What to do and see in Crete, Greece: The Best History Museums

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.

A small but fascinating collection of sculpture, mosaics and artifacts dating back to ancient times.

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 form and image of the Arolithos Traditional Cretan Village is complete with the presence of the museum of Local Art and Agricultural History.To achieve its main goal, which is to preserve and promote the Cretan civilization and tradition, Arolithos established a museum.This museum exhibits old household objects of everyday life, agricultural tools and various items of local art.There is also a computer in the museum providing information about Arolithos and all the activities available.A bibliographic reference material on the tradition, the civilization and the history Crete is currently being compiled. This library will soon be available to the public.