Knossos
Heraklion, Greece
Κνωσός
The Minoan palace of the Minotaur myth, 5 km south of Heraklion.
Checked 7 October 2026
Knossos was the largest of the Bronze Age palaces of Crete, a 22,000 m² maze of courts, storerooms and royal halls that gave rise to the Labyrinth legend. Entry costs €20 all year at the government's Hellenic Heritage store (tickets.hh.gr): the winter half price and the combined ticket with the Heraklion Archaeological Museum have both ended, so the museum is a second €20 ticket. Go at 8:00 or late in the day: there is almost no shade, and on extreme heat days the site has closed from 12:00 to 17:00.
About Knossos
Knossos sits on the Kephala hill in the outskirts of Heraklion. People lived here from the Neolithic period, around 7000 BC, but the site is famous for the Minoan palace: the first was built around 1900 BC, and after an earthquake around 1700 BC the Minoans rebuilt it bigger, with four wings around a great central court, several storeys of rooms, light wells, drains, storerooms full of giant jars and walls painted with dolphins, griffins and bull-leapers.
Myth put King Minos here, son of Zeus and Europa, with the Labyrinth that Daedalus built to hold the Minotaur. The real palace was the administrative, economic and religious centre of a society that traded across the Aegean and wrote in scripts of its own. Clay tablets in Linear B, found here, were later deciphered as an early form of Greek, which changed what we know about the end of Minoan Crete. In 2025 Knossos was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with five other Minoan palace sites.
A local merchant and antiquarian, Minos Kalokairinos, dug the first trenches in 1878. The British archaeologist Arthur Evans excavated the palace from 1900 to 1931, and he did more than dig: he rebuilt parts of it in reinforced concrete, with red tapering columns, upper floors and copies of the frescoes on the walls. Archaeologists still argue about how much of it is guesswork, but those red columns are now the image of Minoan Crete, and the reconstructions have become part of the site's own history.
That is the key to a good visit: the stone foundations, lower walls, storage jars and drains are ancient, while most of the colour, the columns and the upper storeys are Evans's 20th-century interpretation. The original frescoes, the bull's-head vase, the snake goddess figurines and the Linear B tablets are in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in the city, which is why most visitors combine the two.
What to see
Throne Room
A gypsum seat against the wall, stone benches, a sunken basin and painted griffins (copies). Evans called it the throne room of King Minos; scholars now debate whether it was used for ritual. You look in from the doorway rather than walking through.
Central Court
The big rectangular court at the heart of the palace, with the wings built around it. Ceremonies, and possibly bull-leaping, may have taken place here. It is also the easiest place to get your bearings before heading into the maze of rooms.
Grand Staircase and royal apartments
In the east wing the palace steps down the slope: a staircase lit by a light well leads to the Hall of the Double Axes and the Queen's Hall with its dolphin fresco (a copy). Largely Evans's reconstruction, but it shows the multi-storey scale that flat ruins elsewhere cannot.
West Magazines
Long corridors of storerooms with huge clay pithoi still standing where they were found. They held oil, wine and grain, and show the palace's role as a store and redistribution centre.
South Propylaeum and the Cup-Bearer
The ceremonial south entrance, partly rebuilt by Evans, with a copy of the Procession or Cup-Bearer fresco. It is one of his most criticised reconstructions, which makes it a good place to ask yourself what is ancient.
Theatral Area and Royal Road
Wide stone steps at the north-west corner and the paved road that led from the palace into the town. A 2022 ministry plan for new visitor routes was designed to open views of this northern part of the site.
Red columns and painted walls
The downward-tapering red columns and the coloured fresco copies are the photo everyone takes. They are reconstructions in concrete and paint; the original fresco fragments are in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, 5 km away.
Knossos tickets: which to buy and where
Buy the €20 'Visit Knossos' ticket on tickets.hh.gr, the Ministry of Culture's official store; it is for a chosen date and time slot and skips the ticket-office queue. The rule that catches people out: there is no combined ticket with the Heraklion Archaeological Museum any more and no winter half price, so a reseller 'combo' is just two €20 tickets with a markup.
