My holiday trip to Crete - Knossos

While reading "Die sieben Weltwunder" by Johannes Thiele, which is a very interesting book by the way, I got immediately reminded of the "Palace of Knossos".  During my summer holiday which I spent with two of my friends, we all agreed in one point: If you are in Crete, go and visit the ruins - it is a must-do. And exactly these breathtaking ruins were one of our day trips.  

Arrival/Access:

Fortunately, it is very easy and also cheap to visit the ruins. Just take the urban bus 2 at the bus station in Iraklion and stay in there till the end of the line "Knossos", which is right in front of the entry. The bus is driving twice or even thrice each hour. Unfortunately, I am not sure, how much I paid, but it was about 3€, which included the way back as well.

Palace of Knossos - the ruins:

The ancient place is located only a few kilometers apart from the capitol of Crete, Iraklio (Greece), which has been civilized by the Minoans. Also, the well known legend of the "myth of the labyrinth and the Minotaur" is connected to this stunning palace of king Minos. Actually, the visitors can see the replica of the "Palace of Knossos" and ruins of several buildings of town. You have to know that the palace was destroyed by an earth quake, so the Minoan civilization decided to build it up again at the same place but much bigger and magnificent. Unfortunately, the "Palace of Knossos" was destroyed a second time they rebuild it. But after a complete destruction of the second rebuilding they decided to neither use nor rebuild the palace again. After a huge period of time, in 1878, Minos Kalokairinos discovered this place again. In 1900, Sir Arthur Evan started his archeological excavations.

You can not only visit the Palace itself but also the ruins of the sacrificial altars and the food storage. During the guidance you will get to know that the culture of Minoans was very popular for its trade relations. It is also worth mentioning, that they already had their own underground pipelines, which included water pipes and a very "modern toilet system".  

This is my favorite picture I took so I wanted to share it with you guys.

Tickets:

In generally you have to pay 6€ each, reduced tickets cost 3€.

1) Free admission

You are given free admission, when you are under 18. The person at the ticket station asked me about my age and I was already 18 but I was given free access anyway. (They are really nice!)
Journalists and also people over 65 which are citizens of a member state of the European Union you   have free access too.

2) Guidance

I highly recommend a guidance tour to everyone. Firstly, there are several tours in several languages. Additionally, it is definitely worth it paying some extra money for the tour tickets (10€ / reduced ticket 5 €) because you would be a little bit lost without a guidance, as the place is very large. Although I think, some background information just make this wonderful ruin even more impressive. I think the guidance last for about 2 1/2 hours. 

For additional information, you should visit the website:http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh355.jsp?obj_id=2369

Conclusion: 

If you EVER go to Crete you REALLY SHOULD visit the "palace of Knossos" ! It was breathtaking and so interesting! Believe me, IT IS WORTH IT :) 
At the end of the day I spent about 13€ , including the bus tickets, the admission card and the tour ticket, which was presented in my mother tongue (German). But just so you know, I would take a lot of water with me, because although it is very interesting, it takes time to see every single part of this huge area. In addition, it is very hot, so put on a hat.