This is the 2nd museum of Iraklio after the world class Archaeology Museum. It covers Byzantine, Venetian, Arabic and later periods. There are 3 floors of interesting art & historical object. Even a room just dedicated to coins. It’s well worth a visit if you have any interest in the history of Crete. I would say then it is a must see.

Not as good as other museums in Heraklion. Very warm inside, some dated exhibits, and overly cautious Covid policy (wearing plastic gloves feels unnecessary) Catch the El Greco painting

A must see museum which showcases the modern history of Crete from Byzantine years to WWII. There is also an excellent folklore section which dives deep into the Cretan culture and heritage with exhibits from all aspects of Cretan tradition. Expect to spend approximately 1 hour here. Entrance fee was 7.5Eur at the time of our visit.

A great way to learn about the island before touring: Several floors of very well-categorized artifacts encompassing early mappable Crete, the fortressing and occupation to post-WWII era and Cretans' traditional lifestyle. Private collections of frescoes and Byzantine architectural capitals are cherries on top. Bravo!!

Really good historical museum! Lots of exhibits about Heraklion and Crete. Worth the visit! Tip: visit the cafe at the first floor..

So many things and so big history in a not so big museum. Nice place. But it was too hot in some places. And gloves.. i don't think it was necessary.

My family and I really enjoyed looking around here. Staff were friendly and there were quite a few interesting things to look at. Easy to find, Adults €5 each and children were free which was a bonus. Lifts to every floor which made things easier with a pushchair 👍👍

It’s a nice enough museum, though it doesn’t have a strong feeling to it. It’s not as impressive as the nearby archeological museum, for example, or does it have the charm of any of the museums in Chania. In addition, I was very annoyed and bothered by constantly being followed into every room and told that the museum was closing soon. I certainly didn’t need THREE people to tell me this. It was my intention to leave before the closing. I was very aware of the time. If they don’t want people to stay past 3:45, they should state that as their closing time, not 4:00. If they didn’t want people staying that long, they shouldn’t even have sold me a ticket. I understand that the employees have Saturday afternoon plans, but the behavior felt incredibly rude and unprofessional. I’d rate this museum as “see if you find yourself in Heraklion and have no idea what to do with your time.”

Beautifully curated exhibition with varied historical content. Some examples from the Ethnographic displays fascinating with clothing, embroidery, weaving all providing insights to the the folk country self sufficient lives before. A World War II exhibit with audio pieces by Soldiers and Fighters . Also a fascinating Nikos Kazantzakis Collection, including his library, desk furniture from his Antibes Study. He wrote, “…I will willingly give the Museum… anything valuable I have connected to my long, laborious, intellectual life. Thus preserving the cell where a Heraklion labourer of the intellect has worked for so many years …” (Letter from N. Kazantzakis to SCHS, 9th January 1957). With the above words, he notified the Society of Cretan Historical Studies of his intention to donate personal possessions and archive material to the Historical Museum of Crete, a few months prior to death. Stunning. On the facilities there is a small glass elevator, ground floor toilets - clean and tidy. The cafe team lovely, with an indoor eating area, or to the front (pic) a terrace and at the south side a delightful tree shaded courtyard with cute fountain. We spent about 3 hours there and left feeling elated rather than the usual state of exhausted overwhelm 😴 !! Bravo

Extensive and well presented history of the island. Very clean with thoughtful exhibits. I learned a lot from well before Crete became part of Greece to Crete's role during WW2. Lots of artifacts and cultural pieces to check out.

Fascinating! I learned a lot about the history of Crete. Exhibits are thoughtfully organized, with detailed explanations in English as well as Greek. Worth a visit!

Exquisite showcase of Cretan and Heraklion's history. The story continues from where the Archaeological Museum leaves you: starting with the early Byzantine times up to WW2. You'll also be able to admire two El Greco paintings, which adds up to the overall experience.