The official ticket site
Hellenic Heritage (Ministry of Culture / ODAP)
The official online store for Greek state sites, run by the Hellenic Organization of Cultural Resources Development (ODAP), Eleftheriou Venizelou 57, Athens; the footer names ODAP. The product is called 'Visit Knossos' and shows €20,00. It is linked from the Knossos page on hh.gr. The older address hhticket.gr belongs to the same system. Knossos has no website of its own: any other site with Knossos in its name is a private business.
Visit Knossos, official timed ticket
€20 adult; €10 reduced; €0 for free categories
Official ticketsSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- One entry to the archaeological site in the chosen date and time slot; single entry, non-refundable; the slot can be changed up to 2 hours before (twice at most)
- Best for
- Almost everyone. In summer it saves the queue at the ticket office, which can reach the street
Official site · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)Free and reduced tickets
€0 for under 18s, Greek/EU citizens 18–25 and visitors with a 67%+ disability plus one escort; €10 for Greek/EU citizens over 65 (season unclear, see Deals)
Official ticketsSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Same timed entry. Add the category when booking or ask at the ticket office; ID or passport (and a disability certificate where relevant) is checked at the entrance
- Best for
- Families, young EU travellers and older EU visitors
Official site · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)Heraklion Archaeological Museum, official ticket
€20 adult
Official ticketsSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Timed entry to the museum in central Heraklion, where the original Knossos frescoes and finds are shown. A separate ticket: it is not combined with Knossos
- Best for
- Everyone who wants to see what Knossos looked like and what was found there
Official site · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)Palace of Knossos: Entry Ticket + Digital Hellenic Heritage Guide
€26
ResellerSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Knossos entry plus a download of the Hellenic Heritage digital guide, supplied by Key Tours; non-refundable and cannot be rescheduled
- Best for
- Only if you prefer to book on Tiqets; it costs €6 more than the official ticket, and the official digital guide app is free
Tiqets · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)Knossos Palace: Entry Ticket + Heraklion Archaeological Museum
€50.35
ResellerSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Knossos entry and museum entry bundled; cannot be rescheduled
- Best for
- Hardly anyone: the two official tickets cost €40 together
Tiqets · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)
How to buy
- Open tickets.hh.gr (or 'Buy tickets' on the Knossos page of hh.gr), choose Knossos Tickets and select 'Visit Knossos' at €20.
- Pick the date and time slot. Add free or reduced tickets for those who qualify; they must show ID or a passport at the entrance.
- Pay and keep the e-ticket on your phone or printed. You can change the slot up to 2 hours before (twice at most) under Manage Tickets; there are no refunds.
- Book the Heraklion Archaeological Museum as a separate ticket on the same store if you are going there too.
- On free-admission days the store does not sell tickets: everyone gets a free ticket at the ticket office.
- No large luggage or food inside, and no professional photo shoots or filming.
Look-alike sites
Knossos has no website of its own. The official store is tickets.hh.gr (formerly hhticket.gr), run by the Ministry of Culture's ODAP, and the official visitor page is hh.gr; the adult price there is €20. Search results also show private sites with 'Knossos' or 'Knossos Palace' in the domain that look like an official home page, describe themselves as an authorised partner, sell ticket 'bundles' with a downloadable companion guide or audio guide, and in some cases still offer winter-season or combined museum tickets that the official store no longer sells. Even regular forum posters have linked one of them as if it were the official page. If the adult price is not €20, the footer does not name ODAP, or the page offers a Knossos and museum combo, you are not on the official store.
We can never guarantee a ticket seller, tour company or deal. Prices, opening hours and what is included change, often without notice: check the details on the seller’s own page before you pay, and book through the official site where you can. How to avoid ticket scams · Disclaimer.
Guided tours of Knossos
Knossos is hard to read on your own: the ruins mix ancient walls with Evans's concrete, and the labels are brief. The free official Hellenic Heritage digital guide app is enough for many visitors; download it offline before you go. A live guide is worth it if you want the story of what is original and what is reconstructed. Licensed guides wait just inside the entrance and form small groups on the spot, so you do not have to book ahead.
Walk-up group or private guided tour
Licensed guide at the entrance
Licensed tourist guides working at the site
Once through the ticket barrier, licensed guides offer tours; they wait until there are enough people for a group in your language, or you can hire one for your party alone. Agree the price, language and length before you start.
