Malia
- Hours:Open: Tue - Sun, 8:30am - 4pm
- Admission:Adults: 4 euro
Holiday Activity, Walking/Hiking, Monument - Historical, Ruin - Ancient
It might not be as famous as the Palace of Knossos, but in its day Malia was a thriving Minoan city with an impressive palace complex.
These days, however, Malia is perhaps better known for the resorts and Ibiza-style nightlife of the site’s neighboring Malia town.
The seafront palace and town were destroyed by the earthquake that also toppled Knossos, and the ruins you can see on a tour of the site today were built following the disaster.
Walking around the compact site you’ll see the central courtyard of the palace, its ceremonial steps, storage rooms and workshops. One of the excavations reveals an impressive residence with a luxurious bath.
Some of the ancient sculptures and relics unearthed from Malia have been relocated to Heraklion’s archaeological museum. Perhaps the most beautiful and best known is the lovely pendant of golden bees holding drops of honey.
Latest Reviews All Malia Reviews »
The sea was very rough on our visit, which caused not only the entire boat full of tourist to vomit for 3 hours straight but it also caused us to land late on the island. This caused a strain on time as we only had 1 hour in Oia and about 20 minutes in Fira before we had to get back on the bus and go back to the boat. I can only hope that on a more smoothly run trip that the time on the island lasts longer than that If not, then I would suggest allowing tourist much more time on the island. Leaving earlier from Heraklion would be a good start. I also wish there was a more convenient way for the tour guides to communicate with people on the bus. Listening to the same description 5 different times, first in English, then Dutch, then German, then Italian, then French, etc. etc. gets extremely tiring. You start to ignore all of it after a while. Maybe a recording with headsets would be more reasonable. Continue Reading »
Santorini is stunning. Continue Reading »
Trip wasn't at all what we were told it would be, it says in the write up that you have the day to yourself to explore the island and you can make up your own itinerary, but you cant! you are put on a bus and driven around and have about 45 mins in each place! so even though it says in the write up that you can do a donkey ride you actually cant because they don't give you enough time! you are on a bus with people who speak many different languages and the tour guide repeats herself in every language after everything she says which is extremely tedious. also, she doesn't let you talk to each other on the bus. when people on our bus started pointing things out to each other and generally getting excited about the trip they were told in no uncertain terms to shush and be quiet!! needless to say they were not particularly happy! not what it is advertised to be, and only had a very short time on the island after waiting for the entire group to arrive. would advise that you make your own way there rather than do it as a trip. it is very easy to get a boat there and a coach to the main city. I was very annoyed about the things we missed out on and the money we wasted. complete waste of an entire day. Continue Reading »
Practical Info
Malia and the town of the same name lie 34km (21 miles) east of the capital, on the coast.
The site lies 3km (1.5 miles) east of the township of Malia, connected by taxi and bus services.
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