Gournia Excavation Project Reviews

A large square of a well-preserved Minoan city with the ruler's palace.

Good idea of a Minoan village possible, excellent excavations

Love this place, unique in the Minoan sites and free from Tour Guides and the hordes following them

It is interesting this visit because I was able to have the feeling of a Minoan city. The alleys, the houses, the agora which are well reconstituted make it possible to understand how this people lived.

Gurnia. The Minoan era city with remarkable architecture and construction.

A dreamy Minoan archaeological site without special highlights, but with a little imagination you get an impression of the old city structures. Stony paths not suitable for the disabled. Absolute highlight (April 2017): a modern (unfortunately closed) toilet facility with a stairlift for the disabled, which can only be reached by tripping paths ...

A visit to the ruins of this ancient Minoan city I think worthwhile. Perhaps more has to be done to make this part better so as to be able to better understand the meaning of the ordinary visitor.

Great place to visit and get an appreciation of Minoan life. Watch out for the miserable gatekeeper though. Hates her job and actually locked a couple inside the complex when she closed up at 3.00 pm. They were trying to get out at 3.30!!!

A lot of old stones and not many explanations and no real maintenance of the site, however, seemingly not overcrowded and fair entrance fee (EUR 2 per person). Closed on Tuesdays.

Nice excavations, although close at 15, but at the gate at the exit are stacked stones so the low fence climb and you can come to see even in the evening. I recommend.

Learn more about the history of the are and mining town

Well worth a trip. Very interesting site - a whole Minoan town, including palace, cobbled roads, and so on.

Very interesting to see the foundations of that time, but unfortunately there is very little to see.

Beautiful excavation from the ancient times of Crete. Make sure you have a cap / hat and water in the afternoon

I recommend visiting. It is convenient to drive up, there are many parking places. Entrance 2 euros. There is a toilet and a small buffet. At first it seemed to us that apart from the magnificent view from the top of the hill, there is nothing special here - not a single building that has survived. But as we walked, it became clear that this is an interesting system of labyrinths, many strange small rooms, and almost every one has some kind of vessel. They began to read the explanations, they found many artifacts here, they are kept in the museum in Heraklion.
And the most important thing!!! When you drive along the highway away from Ag. Nikolos, don't miss the viewpoint! He's right close. From there, from the side of the highway, a view of a large labyrinth opens. You can take a great photo. But we drove through, but it's a pity ((

Entry of 2 euros is perfectly fine. Unfortunately there is no guide or written guide just a couple of boards.

The children were just delighted to climb the ancient stone labyrinth :)

On the guides they describe these remains as the Pompei of the ridge, it is very very very exaggerated. Fortunately, it is not expensive.

It is located near the highway, there is a sign that the main thing is not to slip through, the entrance is 2 euros, the territory is small but still take water with you.

Impressive and quite large excavation of a Minoan settlement in the hills between Agios Nicolaos and Ierapetra, east Crete. Worth checking out. You can't miss it from the main road.

Amazing. Really interesting, and great value for money.

Beautiful remains that allow you to get an idea of the village

An amazing experience that has you wandering the stoned paths of antiquity

Nothing good, ruined the foundation and nothing more.

Little explanation of the different vertigo. This site would benefit from being enhanced. Pity !

Had a great night in The Irish bar with live music.

I must say that I expected more, while instead are the usual four stones of more or less all the Minoan cities of Crete, and also rather neglected, with weeds almost everywhere and almost no indication or description.
If you go from there well, otherwise it is not really worth going there.

Super loved this place - it s an incredible site full of atmosphere and feeling.

Simply the best. Well worth the travel eastwards. Only 6 cars when we arrived and about 10 when we left. Once we had discovered which way was north in the guidebooks we were fine. Go early to explore for longest. Got too hot for us after 11.00. It's open 8 to 3. I found it the best Minoan remains on Crete. Less crowded than all the others and at a scale which was comprehensible.

Nice Minoan site, with a clear street plan. Fantastic view of the area.

Places full of stories, but lack a little maintenance and indication on the remains.

Large Menoic excavation, the city is originally ten times larger and continues to the sea, definitely worth it! There are no facilities available, there is only a friendly Greek grandma where you have to pay 2 per person.

Great place to visit when in the eastern part of Crete. Quite a huge archeological site, very interesting, couple of explanatory notes. You can stroll around the area and ancient ruins. It's also visible from the VOAK (National Road).