No published price; visitors report about €10–15 per person in a group of 8–10
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)Small-group guided tour with entry ticket
Knossos Palace – Greek Mythology
WeGuide (Heraklion)Heraklion-based team that says all its guides are licensed by the Greek state. English, up to 16 people, headsets for groups of 7 or more. Meet in front of the Knossos ticket office 20 minutes before; late arrivals are not taken. Children enter free, so the child price is for the guide. The same team sells a max-8 version on GetYourGuide (from €115) with a shuttle from central Heraklion or the cruise terminal; that listing still says the ticket also covers the museum, which is no longer the case.
€89 adult, €69 ages 5–17 (ticket included)
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)Half-day guided tour with van transfer from Heraklion
Heraklion: Knossos Palace Guided Tour Half Day
Mykonos Excursions (sold on GetYourGuide)Meets in central Heraklion at 8:30, van to the site, about 2 hours 20 minutes guided, back at 11:30. English, French, Italian and Spanish. Rated 4.7 from 31 reviews; a reviewer was caught out by the ticket not being included. Not suitable for people with mobility impairments.
from €60; entry ticket listed as an additional fee
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)Coach day tour with resort pick-up
Knossos & Historical Heraklion City Tour with Old Market
Cretan Odyssey (sold on GetYourGuide)Pick-up from resorts along the north coast (Hersonissos, Malia, Gouves, Agia Pelagia and others), an 80-minute guided visit of Knossos, a city walk and about 2.5 hours free in Heraklion with the museum as an optional extra. Rated 4.6 from 569 reviews; some mention large groups. Suits people staying in the resorts without a car.
from €40; Knossos (€20) and museum (€20) tickets extra
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)
We can never guarantee a ticket seller, tour company or deal. Prices, opening hours and what is included change, often without notice: check the details on the seller’s own page before you pay, and book through the official site where you can. How to avoid ticket scams · Disclaimer.
Knossos deals and discounts
The official €20 ticket is the best buy, and the official digital guide app is free. The real savings are the free categories (under 18s, EU citizens under 25) and the free days; there is no longer a winter half price or a combined ticket with the museum.
Free for under 18s and EU citizens under 25
Children up to 18 of any nationality and Greek or EU citizens from 18 to 25 enter free with ID or a passport. Add them as free tickets on tickets.hh.gr (or get them at the ticket office); the ID is checked at the entrance.
Free days
Entry is free for everyone on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October, and the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March (next: 28 October, 1 and 15 November, 6 and 20 December 2026). Free tickets are only issued at the ticket office on those days, so expect a queue.
Reduced €10 ticket
The official store lists half price for Greek and EU citizens over 65 (with ID or passport), and for teachers and parents accompanying school visits. For the Heraklion museum the official page limits the over-65 reduction to 1 November–31 March; the Knossos pages state no season, so between April and October the reduction may be refused. Check at the ticket office or on tickets.hh.gr before you count on it.
Free for disabled visitors and one escort
Visitors with a disability of 67% or more and one escort enter free, with ID and a disability certificate (Greek KEPA or a foreign equivalent).
No combined ticket and no winter half price
The old combined Knossos and Heraklion Archaeological Museum ticket and the 50% winter discount have both gone: the official pages list €20 for each site all year. Reseller 'combos' are two separate tickets with a markup.
Best time to visit Knossos
Time of day: be at the gate for the 8:00 opening, before the tour coaches that start arriving around 9:00, or come in the last two hours before closing when the groups have gone and the light is softer. Midday in summer is the worst of both: crowds and heat on bare stone.
Season: April–June and September–October are the most comfortable. In July and August temperatures in Heraklion often pass 33°C and the site has almost no shade. From November to March the site is quiet enough to go at any time, but it closes at 17:00.
Heat closures: on extreme heat days the Ephorate of Antiquities closes Knossos from 12:00 to 17:00 (most recently on 26 August 2026). Check the news or the ticket office if a heatwave is forecast, and pick a morning or after-17:00 slot.
Cruise days: Heraklion is one of Greece's busiest cruise ports (281 ship calls and about 537,000 passengers in 2025), and ship excursions head straight to Knossos in the morning. Check the Heraklion port schedule and avoid mornings with several large ships in.
Closed: 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday, and 25 and 26 December.
Tips and tricks
Gathered from travel forums, locals and the sight’s own advice, rewritten in our own words. What worked for others, not a guarantee.
