The Phaistos Minoan Palace in Crete has been on our bucket list for several years, and we made sure it was a top priority during our September 2025 trip to Greece. This experience not only exceeded our expectations but was absolutely worth the wait. It is amazing how many wonderful archeological sites we have seen in Crete and the Phaistos Palace was just as amazing.
Location
Phaistos Minoan Palace is located about 55 km (34.17 miles) south of the city of Heraklion on the Island of Crete.
History
Phaistos was an important Palace and economic powerhouse in Minoan Crete. Recognized as the wealthiest and most impressive Minoan city in Southern Crete, as a matter of fact, it is the second largest Minoan Palatial Center, following Knossos. Phaistos marked its spot in history, with habitation dating back to 3600 BC. Around 1900-1700 BC, the first palace, the Old Palace, was constructed. Although this palace was destroyed three times it was also reconstructed each time over three subsequent centuries due to earthquakes. True to the era’s practices, each new palace was built atop the ruins of the previous palace. The final palace , The New Palace, was quite grand, and visitors can explore its remains today. Like many Minoan cities, Phaistos interconnected with other Minoan centers through an advanced road system, the most notable linked Phaistos directly to Knossos.
The Palace was a city in its own. Not only did the King and Queen have their lavish quarters here, but there were apartments for other royals as well. There were also several storage areas, an impressive theater, specifically placed light-wells and a well thought out drainage system.
But as it was in ancient times, this lifestyle would not last forever. In 1400 BC, the palace was destroyed as the city fell to the invading Mycenaeans from mainland Greece. During the 2nd century BC, the city was totally abandoned after intense regional skirmishes and ultimately destroyed completely after being invaded by the inhabitants of nearby city of Gortyn.
The Phaistos Disc
In addition to the Minoan Palace, Phaistos is renowned for the Phaistos Disc, the only one of its kind in Crete or anywhere. The Phaistos Disc is an amazing archeological find featuring an unknown language imprinted upon it dating back to ancient Crete (1700 BC – 1600 BC). This 15-16 cm disc contains 45 distinct pre-made symbols imprinted onto clay, similar to hieroglyphics. The symbols are of many images, including birds, figures, insects, tools, and plants. Additionally, it includes 241 signs arranged in a spiral pattern starting from the outer edge and progressing toward the center, on both sides forming groups believed to represent words. As a matter of fact, to this day, the disc remains undeciphered, fueling numerous theories about its meaning. Some scholars even believe the entire disc might be a hoax.
Exploring
Like many archaeological sites in Crete, the Palace of Phaistos is a great destination to explore. There is so much to see, and each turn reveals yet another area to discover, making our tour feel somewhat unsystematic. I wrote this post in the order in which we visited the site, although I can’t claim this is the most orgainized way to visit the site, but it is how we did it.
The Upper Court
Phaistos has three courts and we encountered the Upper Court first. The Upper Court is basically a raised terrace which functioned as a balcony from where you could watch processions or a gathering place for people. There is a raised walkway which was also a ceremonial route. This route, originating from the theater and running diagonally through the Upper Court, led to the grand staircase which also connected the other courts.
The Grand Staircase
Oh to have seen this Grand Staircase in its day generally speaking it must have been quite the place! This staircase, built along a slope by the Minoans between 1700 and 1450 BC, and used as a spectacular, awe inspiring main entrance to the Palace Complex. Surprisingly, the steps even slope slightly downward to drain any rain water. This is some pretty amazing architecture for that time!
The West Magazines
The northern section of the West Magazine comprises several storage rooms (magazines) for the palace. A spacious hall serves as the antechamber, connecting to the Central Hall through a door with pillars on each side. Another doorway leads to the corridor of the magazines, where 11 storage rooms are on either side. In general, these rooms contained a variety of goods utilized by the palace or traded. Notable items included wine, wheat, grain, and olive oil. Numerous pithoi were discovered here, a pithos is a tall, distinctive jar crafted from clay. It was used for storage of grains, olives and also liquids.
The Peristyle
The Peristyle was an elaborate two story open-air courtyard with each side having four columns supporting a covered area around the courtyard. The center of the peristyle was open to the sky on both the lower and upper level. We looked down on the peristyle which was a pretty cool way of viewing it and also added some comprehension to the Peristyle.
