The Palace of Knossos (Knossos)

Member Name: GuruOnAMountain

Product:	Knossos
Date:	16/10/08 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting site, partial reconstruction makes it easier to understand.

Disadvantages: Very busy and no information boards around.

As a Classics graduate, I love going on holiday to Greece and when I ended up in Crete this year, a trip to Knossos was high up on my to-do list.

Knossos was a Minoan palace and centre of the Minoan world, but was excavated fairly recently (1900) by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans. In Greek mythology, Knossos was home of King Minos and is also home to the myth of the half-human, half-bull figure, the Minotaur.

Knossos is situated near the northern coast of Crete, near the major Cretan town of Heraklion. If you're staying in a touristy area of Crete, there is a good chance that you'll be able to book a trip to Knossos through a local tour company. This is how I got to Knossos and cost me 30 euros. The cost of the trip did not cover entrance to Knossos itself, however. Entrance fees to archaeological sites in Greece are generally fairly reasonable but are free to senior citizens and students at universities and colleges within the European Economic Community.

Knossos, however, is one of the most manic of the Greek archaeological sites. Like Delphi or the Acropolis at Athens it is a complete tourist trap and if your are using your own transport, or indeed, travelling using public transport and/or taxis to get here, you should plan your trip early in the morning, if possible. By about 11am the bus tours are arriving for the tourist resorts and you'll find yourself lost amidst a sea of bodies if you don't manage to avoid them.

Don't expect a professional approach to presenting the site like you would get here from a site owned by Historic Scotland, the National Trust or a similar body. Greek sites in general don't tend to be particularly well-presented. If you are able to, buy a guide book or pay for the services of a tour guide to take you round the remains as there isn't sign posts and information boards like you would expect here. Knossos has been partially reconstructed with some areas painted etc. to make the site more easily understood by the public, but certainly a guide or guidebook would help you get the most out of the site.

Another thing to be wary of is the amount of time that you might spend queueing. As part of a tour group, I found myself queueing to look in rooms quite frequently as lots of the room are quite small and there is such a large number of tour groups prowling around. This is especially inconvenient if you visit during the heat of the day in the summer months. I visited in August and one woman fainted from standing out in the sun so long, so come prepared with sun screen, a hat and some water.

Also, if you have limited mobility, its probably best to give Knossos a miss. Greek archaeological sites are not as accessible as British ones and the ground is very uneven in parts.

There are further archaeological artefacts available for viewing in the museum at Heraklion, many of them from Knossos, but this will involve paying another entrance fee and travelling into the town.

All in all, Knossos is an interesting place to visit, but is often too busy to be fully enjoyed and can be confusing due to the lack of information provided around the site. It is, however, standard of Greek tourist attractions in general and is no better or worse than most of them. Entrance fees are relatively inexpensive, however, so its worth giving it a visit if you're in Crete as long as you don't expect it to be presented as well as heritage sites in Britain.

Summary: The Palace of Knossos at Crete