus, shrubs and plants, stones and minerals of Crete. Ethnographic Collection, with a presentation of Cretan traditional life (a stone- made farmhouse, a middleclass house, a chapel, an olive- oil press, a windmill, a shepherd's shelter, a threshing floor, a wine- vat, a raki- distillery, workshops of ceramics, weaving and plant- dyeing, an old school, a bee's & wax house).Art collection with works of folk artists exhibited in the Folk Artist's Gallery, the Open- Air Theatre and the Exhibitions' Room.Collection of pre-Industrial Technology with equipment (olive- oil press, windmill, carob-mill, herb-press) used in the past. The Museum organizes a range of educational programs and its Audiovisual Department produces films, CD- ROM's, DVD' s presented daily in the Multimedia & Conference room. It has also a Museum-shop and a cafe. The Museum was nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award in 2010 and honoured by the University of Crete in 1997 for its ecological activities. "LYCHNOSTATIS" is open for a daily visit with a guided- tour, from (Saturday closed).

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 Domaine Paterianakis is located in a semi-mountainous area of an approximate altitude 650 m, near to the "Melesses" village of the Municipality of Nikos Kazantzakis of Heraklion Prefecture on Crete Island. The wider region of "Peza", where the Domaine belongs, is reputed since ancient times for the excellent quality and the exceptional taste of the wines that were produced there. The vineyards of the Domaine belong to a biologically sensitive area appellation of origin Peza of high quality. Domaine Paterianakis is a pioneer in wine production from organic farming grapes on Crete. The owned vineyards within the domain had been cultivated since 1988 when the first procedures for wine production were commencing. In continuation of the long term tradition of the family, all the indigenous and rare grape varieties at the vineyards were preserved and gradually more were added. The grape varieties have been carefully selected in order to be completely adjusted to the local ground and climate conditions and always according to the principles of the organic farming and to the protection of the environment.In the heart of the Domain an outstanding winery was constructed with respect to the environment and from natural materials like rocks from the vineyard and the wider area. Within the winery there were established the production stations, the bottling and storage place, underground cellars and a fully equipped chemical analyses laboratory. The winery is designed in different levels in order to use gravity for the production processes and to avoid artificial pressures that damage the stum. Additionally, the smooth pressures of spirit press machines, the underground maturing cellars in stable temperatures, the ideal bottling conditions with lack of oxygen and the proper storage of the bottles in an underground bottle cellar are guaranteeing our high quality products.

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.