Queen’s Megaron
The Queens Megaron at Phaistos is located in the southern most area of the palace’s apartments. It was quite large and also very spacious with double colonnades. It was an elaborate space with benches around the walls and in addition there were beautiful frescos above the benches of plant motifs. Access was from two staircases, one on the west and also one on the north which led to the upper floor and Peristyle. There was a “light-well” above which gave the room natural light. On the whole, the engineers of this palace really did think of everything!
Kings Megaron
Of course the King had his own Megaron as well. Prominently located in the northernmost section of the palace’s apartments. This space is not only larger but also far more elaborate than the Queen’s Megaron, and it strikingly resembles the King’s Megaron at Knossos.
The area boasts a grand and spacious layout, featuring polythira architecture along the north and east sides. Polythira, a sophisticated system of pier and door partitions, skillfully divides the Megaron into two rooms while expertly managing the flow of light and air. This design was remarkably advanced for its time. Additionally, light wells further enhance the natural illumination within the space. The Minoans were undoubtedly ahead of their era. On the north side of the rooms stood a large colonnade, with columns that open to the outdoors, framing breathtaking views of the Kamares Cave and Mt Psiloritis. Imagine the luxury of awakening in this grand room, greeted by timeless views.
The Northeast Complex
The Northeast Complex comprised of four rooms, which were not part of the Old Palace but adjacent to it. In fact, the western most part of this complex is where the famous Phaistos Disc discovery occured. Leading to the beliefe the function of this complex was for Palace archives and in addition used as a depository. There is also an area where the Archivist resided. The staircase on the south leads to the Peristyle.
Chamber of the Phaistos Disc
In 1908 a remarkable discovery occurred in Crete, right here at the Phaistos Palace! As described above, a disc was unearthed with unknown writings on it. It was in one of the chambers which was an underground space like a basement or cellar. In addition, a Linear A tablet, and other items which helped date this disc to some time during the period of 1700 BC to 1650 BC. As a matter of fact, you can view this disc today at the Heraklion Archeological Museum.
East Court and Workshop
Continuing on, we came to the East Court. In the center of the east a horseshoe shaped kiln set. With this in mind, on the west side of the east court six elongated buildings nearby are thought to be workshops associated with use of the kiln.
The Central Court
The Central Court is exactly that, a court in the center of the palace which all of the wings connected to. This was the main part of the Phaistos and is where social activities, religious activities and also economical activites took place. This court, seen from many windows and also balconies which allowed people to watch activities and events. Originally built for the Old Palace and utilized for the New Palace as well. The gist of this court is a large rectangular paved open area with colonnades along its two longest sides. There were rooms with benches on one side which may have been a sitting room. Another area of benches was next to the cisterns. There also may have been an altar for ceremonial purposes located her as well.
Early Plumbing
The Phaistos Palace had a very intricate and advanced plumbing system like many other Minoan Civilizations in Crete. It is amazing how efficient this is for dating to 1900-1700 BC . Also spectacular is parts of this system are still intact, therefore, I could visualize how it worked. The Minoans took advantage of the hilltop the palace set on by using its incline to catch and divert rain and also run off water. In addition, the nearby river and deeply dug wells were also used for the city-state’s water supply.
The Minoans constructed U shaped terra cotta drainage lines and also tapered clay pipes to manage and distribute the water into an underground cistern. These pipes helped purify the water as it flowed while the underground cistern kept it cool. Using the same method, waste water exited into a sewage management system. In additon, exit drains for the fields are here as well.. Again, very cool and absolutely amazing!
The Shrines of the West Wing
Like most of the ancient sites we have visited in Crete and throughout Greece, Phaistos Palace has shrines to their cults and religious deities. Religous rituals took place here. There are different types of shrines and I liked the bench shrines best. The bench shrines are rectangular rooms with stone benches around the sides. These benches held items such as cult offerings and vessels used for rituals.
The Magazine of the Giant Pithoi
This building, the Magazine of the Giant Pithoi is basically a storage room where several large pithoi were excavated. These large storage containers have a disc and rope pattern decoration on them. Notably, this is part of the group of magazines of the West Wing I mentioned earlier. To point out, Pithoi is plural for Pithos which are very large ceramic jars specifically for storage or transportation containing grain, wine, olives and olive oil.
Below the West Court Area
This area was blocked off and appeared to be in the process of active restoration. I could not find information as to what the function of this area was. It looked like there may have been an archaeological dig going on in part of this area. I must be honest, I really wanted to jump the fence and see what these people in the below photo were doing, but I behaved!