Book the 8:00 slot in summer
The first hour is the coolest and the emptiest; coaches and cruise groups build up from about 9:00. An online ticket also saves the ticket-office queue, which can stretch to the street even in spring.
From Dave's Travel Pages, 2026; TripAdvisor Knossos forum, 2023
Plan the museum around the seasons
In summer, do Knossos at 8:00 and spend the hot middle of the day in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum (open to 20:00; on Wednesdays it only opens at 13:00). In winter the museum closes at 15:30 (17:00 on Wednesdays) while Knossos stays open to 17:00, so see the museum in the morning and the palace after lunch.
From Hellenic Heritage opening hours, 2026
Museum first or palace first? Either works
Regular forum posters are split: some say seeing the original frescoes first helps you picture the palace, others prefer the ruins first so the museum makes sense afterwards. If you have time, a second short visit to Knossos after the museum is the best of both.
From TripAdvisor Knossos and Heraklion forums, 2023–2025
Download the official guide app offline
The Hellenic Heritage digital guide covers Knossos with numbered stops, audio and maps, and works offline once the tour is downloaded, so download it on hotel wi-fi before you go.
From Hellenic Heritage digital guide page, 2026; Dave's Travel Pages, 2026
Find a guide just inside the entrance
You do not need to pre-book a guide: licensed guides wait past the ticket barrier and start a tour once enough people speaking the same language have gathered. Ask the price and length first.
From TripAdvisor Knossos and Heraklion forums, 2023–2025
Buy the bus ticket before you board
On city bus line 2 the fare from the centre to Knossos should be €1.80 from a kiosk, ticket machine or the Heraklion city bus app, but €2.80 bought from the driver. Buy two so you have one for the return: smaller stops may have no machine or kiosk.
From Astiko KTEL Heraklion fares, 2026
Bring water, a hat and proper shoes
There is very little shade, the paving is uneven and polished smooth in places, and drinks at the café by the entrance cost more than in town. Sandals with grip are fine; flip-flops are not.
From TripAdvisor Knossos forum, 2023; Crete Direct, 2026
Leave big bags behind
Large luggage and food are not allowed inside, and there is no left-luggage at the site. Cruise passengers and people between hotels should leave bags in town.
From Hellenic Heritage ticket store rules, 2026
Know what is original
Read up on Evans's reconstructions before you go: stone foundations, lower walls, storage jars and drains are ancient; the red columns, upper storeys and wall paintings on site are 20th-century concrete and copies. Visitors who know this enjoy the site more and find it less like a stage set.
From Dave's Travel Pages, 2026; Wikipedia, 2026
How to get to Knossos
- By city bus: line 2 (Limani – Knossos) of Astiko KTEL Heraklion starts from the stop opposite the port, below the Megaron hotel, runs through the centre and ends at the site entrance. From October 2026 buses leave about every 15 minutes on weekdays from 5:50 to 23:15, and every 20–30 minutes on Sundays; the ride takes 20–25 minutes. The bus may show a different route number on the front, so check the destination 'Knossos'.
- Fare: a ticket within one zone is €1.30 and across zones €1.80 bought before boarding (kiosk, machine or app), or €2.30 and €2.80 on the bus. The operator's zone list ends zone A partway along this line, so from the port or centre to Knossos expect the €1.80 fare. A 24-hour ticket for all zones costs €6.
- By taxi: about 15 minutes from the centre or the port, around €14–20. There are taxis and buses waiting outside the exit for the trip back or on to Archanes.
- By car: about 15 minutes from Heraklion; there is a large free car park at the entrance.
- From Chania or Rethymno: take a KTEL intercity coach to Heraklion's bus station by the port, then line 2. Allow a full day, or join a coach tour with pick-up from your resort.
Scams and problems to watch for
Look-alike 'official' Knossos sites
Private sites with Knossos in their domain look like the palace's home page, call themselves authorised partners and sell ticket bundles with downloadable guides at more than the €20 face value. The tell-tale sign: Knossos has no website of its own, and the only official store is tickets.hh.gr with ODAP named in the footer.
Combined tickets that no longer exist
Some resellers and tour listings still advertise a Knossos ticket that also gets you into the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, or a cheaper winter ticket. Both ended: each site is €20 all year. If a seller promises one ticket for both, expect to buy a second ticket at the museum.
