Crete is a beautiful island with many different landscapes and vista, including places of ancient ruins from a history long gone.
The Palace of Malia is a significant archaeological site to visit and explore this interesting historical setting. The environment is stunning with the sea to the north and mountain ranges to the south. It’s so serene and very peaceful. There are plenty of free parking spaces for cars and located not too far from the city centre. You do have to a pay 6 Euro entrance fee but comparing to most of the museums we go to, this price is very reasonable.
The ruins cover quite a large area as the site itself has been extensively excavated. Area considered to hold more importance are covered by huge, arcing roofs. A varying number of waist-high walls can be clearly identified as previous individual rooms.
There is a small exhibition near the entrance which shows the excavators portrayals of how they think it would have looked like back then. There are also aerial photos and plans of the site, especially Quartier Mu where many important discoveries were made.
The site has not been restored in the way most other museum have done. It feels quite a bit more “original”. It was amazing to walk around the ruins, going up steps that are thousands of years old and imagine the palace as it would have been.
The only constructive criticism I would give is the lack of information. It would be nice to know more about what life was like when the palace life was like it its hay day as well as which rooms were for who, etc.
Because of the large area of the ruins, I would say it could take you about an hour to wander around. As it is an exposed site, it can get quite windy and hot, so make sure you are covered up or have plenty of sun cream at your disposal.
Right next to the site, you have fabulous Potomas beach area to relax at afterwards, and may I also add there are some cracking little tavernas, like the Kalyva Tavern that we went to afterwards.
The Kalyva Tavern is a family run beachside restaurant that has been established there for more than 50 years. A wonderful setting which features coastal views in front and mountains behind and they serve up lots of fresh seafood as well as Greek classic dishes.
Plenty of Greeks were eating there which is always a good sign, lol! I ordered fresh, grilled calamari and my husband had a half chicken cooked on a spit. Food was well prepared and excellently presented in a simple, homely fashion. Everything tasted incredible!
I finished up with a refreshing, healthy smoothie. It contained a blend of mangoes, strawberry and melon. All my favourites! The flavours were so soothing on such a hot day. They literally burst in your mouth! That hit the spot nicely. :)
I was planning to go to Potamus beach next to the restaurant, but because I ate so much, I had to give it a miss and check it out another day! Crete is proving to be a fantastic place to visit and have fun in the sun.
