Crete: Knossos Palace

The Minoan palace where wine culture began in Europe. Giant pithos (clay vessels) stored wine 4,000 years ago. The reconstructions are controversial but evocative. Museum has original wine equipment.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Stand Inside the West Magazines Where 80,000 Litres of Wine Waited History · Price: low

   Where: The West Magazines — the long, narrow storerooms along the western side of the palace, reached immediately after entering through the West Porch. They are among the first major spaces you encounter on the site.

   What: Right now you are standing in the economic engine of Bronze Age Europe. The Minoans stored wine on an industrial scale here — the West Magazines had capacity for 400 enormous clay pithoi, each capable of holding up to 1,000 litres, giving the palace a total wine, oil and grain reserve of roughly 80,000 litres. This was not a palace that 'had wine available.' This was a distribution centre that moved wine across the Eastern Mediterranean. The oldest allusion to Dionysus in all of human history appears not in a poem or myth — it appears in the Linear B accounting tablets excavated from storerooms like this one. The Minoans were writing wine down before anyone thought to write down gods.

   How: Buy the combined ticket (Knossos + Heraklion Archaeological Museum) for €20 at the entrance gate — it saves you €15 compared to buying separately. Arrive when the gates open (8:00 AM Apr–Aug, 8:30 AM Nov–Mar). Walk past the West Court and enter through the West Porch. The magazines are immediately to your right — long parallel rooms with some original pithoi still standing in situ, over 3,500 years old. Crouch down and look at the rope-pattern relief decoration on the vessels' shoulders. Place your hand against the clay. This is what 3,500 years feels like.

   Backup: If the pithoi area is crowded, circle back at the end of your visit (late afternoon empties significantly). The East Storerooms also contain pithoi in the 'Magazines of the Giant Pithoi' section.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Hold the Throne That Romans Thought Was a Myth — Then Find the Fakes History · Price: moderate

   Where: Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Xanthoudidou 2, Heraklion. A 20-minute Bus #2 ride back from Knossos (€1.50, stops directly outside both sites), or a 5-minute taxi.

   What: When Metellus Creticus conquered Crete for Rome in 67 BC — after two brutal years of siege warfare, including besieging the city of Knossos itself — the Romans had no idea what lay beneath their new colony. They built Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus directly on top of the Minoan ruins, minting coins stamped with the Minotaur and Labyrinth because those were just myths to them. The actual throne of the Throne Room was sitting buried under their feet. In this museum, Room IV, the original stone throne from Knossos is displayed — the same gypsum seat Evans uncovered in 1900, flanked by the painted griffins he found still on the walls. Meanwhile the 'throne room' reconstruction you see at the site contains none of the original stone: Evans rebuilt it in concrete. This museum holds what actually survived. Second stop in the same room: the Phaistos Disc — a fired clay disc covered in 45 distinct symbols pressed in a spiral. Discovered 1908 in the Palace of Phaistos. Still completely undeciphered. It may be a prayer. A royal proclamation. A board game. Nobody knows. It is the most tantalising unread sentence in human history.

   How: Buy combined ticket at Knossos for €20 (covers both sites). Museum summer hours: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun 8:00–20:00, Wed 13:00–20:00. Winter: 8:30–15:30 (Wed 10:00–17:00). Free on the first and third Sunday of the month from November to March. Allow 2 hours minimum. Room IV (Minoan peak period) contains the throne and frescoes. Room III has the Phaistos Disc. The Snake Goddess figurines — a woman with bare breasts holding a live snake in each raised hand — are in Room IV.

   Backup: If the museum is closed (Wednesday mornings in winter), the palace site alone is worth a half-day. Return for the museum the following morning.

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3. 3 Taste the Grape That Has Been Growing in This Soil Since 300 BC Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Lyrarakis Winery, Alagni village, 480m above sea level, 20km south of Heraklion. GPS: 35.18489, 25.20822. From Heraklion city, take a taxi (about €25–30 each way) or rent a car. Journey: roughly 30 minutes.

