Villages & Towns

Malia

Hersonissos, Heraklion · Free

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

About

Party resort with a Minoan palace.

Malia is a coastal town about 34 km east of Heraklion, known for its beaches and its nightlife. The main strip is busy with bars and clubs in summer, popular with young people.

But Malia also has an old village with narrow lanes, whitewashed houses and traditional tavernas. And just east of the town lies the Minoan palace of Malia, one of the most important archaeological sites in Crete.

The beach at Malia is long and sandy, and the eastern end towards the palace is quieter. Behind the town, the villages of Mochos and Krasi in the hills are traditional and cool, and Krasi has one of the oldest plane trees in Greece. If you stay in Malia, don't miss an early morning visit to the palace, before the heat and the crowds.

Around Hersonissos

Nearest town: Malia, about 1 km by road
Nearest airport: Heraklion airport (HER), about 34 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