Heraklion

Heraklion is the capital and largest city of Crete, a lively, unpretentious place that most visitors treat as a springboard rather than a resort, though it repays a day or two of proper attention. Its great draw is Knossos, the largest Bronze Age site on the island, lying about five kilometres to the south. This sprawling Minoan palace, with its throne room, storerooms and colourful reconstructions by the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, has been called Europe's oldest city and is bound up with the myths of King Minos, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur.

To make sense of Knossos, pair it with the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in the city centre, which holds the finest Minoan collection in the world. Among its treasures are the enigmatic Phaistos Disc, the bull-leaping fresco, the faience snake goddesses and delicate carved seal-stones, gathered from palaces and tombs across Crete. Few museums so completely tell the story of a lost civilisation.

The city itself grew up behind massive Venetian walls, still largely intact, on whose southern bastion lies the simple tomb of the writer Nikos Kazantzakis, author of Zorba the Greek. At the old harbour stands the sea fort of Koules, built by Venice in the sixteenth century, while the central Lions Square is anchored by the Morosini Fountain and the church of Agios Titos, dedicated to the island's patron saint. Between them run busy shopping streets, a covered market and countless cafes.

Heraklion is the transport hub of Crete. Its airport, named for Kazantzakis, sits just east of the centre, and its harbour is the island's main ferry port, with overnight sailings to Piraeus and links to Santorini and the Cyclades. The wine country of the Peza and Archanes villages lies just inland, and the beaches and resorts of the north coast are within easy reach. Practical rather than pretty, Heraklion is essential for anyone drawn to the Minoan world, and best enjoyed as a cultural base in spring or autumn.