Very friendly staff. Very well organized exhibitions. Amazing patrimony

Beautiful museum a must visit in your trip to Crete. I appreciate their observance of Covid policies. One of the greatest museums in Greece.

A very interesting museum about history of the town Heraklion… some information about Kazatzakis…about Second World War , Greek revolution…and much more… four floors…

Awesome place. Don’t cut your time short. There is definitely a lot to see here, clean restrooms, a cafe if you get hungry recommend minimum 4 hours plus to really absorb all the information available to you

A very well laid museum, with no overwelming size and rooms, educational and well presented. Staff was helpful and communicative. Interesting bookshop with plenty if books in both Eng and Grk .

Wonderful museum that is well laid out and nicely lit. They also have an amazing collection of religious icons, probably the best pieces we have seen.

This is a wonderful museum. If your not a museum kind, but can handle being museum like for a couple of hours ...it's worth the visit. It's truly a great experience to do early as you can appreciate other small details as you travel.

A very eclectic and interesting museum covering many periods of Cretan history up to the present day. The grand mansion which houses r r collection could use some attention and loving TLC. Also seems that more attention should be given to keeping the air conditioning on so that humidity and heat don’t compromise delicate exhibits.

The museum is a great experience for adults, maybe some activities for kids like spot and find activity to engage in the experience. The entrance is not expensive.

A well organized museum. If you are interested in history, this is the place to go. Interesting collection of coins, El Greco and the period of revolts.

The ticket price is not cheap but is still considered a good and perhaps the 1st place to visit upon arrival in Crete. After knowing the history it will be easier to learn the beauty of Knossos Archaeological Site and the Venetian heritages left in the urban and countryside.

I liked the numismatics part, cool town relief, ideally WWII part should have of too (maybe to display the battle like that).

A lovely, modern museum detailing the rich history of Crete! Big enough to be interesting, small enough to be seen in a few hours. Very friendly service and a nice café, highly recommended.

Interesting. Small one. But u ll have to visit it for the Christian painting and understand why so many influences

I walked here on a Wednesday morning in early July 2022. This museum seemed smaller than it looked from the outside but I was surprised at the amount of exhibits. I would highly recommend the 4.50-euro audio guide. I give this museum a 5-star rating because it was the most substantial cultural site that's worth visiting if you're ever in Heraklion. I Iearned a lot about the island. If you're a student, they'll give you a student discount. There are about three floors of exhibits with a Cafe on the 2nd floor. The audio guide was very thorough and would have spent even more time there had I not been in a rush. Well worth a visit.

It was good. Go there before sightseeing in Iraklion to see what is worth seeing and basics of the history of Crete. For me it wasn't really interactive and I quickly lost interest. The history is really well presented though. In the first room English letters are dark gray on a black background, not well readable

Small but good museum on history of crete. Wish they had a bit more history on the ancient periods but overall a good experience.

Definitely a good building and very clean environment but quite poor regarding the collections since we are in such historical place. The island of Crete has a lot more to offer than just a big collection on the second world War and some others about local traditions.

The museum worths the visit! The cafe also! Nice garden, nice coffee and tasty pancakes!

The 3rd must see in Heraclion because of Theotokopoulos and Cretan school paintings, Venetian artifacts and Kazantzakis collection.

You need to come here to understand the island of Crete... There are some things here that will blow your mind with their historic value.

Small but informative museum. It was good to see the modern history as well and all of the different cultural impacts. The museum has some interactive bits as well, which was nice. They have good covid protocols (for those reading this while still in the pandemic). My biggest complaint is that many items were not listed clearly or only had an audio icon for discovery - fine if you got the audio device, but we did not know they had them when we started in the museum. Some of the English translations are hard to read due to dark text on dark background. Restrooms on site, very low entrance fee (€5 per adult at the time of writing), Cafe and food on site as well. Beautiful views of the ocean to boot.

It has some really nice historical and folk exhibitions, if you like that kind of stuff, you'll love it. Only downside it closes relatively early at 5:00pm