Knossos skip-the-line entry — the great Bronze Age palace of the Minoans on the hill above Heraklion, the legendary labyrinth of King Minos and the Minotaur. We reserve your dated ticket so you walk straight past the queue under the pines to the gate.
See ticket optionsFull admission to the Palace of Knossos · your chosen date
€34
“We showed our phones at the gate and walked straight in while a long line waited at the ticket office in the sun. The throne room and the painted columns are extraordinary in person. The short audio history we got beforehand made the whole maze make sense.”
“Booking in English and just picking our date was so easy. We went early to beat the cruise crowds and had the Grand Staircase almost to ourselves. Did the Heraklion museum afterwards to see the real frescoes — perfect half day.”
“The site is bigger and more confusing than we expected in the best way — you really feel the labyrinth. Reserving ahead meant no queuing in 33-degree heat. Wear a hat and good shoes and you'll love it.”
5-minute audio guide
A short, calm narrative — what this great Minoan palace is, the people who built it, the myth of the labyrinth and the Minotaur, what to look for inside, and how to read the reconstructed halls. Listen on the bus out from Heraklion or as you reach the gate.
Recorded for Knossos Palace Tickets concierge. Free to download.
The Palace of Knossos is the largest Bronze Age site on Crete and the ceremonial heart of the Minoans — the first advanced civilisation in Europe. A first palace rose here around 1900 BC; rebuilt grander after an earthquake, it flourished from roughly 1700 to 1450 BC as a sprawling complex of courts, workshops, storerooms and frescoed halls, its winding, multi-storey plan so labyrinthine that later Greeks wove it into the myth of King Minos, the Minotaur and the maze built by Daedalus.
What you walk through today owes its vivid red-and-black columns and reconstructed halls to Sir Arthur Evans, who excavated the site from 1900 and rebuilt parts of it in concrete to show how he believed it once looked. The result is unlike any other ruin in Greece: the Throne Room with its gypsum throne and griffin frescoes, the Grand Staircase, the Hall of the Double Axes and the dolphin fresco of the Queen's apartments all stand reconstructed where you can see them. The original frescoes and finds are kept a few kilometres away in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
Knossos sits on the Kephala hill about five kilometres south of Heraklion, easily reached by city bus or taxi. It is Crete's busiest monument, which is exactly why the on-the-day queue can cost you an hour in the sun. We handle the ticketing in English and reserve your entry for the date you choose, so you can give that hour to the palace instead of the line.
Knossos Palace Tickets is an independent concierge service that helps international visitors reserve and receive their entry tickets in English. We are not the archaeological site and we are not an official vendor — we purchase genuine entry tickets on your behalf from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture's official ticketing service, and our service fee is included in the price you see. If you prefer to buy directly, the operator's own ticket site is tickets.hh.gr.
Plan your visit
Crete's seasons, the daily crowd-and-heat rhythm, and the exact hours that give you the palace in soft light and without the coach groups.
Bus, taxi and car from the city and the cruise port to the palace gate, 5 km south of Heraklion.
The Throne Room, the Grand Staircase, the dolphin fresco and the giant storage jars — a walk through the great Minoan palace.
Your entry is reserved before you arrive, so you walk straight to the site gate instead of queuing at the Knossos ticket office. On busy summer middays that queue under the pines can take 30–60 minutes as coaches and cruise groups arrive from Heraklion, so coming with your ticket already in hand saves the wait.
Yes. You choose the date you want to visit and we reserve your entry for that day — there is no fixed time slot to keep, so you can arrive whenever suits you during opening hours on your chosen date. Pick the day when you book and you're set.
Full admission to the Palace of Knossos archaeological site: the West Court and theatral area, the restored Throne Room, the Grand Staircase, the royal apartments with the dolphin fresco, the Hall of the Double Axes, the great storage jars and the reconstructed halls and frescoes across the complex.
We send your ticket to your email as a mobile ticket once your booking is confirmed — there's nothing to print, just show it on your phone at the gate. You'll also receive a short 5-minute audio history to listen to before you go.
Knossos is about 5 km south of the city. Local bus line 2 runs frequently from central Heraklion and the port to the Knossos terminus by the entrance in around 20 minutes; a taxi takes about 15 minutes. There is paid parking near the site if you drive.
Most visitors spend about 1.5 to 2 hours on site. The layout is genuinely labyrinthine and rewards an unhurried walk; a guide or the audio history helps the reconstructed halls make sense. Allow extra time in summer for the heat and the walk from the bus or car park.
Knossos is the palace later Greeks linked to the legend of King Minos, the half-bull Minotaur, and the labyrinth built by Daedalus to contain it — the maze Theseus escaped with Ariadne's thread. The myth almost certainly grew from the palace's vast, winding, multi-storey plan, which to later visitors felt like a maze.
If you can, yes. The famous original frescoes from Knossos — the Bull-Leaping fresco, the Prince of the Lilies, the dolphins — and the Minoan treasures are kept in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in town, while the site itself shows reconstructions in place. Seeing both gives you the complete picture; they make a natural half-day pairing.
Right at opening or in the last couple of hours before closing, outside the July–August peak. Mid-morning to early afternoon is the busiest and hottest stretch, when Heraklion coaches and cruise groups overlap. Because your ticket is for the date you choose, you can simply pick a cooler, quieter day.
Yes — the myth of the Minotaur and the labyrinth captures most children's imaginations, and the bright reconstructed columns, the throne and the storage jars bring the Bronze Age to life. It's an open site with uneven ground and steps, so bring sun protection and water and keep an eye on little ones near the walkways and drops.
No. The standard entry ticket is not personalised and needs no passport or name — just show your mobile ticket at the gate. (Reduced and free-entry categories set by the operator may require ID at the gate; our ticket is standard full admission.)
Partly. Knossos is an open Bronze Age site on a hill with gravel paths, ramps, gypsum steps and raised wooden walkways; the ground is uneven and some upper levels are reached only by steps. Visitors with limited mobility can see a good deal of the site but should allow extra time and expect difficult surfaces in places.
Yes — the site is open daily, year-round. Only the daily hours change with the season: longer in summer (roughly 08:00–20:00) and shorter in winter, with last entry about 30 minutes before closing. Hours can change on public holidays, so confirm on the day.
All bookings are final once confirmed; we only issue a refund in the rare event the operator cannot honour a validly issued ticket. If your plans shift, contact our team and we'll help where the operator's rules allow. See our terms for the full policy.
No. We're an independent concierge service for international visitors. We buy genuine tickets on your behalf from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture's official ticketing service and handle the booking in English, and our service fee is included in the price shown. You can always buy directly from the operator if you prefer.
The price you see is the price you pay — we show it in your local currency where we can and charge exactly that amount, with no surprise fees at checkout. Payment is by card on a secure page.
Two reasons: you skip the on-the-day queue by reserving your dated entry in advance, and you get it all handled in English with 24/7 human support and a pre-visit audio history. Our service fee is included in the price — there are no extras at checkout.