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Knossos--weird question

Is Knossos worth a visit?

Background: When I was a teenager (many years ago) my parents took the family on a cruise and we visited Knossos. This was the first time I'd seen ancient ruins and I was enchanted.

Since becoming an adult my husband and I have traveled extensively throughout Europe. We have seen many ruins--in Athens, Delos, Sicily, France, mainland Italy, etc. But it is only this year that we are traveling to Crete.

I have told my husband many times I want to show him Knossos. Yes, I know it's a reconstruction based on the imagination of an archaeologist. I have great memories but I'm wondering if the site will now be a letdown considering we have seen so many ruins over the years. On the other hand, the archaeological museum in Heraklion sounds fascinating (we like that sort of thing).

We're starting our trip in late September, spending a few days in Athens and one night in Delphi. We've booked a weeklong hiking trip in Crete, starting on October 4th in Chania and doing the Samaria Gorge and other trails on the south coast of the island. We'll also spend two nights of the trip based in Rethymnon. The Heraklion area is not part of the trip. We have an additional two days which is why I thought about Knossos.

Of course this is all subjective, and fun to ponder. Would appreciate knowing your thoughts.

Posted by
460 posts

We just visited Knossos and the museum in Heraklion in December. Like you, we have seen many ruins. Knossos was... fine. Not as impressive as many others, but still worth a visit if you are interested in ruins. A good guide helps a lot. I would not visit without a guide. The museum was...fine. I enjoyed seeing the Phaistos Disk. I usually ask myself, "If I don't see something, will I get home and say that I should have seen it?" If the answer is Yes, then I go.

Posted by
32 posts

It's really a question about your capacity for wonderment. Is it still there or has it diminished (and by how much)? I agree that a good guide would help.
Choosing the right time of the day will help as well. Late afternoon tends to be less crowded and more atmospheric.

Posted by
124 posts

We visited Knossos in February. I didn't have high expectations after a lifetime of seeing the great archaeological sites, but I did enjoy the visit and learned a few things. Evans may have reconstructed with imagination, but he did get a few things right, and later archeologists have done their best to continue to research the site. We did not visit the other Minoan excavations in the area, and missed the museum in Heraklion, so I suppose another trip to Crete is on the list. Oh darn!

Posted by
146 posts

You have 2 free days and your husband hasn't seen Knossos. Why not visit both the museum and Knossos? I really enjoyed the museum. I found Knossos was okay. I liked Akrotiri on Santorini more. That said, you do have free time, so it is not a question of one or the other, your husband hasn't seen a Minoan ruin, and you are in the area. Why not visit both? Just make sure to allocate enough time for the museum as it has an extensive collection.

Posted by
1488 posts

I would definitely visit the archeological museum, I thought it was great, and I believe it's meant to be the second best one in Greece after the one in Athens. It's probably the best museum on the Minoans in the world. I liked Knossos a lot, I know it was reconstructed in a way that certainly wouldn't be done now, but to me that's another interesting layer of history to see how people in the recent past interpreted the far distant past. Either way I hope enjoy beautiful Crete.