Heraklion or Iraklion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Area) according to the 2011 census. The population of the municipality was 173,993.
The Bronze Age palace of Knossos, also known as the Palace of Minos, is located nearby.
Heraklion was Europe’s fastest growing tourism destination for 2017, according to Euromonitor, with an 11.2% growth in international arrivals. According to the ranking, Heraklion was ranked as the 20th most visited region in Europe, as the 66th area on the Planet and as the 2nd in Greece for the year 2017, with 3.2 million visitors and the 19th in Europe for 2018, with 3.4 million visitors.
Architecture, urban sculpture and fortifications
Venetian constructions such as the Koules Fortress (Castello a Mare), the ramparts and the arsenal dominate the port area.
Several sculptures, statues and busts commemorating significant events and figures of the city’s and island’s history, like El Greco, Vitsentzos Kornaros, Nikos Kazantzakis and Eleftherios Venizelos can be found around the city.
Many fountains of the Venetian era are preserved, such as the Bembo fountain, the Priuli fountain, Palmeti fountain, Sagredo fountain and Morosini fountain (in Lions Square).
Around the historic city center of Heraklion there are also a series of defensive walls, bastions and other fortifications which were built earlier in the Middle Ages, but were completely rebuilt by the Republic of Venice. The fortifications managed to withstand the longest siege in history for 21 years, before the city fell to the Ottomans in 1669.
Colleges, universities, libraries, and research centers
- University of Crete
- Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU) (Former TEI)
- MBS College
- Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas
- Nicolas Kitsikis Library
- Vikelaia
Culture
Museums
- Heraklion Archaeological Museum
- Cretaquarium
- Historical Museum of Crete
- Natural History Museum
- The Battle of Crete and National Resistance Museum
- Nikos Kazantzakis Museum
- Lychnostatis Open Air Museum
- Collection of Agia Aikaterini of Sinai
- Museum of Visual Arts
Arts
The Cultural and Conference Center of Heraklion is a centre for the performing arts.
Transportation
Port
Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. Travellers can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to destinations including Santorini, Ios Island, Paros, Mykonos, and Rhodes. There are direct ferries to Naxos, Karpathos, Kasos, Sitia, Anafi, Chalki and Diafani. There are also several daily ferries to Piraeus, the port of Athens in mainland Greece. The port of Heraklion was built by Sir Robert McAlpine and completed in 1928.
Airport
Heraklion International Airport, or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about 5 kilometres (3 miles) east of the city. The airport is named after Heraklion native Nikos Kazantzakis, a writer and a philosopher. It is the second busiest airport of Greece after Athens International Airport, first in charter flights and the 65th busiest in Europe, because of Crete being a major holiday destination with 7.974.887 travellers in 2018 (List of the busiest airports in Europe).
In April 2018, the inner space of the airport has been modernized and expanded by almost 3.000 s.m., with 11 new gates and new stores. The expansion was a donation by Hellenic Duty Free Shops.
The airfield is shared with the 126th Combat Group of the Hellenic Air Force. A project for the new airport of Heraklion in Kasteli area is starting at the end of 2017.
Highway networ
European route E75 runs through the city and connects Heraklion with the three other major cities of Crete: Agios Nikolaos, Chania, and Rethymno.
Public transit
Urban buses serving the city, with 39 different routes. Intercity buses connects Heraklion to many major destinations in Crete.
Railway
From 1922 to 1937, a working industrial railway connected the Koules in Heraklion to Xiropotamos for the construction of the harbor.[
A study from the year 2000 investigated the feasibility of two tram lines in Heraklion. The first line would link the Stadium to the airport, and the second the center of Heraklion and Knossos. No approval has yet been given for this proposal.
In the summer of 2007, at the Congress of Cretan emigrants, held in Heraklion, two qualified engineers, George Nathenas (from Gonies, Malevizi Province) and Vassilis Economopoulos, recommended the development of a railway line in Crete, linking Chania, Rethymno and Heraklion, with a total journey time of 50 minutes (30 minutes between Heraklion and Rethymno, 20 minutes from Chania to Rethymno) and with provision for extensions to Kissamos, Kastelli Pediados (for the planned new airport), and Agios Nikolaos. No plans exist for implementing this idea.
