Gortyna or Gortys was an ancient city of Crete and was the capital during the Roman era. Nowadays is a beautiful archaeological site.
According to the myth, Zeus took refuge there after he transformed into a bull and abducted Europe. Their three children were born in Gortyna and later became kings of the three Minoan palaces of Crete.

A seaside village with a long beach which provides umbrellas and sunbeds and also a small harbour with restaurants and cafes.

The ancient port of Phaistos has one of the longest beaches in Crete. In front of the antiquities there is a part of the beach with sunbeds and umbrellas. There is a tavern a little further.

A visitor on arrival meets with a small picturesque beach with stone and rocks. On the West side of Agios Pavlos there is a popular beach with many sand dunes – the access to this beach is slightly difficult.

The Herakleion Archaeological Museum is one of the largest and most important museums in Greece, and among the most important museums in Europe. It houses representative artefacts from all the periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times.

The singularly important Minoan collection contains unique examples of Minoan art, many of them true masterpieces. The Herakleion Museum is rightly considered as the museum of Minoan culture par excellence worldwide.

The museum, located in the town centre, was built between 1937 and 1940 by architect Patroklos Karantinos on a site previously occupied by the Roman Catholic monastery of Saint-Francis which was destroyed by earthquake in 1856. The museum's antiseismic building is an important example of modernist architecture and was awarded a Bauhaus commendation. Karantinos applied the principles of modern architecture to the specific needs of a museum by providing good lighting from the skylights above and along the top of the walls, and facilitating the easy flow of large groups of people. He also anticipated future extensions to the museum.

The colours and construction materials, such as the veined polychrome marbles, recall certain Minoan wall-paintings which imitate marble revetment. The two-storeyed building has large exhibition spaces, laboratories, a drawing room, a library, offices and a special department, the so-called Scientific Collection, where numerous finds are stored and studied. The museum shop, run by the Archaeological Receipts Fund, sells museum copies, books, postcards and slides. There is also a cafe.

This beach (Red Sand) aka Kokkini Ammos is a secluded beach which can be reached only by foot – with the reddish sand that bestows on it its name, and turquoise waters.

It is open to the strong south winds, and not very organized – just a few umbrellas and sunbeds, as well as a small café-canteen, built roughly out of stone. It is sensible, if you visit, to take all you need with you as the canteen is not always open, and there are no tavernas or shops nearby.

Kokkini Ammos and surrounding area has been included in the EC ecological network of Natura 2000: a protected refuge of the Mediterranean Monk seal, the loggerhead turtles (Kareta kareta) and other animals.