Knossos

People lived at Knossos from the Neolithic period onwards, long before the palace was built. According to the Municipality of Heraklion, a first palace was probably destroyed by an earthquake around 1700 BC and replaced by a larger second palace, which was partly destroyed around 1450 BC, after which Mycenaean Greeks settled here; the final destruction by fire is conventionally dated to around 1350 BC. Greek myth placed King Minos here, along with Daedalus' Labyrinth and the Minotaur.

The first excavation was made in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos of Heraklion. Arthur Evans then excavated almost the entire palace between 1900 and 1930 and carried out the extensive reconstructions seen today. In July 2025 UNESCO inscribed Knossos, with five other sites, as the Minoan Palatial Centres World Heritage property, noting that despite the early reconstructions much of the site remains authentic and well documented.

For Cretans, Knossos is a symbol of the island's identity and its claim to one of Europe's earliest advanced civilisations. School groups visit throughout the year, and the 2025 UNESCO inscription was celebrated as recognition long sought by the island. The surrounding village of Knossos is small, with a strip of cafés and souvenir shops along the approach road.