Historical Museum of Crete

The Historical Museum of Crete occupies a neoclassical building at Sofokli Venizelou 27 on the harbour front of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, with a second entrance on Kalokairinou. It tells the story of the island from early Christian times to the 20th century, filling the gap between the Minoan collections of the Archaeological Museum and the modern city outside. Galleries cover Byzantine and medieval Crete with ceramics, coins, sculpture and church art; the Venetian period, including maps and architectural fragments from the walls and fortresses of Candia; the Ottoman era; and the struggles for union with Greece. One floor is devoted to the Battle of Crete in 1941, with photographs and artefacts, and another to folk life, with weaving, costumes and household objects. A highlight is the gallery holding the only El Greco painting on the island, the View of Mount Sinai and the Monastery of St Catherine, painted early in the artist's career before he left Crete. Models of the Venetian fortifications help visitors read the city as they walk its walls and harbour afterwards. Plan about one and a half to two hours. The museum is roughly ten minutes on foot west of the port along the seafront, and urban buses stop on Sofokli Venizelou. Summer opening is reported daily from 09:00 to 17:00, with shorter weekday hours and Sunday closure in winter, and admission is listed at EUR 8 full and EUR 5 reduced, with children under 12 free. It is rarely crowded, even in summer, which makes it a calm choice for a hot afternoon, and weekday mornings are quietest. Labels are in Greek and English, and the museum website is historical-museum.gr.