Villa Julia Crete

A few kilometres south of Crete’s modern capital, Heraklion was the capital of Minoan Crete. Knossos is the name of a palace and its encompassing city, which had a population of up to 100,000 in the 18th century BC. The palace was built around 3,000 years ago and features in Greek mythology as the seat of King Minos, where he had Daedalus build a labyrinth to hold his son, the Minotaur. Knossos was affected by repeated catastrophes like invasions, earthquakes and the Theran Eruption in about 1625 BC. It was excavated for the first time in 1900 by the British Archaeologist Arthur Evans, who restored some of the architecture and frescoes. You can check out the sweeping reception courtyard where the royal family would entertain guests, and enter the Throne Room, Sanctuary, walk a section of the Royal Way in the direction of the coast and see the Royal Apartments, built on four levels. Direction to Knossos: shorturl.at/joEQ7

To fully understand the oldest civilisation in Europe, look no further than Heraklion’s outstanding archaeological museum. This has the biggest collection of Minoan artefacts of any museum, and has 20 rooms in chronological order. You’ll start in Neolithic times, long before Crete’s palaces were built, and in the following rooms there’s jewellery, liturgical figurines, vases, weapons and armour. Whole frescoes have been transferred to the museum from Crete’s Minoan sites, as well as the emblematic ivory figurine of the bull leaper from Knossos Palace. One artefact that remains a mystery is the Phaistos Disc, 15 cm in diameter and covered with symbols arranged in a spiral. Another piece with strange inscriptions is the Arkalochori Axe, found in the cave of the same name and etched with 15 symbols.

Often cited as one of the world’s best beaches, Elafonisi Beach has to be seen to be believed. The beach is a nature reserve on the channel between the mainland and Elafonisi, a rectangular island famed for the pink sand on its beaches and dunes. The water between the mainland and the island is clear, shallow and lagoon-like, and often you can pass from one to the other on sand bars without getting your feet wet. There’s an enormous natural pool where you can paddle or lie back and float in shimmering water no more than ankle or knee deep. Add to this the white sand, turquoise water, azure sky and views to Crete’s mountainous southwest coast and you’ve got a small patch of paradise.