Cheap tours that leave out the entry fee
'From €40' coach tours usually do not include the €20 Knossos ticket or the €20 museum ticket, and reviewers report confusion at the gate. Check the 'not included' list before you compare prices.
Paying for people who enter free
Under 18s of any nationality and EU citizens under 25 enter free, but platform tickets and tours often charge a full or child price for them. If your group includes free-entry visitors, the official store or the ticket office is cheaper.
Overpriced taxis from the port
The ride from the port or centre is short; around €14–20 is normal. If a driver quotes far more, ask for the meter or take line 2, which leaves from right by the port.
Accessibility
Knossos is an open-air site on a low hill with worn, uneven stone paving, ramps and steps, and little shade. A 2022 ministry plan for new visitor routes included a path from the West Court to the Central Court designed for wheelchair users; the official pages do not say whether it is finished. The royal apartments in the east wing are reached by stairs and several tour operators list their Knossos tours as unsuitable for wheelchair users. Hellenic Heritage lists accessibility facilities, toilets, a café and a car park at the entrance, but publishes no details; call the site (+30 2810 231940) before you go. Visitors with a disability of 67% or more and one escort enter free with a disability certificate. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum has a lift and is the more accessible half of a Minoan day.
Combine it with
Heraklion Archaeological Museum
The world's main collection of Minoan art, with the original Knossos frescoes, the Phaistos Disc and the snake goddesses, 5 km away in the city centre. €20, separate ticket; open 8:00–20:00 in summer (Wednesdays from 13:00).
Koules Fortress and the Venetian harbour
The 16th-century Venetian sea fort at Heraklion's old harbour, a short walk from the line 2 terminus. Walk out along the breakwater for views back over the city.
Venetian walls and Kazantzakis's tomb
Heraklion's 7.5 km of Venetian walls can be walked; on the Martinengo Bastion is the grave of the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. A good late-afternoon walk after the museum.
Archanes
A traditional village just south of Knossos, with Minoan remains nearby, the Fourni cemetery, and the Minoan villa of Vathypetro with an ancient wine press a little further on. Easy by taxi from the Knossos exit.
Malia palace
A smaller Minoan palace on the coast east of Heraklion, left unreconstructed: a useful contrast with Evans's Knossos if you are staying in Malia or Hersonissos.
Questions people ask about visiting Knossos
How much are Knossos tickets in 2026?
€20 for adults and €10 reduced, all year, at the official tickets.hh.gr store or the ticket office (October 2026). Under 18s and EU citizens under 25 enter free with ID. There is no longer a winter half price.
Is there a combined ticket for Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum?
No. The combined ticket was discontinued, and each site now costs €20 (October 2026). Bundles sold by resellers are two separate tickets with a markup, so buy both on tickets.hh.gr instead.
Do I need to book Knossos tickets in advance?
Not strictly: the ticket office still sells tickets. In summer, booking a timed slot a day or two ahead on tickets.hh.gr saves a queue that can reach the street; in winter you can simply turn up. On free-admission days tickets are only issued at the ticket office.
How do I get to Knossos from Heraklion by bus?
Take city bus line 2 from the stop opposite the port or in the centre; it ends at the site entrance after 20–25 minutes. Buses run about every 15 minutes on weekdays (every 20–30 on Sundays), and the fare is €1.80 bought before boarding or €2.80 on board (October 2026).
Is a guided tour of Knossos worth it?
It helps, because the site mixes ancient remains with Arthur Evans's 20th-century concrete reconstructions and the signs are brief. The free official digital guide app is a good minimum. Licensed guides offer group tours just inside the entrance without booking, and small-group tours with tickets cost around €89–115 (October 2026).
How long do you need at Knossos?
About 1.5 to 2 hours for the palace itself. Add about 2 hours for the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which most visitors combine with Knossos on the same day.
What are the Knossos opening hours?
8:00–20:00 from April to August, closing earlier through September and October (18:00 from 16 October), and 8:00–17:00 from 1 November to 31 March. Last entry is 20 minutes before closing. It is closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25–26 December, and may close from 12:00 to 17:00 on extreme heat days.
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Before you go
The things that apply at every big sight: booking ahead, what skip-the-line really means, and the scams that follow tourists everywhere.