What to Expect at Knossos Palace
The red columns are concrete, the frescoes are copies, and the labyrinth is real. What Knossos is actually like on the ground, and how to read what you are seeing.
Two things catch most first-time visitors off guard at Knossos, and neither is a disappointment once you know about it in advance. The first is that the striking parts — the tapering red columns, the roofed Throne Room, the charging bull above the north entrance — are largely Arthur Evans’ reconstruction, built in reinforced concrete from 1900 onwards. The second is that the frescoes on the walls are reproductions; the originals are in Heraklion. Knowing both before you arrive turns a confusing walk into a genuinely interesting one.
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What you are actually looking at
Knossos was a Bronze Age palace complex of well over a thousand interlocking rooms, built on a low hill in a valley five kilometres south of Heraklion. The first palace rose soon after 2000 BC. An earthquake destroyed it around 1700 BC; it was rebuilt larger, running to several storeys, with monumental courts, workshops, storerooms and residential quarters. It remained the political and ceremonial centre of Minoan Crete for more than three centuries before earthquakes in the 14th century BC ended it.
Evans excavated from 1900 and did not stop at excavation. He rebuilt — walls, columns, ceilings, whole rooms — in reinforced concrete, making Knossos one of the first reinforced-concrete structures on the island. Later archaeologists have been sharply critical: parts of the reconstruction rest on interpretation rather than evidence, and Evans’ vision of peaceful Minoan sea-kings shaped a century of popular understanding on thinner ground than his confidence suggested.
This is not a reason to skip it. The concrete is now itself a hundred-year-old historical artefact — a full-scale early-twentieth-century idea of the Bronze Age — and beneath it the archaeology is remarkable: the storerooms with their giant pithoi, the drainage and light-well engineering, the sheer scale of the plan. But nothing on site tells you which is which, which is why we recommend a private tour with a licensed archaeologist for anyone who wants to push at that question properly.
The route, stop by stop
Most guided visits follow much the same sequence, and it takes about 90 minutes.
The West Court and the storerooms. You enter across a broad paved court and reach the long magazines where rows of pithoi — human-height storage jars — still stand. This is where the palace’s function as an administrative and redistribution centre becomes concrete.
The Throne Room. A gypsum seat against the wall, flanked by painted griffins, with a sunken lustral basin opposite. It is the single most famous room on the site and among the most heavily reconstructed; the griffin frescoes are reproductions.
The Grand Staircase and the residential quarter. Cut into the hillside around its own light well, this is the part that best conveys how a multi-storey Minoan building actually worked.
The north entrance. The bastion with the charging-bull relief above it, and the most photographed view on the site.
The Piano Nobile and the courts. The upper-floor reconstruction, and the great Central Court around which the whole complex is arranged.
The conditions, honestly
The site is open, uneven and almost completely unshaded. Surfaces are ancient paving, ramps and stairs; the marked route has narrow points where groups bunch. Operators list their Knossos tours as unsuitable for wheelchair users, and several also exclude travellers with mobility impairments — if that applies to you, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum is by far the more accessible half of the Minoan story.
Bring closed comfortable shoes, a sun hat, sunglasses and water. In July and August the middle of the day is genuinely punishing, and the site’s own shade amounts to a few pines near the entrance. Pets are not permitted.
Entry is by timed slot and enforced. Check-in typically opens 20 minutes before your start time, late arrivals are not admitted, and the ticket expires with the slot. If you are driving, allow an extra 30 minutes — the car park fills between 10:00 and 11:00 when the cruise coaches arrive.
The Labyrinth and the Minotaur
You will hear the myth constantly, so it is worth knowing where it sits. The Athenian legend of Minos, Daedalus, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur is Greek, written down long after the palace fell, and it does not describe Knossos in any documentary sense. What is true is that the complex is genuinely maze-like in plan, that the bull is everywhere in Minoan art — the bull-leaping fresco, the horns of consecration, the rhyta — and that Evans leaned into the connection when he named the place the “Palace of Minos”.
A good guide handles this well: the myth as a later Greek story about a place the Greeks half-remembered, rather than a caption for the ruins. Treat any commentary that presents the Minotaur as history the same way you would treat the concrete — interesting, but not Bronze Age.
Frequently asked questions
Is Knossos worth visiting?
Yes, with the right expectations. It is the largest Bronze Age site on Crete and took over a million visitors in 2024. Go knowing that much of the striking structure is Evans’ reconstruction and that the finds are in Heraklion, and it is fascinating; go expecting untouched ruins and you will be confused.
How much of Knossos is original?
A substantial part of what stands most visibly is not. Evans rebuilt rooms in reinforced concrete from 1900 onwards, giving full-height columns, walls and ceilings to spaces that excavation photographs show as roofless outlines. The foundations, the storerooms, the paving and the plan are genuinely ancient.
Are the frescoes at Knossos real?
The ones on the walls at the site are reproductions. The surviving originals — the bull-leaping panel, the Procession fresco, the Ladies in Blue — are in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, and even those are part modern restoration.
How long does it take to walk around Knossos?
About 1.5 hours on a guided route, or two to three hours at your own pace. The marked route is one way through the main areas.
What should I bring to Knossos?
Closed comfortable shoes, a sun hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and water — the site has almost no shade. Bring a passport or ID card if you qualify for reduced admission, and cash for the €20 entry on any tour that does not include it. Pets are not allowed.
Is Knossos accessible for wheelchair users?
Largely not. The route is uneven ancient paving with ramps and stairs, and operators list their tours as unsuitable for wheelchair users. Contact the operator directly if you need to discuss specific requirements.
Ready to book? See the private Knossos tour →
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See Knossos With Someone Who Can Read It
The highest-rated guided walk of the palace: skip-the-ticket-line entry, the €20 admission included, and a licensed guide for 90 minutes. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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