   What: The Liatiko grape has been cultivated in Cretan soil since at least the 2nd or 3rd century BC — we know because archaeologists found its remnants in an ancient wine press at the Melissa site, inside the Dafnes zone. That wine press existed while the Roman Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus was still a functioning city. Lyrarakis is the winery that best tells this story. The Lyrarakis family founded the winery in 1966 and then made an extraordinary decision in 1992: they replanted two ancient Cretan varieties, Dafni and Plyto, that had essentially vanished from cultivation. They recently saved a third: Melissaki. These were varieties grown on this island before Greece was Greece as we understand it — and Lyrarakis pulled them back from extinction. Order the 7-wine guided tasting (€25) and ask specifically for the Liatiko (Dafnes PDO). When it arrives, note the colour — it should be lighter than any 'serious' red you've encountered, starting light ruby, almost translucent at the edges. The aromatic profile combines fresh red fruits, herbs, and a warming spice signature that sommeliers describe as 'at complete odds with the image of light Savoie-style wines.' This is ancient Crete in a glass, and it is not what you'd expect.

   How: Reserve in advance at visit@lyrarakis.com or +30 698 105 0681. Tours run daily April–October, 11:30–18:30, with tastings starting every hour on the half-hour (last tasting 17:30). Vineyard tour, cellar tour, and vine museum all included in tasting packages. November–March tastings available by appointment.

   Backup: If Lyrarakis is fully booked, Douloufakis Winery (Dafnes, Heraklion region) also produces Liatiko from the PDO Dafnes zone and accepts walk-in visits. Alternatively, the Peskesi restaurant in Heraklion central has an extensive all-Cretan wine list including Liatiko expressions — ask specifically for a PDO Dafnes red.

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4. 4 Walk the Street Named for an Uprising — Find Dakos, Graviera, and a Bottle to Take Home Adventure · Free

   Where: 1866 Street (Odos 1866), Heraklion old town. The street runs from Plateia Meidani to Kornarou Square, five minutes walk from the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

   What: The street is named for the Cretan uprising of 1866 against Ottoman rule — specifically for the siege of Arkadi Monastery, where hundreds of Cretans barricaded inside blew up their own powder magazine rather than surrender. The street has been a food market since Ottoman times. Walk it slowly. The stalls stack in on both sides: Cretan olive oil in unlabelled tins, graviera wheels (the nutty cow's milk cheese that pairs like a dream with Liatiko), wild mountain herbs, honey from thyme-fed Cretan bees, and local wine bottles for €5–12 that you will not find in any airport. Stop at any stall with dakos in the window — the barley rusk topped with crushed tomato, mizithra cheese, olive oil, and caper berries. This is Cretan food stripped to its essentials and it is extraordinary. The rusk soaks up the tomato juice. The olive oil glues everything together. Ask for it 'paximadi me domata' (rusk with tomato) if you want the full version.

   How: The market is open daily from roughly 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM (some stalls stay later). Entrance is free — you simply walk in from either end of the street. Bring cash for stall purchases (5–15€ for most items). Look specifically for: (1) Cretan graviera for pairing with wine, (2) a local bottled Liatiko or Vilana from a small producer without major distribution — the stalls often stock wineries you cannot find online. This is completely free to walk and browse; spending is optional.

   Backup: If the market is closed (Sunday afternoons, public holidays), Kornarou Square at the eastern end of the street has cafes and a small fountain plaza with local vendors. Alternatively, Peskesi restaurant (Kapetan Haralampi 6-8, 5 min walk away) opens for both lunch and dinner and serves a full traditional Cretan meal with exceptional local wine selection — budget €35–50 per person with wine.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Go early morning to beat crowds

• The throne room is atmospheric

• Heraklion Archaeological Museum is essential

• Combine with Cretan wine tastings