About Heraklion
Heraklion is the workmanlike capital of Crete, a Venetian harbour town more lived-in than picturesque.
A fort guards the old port, the bones of the Minoan palace of Knossos lie just outside town, and the island's mountains rise behind. Most people pass through on the way to a beach, but the city rewards a slower look with its covered market and its waterfront.
Cretans are warm and famously long-lived, fuelled by olive oil, mountain herbs and a fierce local pride.
Eat dakos rusks piled with tomato, fresh fish by the harbour, and accept the shot of raki that arrives unasked.
Fly to Heraklion
Round trip from Prague, any dates in October 2026.