"The finest collection of Minoan artefacts on earth" Heraklion Things to Do Tip by etfromnc

If I were only on Crete for a day or two, I would visit Knossos before the Archaeological Museum but I think that the ideal way to get an in-depth (but nevertheless relatively quick) concept of Knossos and the Minoan civilization would be to spend an hour or two in the museum, the rest of the day at Knossos, and then part, or all of the next day back at the museum.
This museum originally opened in 1912 and moved to a larger, more seismically safe facility, in 1937. The building sustained considerable damage during World War II but thanks to the curators at the time the collections were not significantly diminished. The current curators suggest allowing several days to take in all of the collections ranging over five millenia from the Neolithic era to the period of the Greeks and Romans. All told, I may have spent several days there and I still had questions and other things that I wanted to see.
Significant renovations to the building's interior were underway beginning 2006 and I am not cetain whether they have been completed yet but at least part of the museum has been reopened.
All exhibits in the Heraklion Museum come exclusively from archaeological sites within Crete and beginning at the front entrance the exhibits are arranged chronologically beginning with Neolithic era pottery.
As what I recall as one of many reasons that I dearly love Crete, the museum is generally closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Address: Xanthoudidou St.
Directions: Very close to the center of Heraklion
othercontact: +302810 226470
Phone: +302810 226092