Museen

Museum of Cretan Ethnology

Phaistos, Heraklion · Free

Route

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

Facilities

Eintritt

About

Award winning folk museum in Vori.

The Museum of Cretan Ethnology lies in the village of Vori, close to Phaistos in the Messara. It was designed by the French museologist Georges Henri Rivière, who also created the folk museum in Paris, and it opened in 1988. It has won awards and is considered one of the best folk museums in Greece.

The collection shows the traditional life of Crete over the last centuries: farming, weaving, pottery, basket making, food, music, religion and architecture. The exhibits are beautifully displayed, with clear explanations in English. You'll see tools, costumes, baskets, musical instruments and household objects.

Plan about an hour. It's an easy stop after visiting Phaistos or Agia Triada.

Phaistos covers the western Messara, the largest plain of Crete, and its coast on the Libyan Sea. Here lie some of the most important Minoan sites, Phaistos and Agia Triada, and the beaches of Matala, Kommos, Kalamaki and the long Messara bay. Inland, towns like Moires and Tymbaki are busy farming centres, while villages such as Zaros, Vori and Kamilari are perfect for a slower pace. The area is warm and sunny, with a long swimming season.

Around Phaistos

Nearest town: Mires, about 8 km by road
Nearest airport: Heraklion airport (HER), about 59 km by road

Heraklion is the heart of Minoan Crete and the island’s busiest region. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are the two places almost everyone visits, and they work well together on one day. In the south, the wide Messara plain holds the palace of Phaistos, the Roman ruins of Gortyna and the famous caves above the bay of Matala. More about Heraklion