The Koulores
These four underground round pits are lined with stone were built during the Minoan times (1850-1750 BC). There are two theories as to what these koulores could have been used for. One possibility is they were receptacles for waste. Another theory is that they were used for farming or storing grain. The third theory is they were used for rituals and offerings. Regardless of their use, they are interesting structures within this ruin.
West Court and Theatrical Area
The West Court was the hub for public gatherings and religious or political events. The theatrical area predates the classical Greek amphitheaters and is one of the oldest theater areas in the world. It could hold up to 400 people on the shallow rows of stone seating. It is believed to be used for religous or ceremonial events and not theatrical plays for entertainment.
The Countryside
Phaistos Minoan Palace sits in the countryside of Crete in a beautiful and peaceful area. I really loved walking through this site and looking out at the same countryside that ancient people looked at all these years ago. Very touching.
Conclusion
As you can see, Phaistos Minoan Palace is another amazing archaeological site in Crete. It is one of the more fascinating ones as there is so much to see in such a small area. In addition there are many aspects that are unique to Phaistos. I highly recommend this site if you are in this area of Crete. I also love the fact this is in the countryside and the area around here is quite beautiful.
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In addition to this post, you can also check out my other posts from our 2025 trip to Greece, our other Crete adventures, and also previous years Itineraries by following these links!
The Sandhill Beach in Crete, Sept 2025
Discovering Spili, Crete-Sept 2025
Frangokastello Crete-Sept 2025
Aptera Archaeological Site, Sept 2025
Chyrsoskalitissa Monastery, Crete-Sept 2025
Falasarna Archaeological Site in Crete-Sept 2025
Beaches on Milos Island -Sept 2025
The Villages of Milos, Greece -Sept 2025
Sulfur Mines at Milos Island – Sept 2025
Kleftiko Boat Tour on Milos Island – Sept 2025
Discover the Quiet Beauty of Folegandros, Sept 2025
Hike to Livadaki Beach at Folegandros, Sept 2025
Hike to Agios Nikolaos Beach at Folegandros Sept 2025
Delos Island; A comprehensive Self Guided Tour September 2025
Mykonos One Day Itinerary Sept 2025
Great Places to Eat in Plaka, Athens and Nearby. Updated Sept 2025
Self Guided Tour to Acropolis Sept 2025
Tower of the Wind, Athens Sept 2025
The Roman Forum in Athens, Sept 2025
National Archaeology Museum Athens, Sept 2025
Crete Past Adventures
2023 Crete
Sunken City of Olous-September 2023
Elounda Peninsula Hotel-Revised 2023
Hike to Agiofarago Beach-Sept 2023
Preveli Beach, the Easy Way-Sept 2023
Swim at Kourtaliotiko Falls-Sept 2023
Boating on the South Central Sea in Crete-Sept 2023
A Challenging hike Loutro to Marmara Beach, Crete-Sept 2023
Anopolis, Arradena Bridge and Lykos Beach in Southen Crete-Sept 2023
Aptera Crete, Closed on Tuesdays Sept 2023
Return to Chania, Crete September 2023
Crete 2021
Ancient City of Lato, Sept 2021
Aforesmenos Lighthouse, Crete, Sept 2021
Avli Lounge Hotel, Rethymno, Sept 2021
Matala Beach Caves, Crete, Sept 2021
Hike to Martsalos Beach, Sept 2021
The Chapel at Georgioupoli, Sept 2021
Koutalas Beach and Sea Cave, Sept 2021
A Walk Through Chania, Sept 2021
Crete 2019
Elounda Peninsula Hotel, Sept 2019
Knossos Palace, Crete Sept 2019
Seitan Limania Beach, Sept 2019
Katholiko Monastery, Sept 2019
Greek Itineraries
8 Days in Greece, Athens, Milos,Santorini. Oct 2018
10 Days in Greece Athens ,Crete, Santorini Sept 2019
14 Days in Greece Crete, Naxos, Santorini, Athens Sept 2021
2 Weeks in Greece, Delphi, Meteora, Corfu, Santorini Sept 2022
10 Day Peloponnese Itinerary August/September 2024
The Gen-X Travels recommendations for hotels, restaurants, activities or tour companies are based on our own experiences unless noted. We are not sponsored by any business or company and all trips are at our expense. All photos are by myself or my husband unless otherwise noted. We are affiliates of some companies such as Amazon,Viator, and others which we do receive a small commission from, at no cost to you if you buy or book through one of our links.
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