Car Hire Crete: Heraklion
Car Hire
Quote
Heraklion is the both the largest
Cretan city and its capital. Its name can also be written as
‘Iraklion’ and it is the fourth largest city in the whole of
Greece. One of the island’s main airports – Nikos Kazantzakis
International Airport – is situated mere minutes from the capital,
allowing you to drive into the capital easily with your rental
vehicle.
The city is incredibly cultured and has many museums, some of which are critically acclaimed and hold some of Greece’s best-preserved treasures. The best of these museums are the Historical Museum of Crete and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which showcase many Minoan artefacts and Mycenaean remnants. However, this rich history is not limited to the inside of a museum and one look around the city streets will highlight the extravagant mix of cultures that this city has felt – with architecture from the Venetian, Byzantine and Ottoman periods in modern history alone.
The Palace of Knossos is Heraklion’s most famous exhibition, a Minoan palace that underwent meticulous and complete renovation by archaeologist Richard Evans. The Vezir Mosque of Ottoman design (now regarded as the basilica of St Titus) is another impressive edifice, though it was constructed much more recently during the mid 1900s. There are various guided tours that tourists can attend in Heraklion, with each one viewing artefacts from a specific time or civilisation.
Traditional Cretan cooking is not practiced as popularly in any other part than Heraklion, with the meals and diet that Cretan cooks prepare being rated as some of the healthiest from any culture. Cretan dishes are known as the best representative of the popular Mediterranean diet. This is mainly due to the high quality of the food that the Cretans produce and the emphasis on natural and dairy-based products in their cooking. Almost all of the local restaurants will source their ingredients from the Cretan mountains so you can rest assured that you will be receiving the finest in natural food.
With a huge amount of important antiquities on display throughout this wonderful capital, couples and travellers seeking knowledge and perspective will want to make Heraklion one of the first stops on their trip to Crete. The capital holds the bones of many empires and with them all so close to one another you can manage to see it all in two days!
The city is incredibly cultured and has many museums, some of which are critically acclaimed and hold some of Greece’s best-preserved treasures. The best of these museums are the Historical Museum of Crete and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which showcase many Minoan artefacts and Mycenaean remnants. However, this rich history is not limited to the inside of a museum and one look around the city streets will highlight the extravagant mix of cultures that this city has felt – with architecture from the Venetian, Byzantine and Ottoman periods in modern history alone.
The Palace of Knossos is Heraklion’s most famous exhibition, a Minoan palace that underwent meticulous and complete renovation by archaeologist Richard Evans. The Vezir Mosque of Ottoman design (now regarded as the basilica of St Titus) is another impressive edifice, though it was constructed much more recently during the mid 1900s. There are various guided tours that tourists can attend in Heraklion, with each one viewing artefacts from a specific time or civilisation.
Traditional Cretan cooking is not practiced as popularly in any other part than Heraklion, with the meals and diet that Cretan cooks prepare being rated as some of the healthiest from any culture. Cretan dishes are known as the best representative of the popular Mediterranean diet. This is mainly due to the high quality of the food that the Cretans produce and the emphasis on natural and dairy-based products in their cooking. Almost all of the local restaurants will source their ingredients from the Cretan mountains so you can rest assured that you will be receiving the finest in natural food.
With a huge amount of important antiquities on display throughout this wonderful capital, couples and travellers seeking knowledge and perspective will want to make Heraklion one of the first stops on their trip to Crete. The capital holds the bones of many empires and with them all so close to one another you can manage to see it all in two days!