You have to go to that place. Ancient ruins of whole city. You will find only few tourists if anyone at all, and the place is big. Fantastic one and worth visiting it.

Beautiful ancient city. To do early in the morning if you are with young children

Literally step back in time down tint lanes and into the ancient houses.

A great old Minoan town on the side of the main road. Well worth spending an hour or so looking around. The town existed between 1900BC and 1200 BC.

You need a lot of imagination to guess something from the old ruins. It's a shame that you can't help your thoughts with a tour.

Beautiful view spot and really impressive site. Still lacks a coffee shop and toilets...

Site and vestiges invite powerfully to imagine the life and the organization of a Minoan city.

Among the ancient walls, from open excavations, shards of pottery emerge.
The charm of the pre-Minoan civilization hovers over the remains anchored to spring greenery.

Very nice places to see. A little more explanation would be appreciated.

We were very impressed with this site - if anything, I enjoyed it more than Knossos despite the pouring rain. It is far less busy, appears more authentic as it has not suffered from "improvements" Arthur Evans's style like Knossos, more intimate and although much smaller, just as impressive. The entrance fee of 2 euros is not indicative of the pleasure of exploring this site. There is a little hut where you pay the fee and then continue a few yards to the site proper. Don't be misled by the sign proclaiming presence of toilets and a coffee shop on site - although there is a new building at the far end housing those, it appears that it has never been used. Maybe it will open next season? Would be nice as the views onto the sheltered bay from the terrace would be gorgeous. The site itself is on a gentle little hill covered with waist-high remains of walls of ancient Minoan town and a palace. It is fascinating to wander among them and to imagine what they would have housed so long ago. There are useful information boards at locations of the most important finds, with plans of the houses where the objects where discovered. It is especially good after you have visited the Heraklion Archaeological Museum so you can put together the wonderful finds displayed there with the places they were found. There were people with small children there who all appeared to enjoy the place. It was a genuine delight to visit - and once the coffee shop finally opens will be more so and more visitor friendly. I would advise wearing trainers as the paths of old stones are uneven and can be slippery when wet. As said earlier there is no food, drink or toilet facilities currently on site so bring your own food and use bathrooms in any of the petrol stations on route. It is very easy to find using Google Maps or the driving app.

Fantastic site, wonder the streets like the residents did 3500 years ago!

Just crazy
Must see

Quite a big ruin of minor town. Entry was 2 EUR for adults. You have the ruins pretty much to yourself, just a few explanatory signs. Easy to get to from the road. It is mostly walls up to half a meter in height.

Highly interesting Minoan settlement. However, almost no visitors, so great for visits without lots of tourists.

A Minoan palace site without any restoration or reinterpretation. The panels available are extracts from an archaeological report sometimes proposing hypotheses on what could be such or such a set, but this often only describes the whole. Can be avoided for beginners or those who have not yet visited the museum

Beautiful and fascinating, walking along 3500 year old cobbled streets

Everything is beautiful, but somehow abandoned. One could make a poster or a diarama. It is not difficult and will add tourists.

Nice archaeological site. More information through tables would be even better.

Beautiful site, well preserved obviously less provided than Knossos or Phaistos

The ruins of the Minoan city are not far from the main road and are worth a detour. But don't expect too much. There is little signage.

2 euro entrance fee. 30-45 minutes. It's not the best sight I have ever been to, but I think it is still worth a stop.

Not too many people visiting it, so it's not crowded at all. Partially wheelchair accessible

Ruins ... Actually, you can not say more about it, for people who have never been interested in the subject. For everyone else: the walls are often not secured and still well preserved in their fundamentals. Restorations were mostly omitted. The area itself pretty big, good and freely walkable. Sometimes a sign which is described in Greek and English.
Be sure to bring water or other liquids as the unit is on a hill. In May, the cafe was not occupied. Sunnnschutz on May almost mandatory. No tours offered in my time

One should try to imagine the appearance and functioning of this city several centuries before our era. It is worth taking a walk and looking from various places to the ruins, remembering that we only see the foundations and basement because the upper floors were built of clay bricks, less resistant to the salt atmosphere and time. For the inquisitive: next to the unfinished holy stone, people still make sacrifices - small coins ....

Worth to spend 1 hour on the road that leads to Agios Nikolas with more beautiful views of the bay

Not really worth it, entrance tickets are 2 euros. It was a short visit

For a person with a fantasy, history breathes from every stone

For 2 entry ok, but unfortunately not very spectacular and bad information boards.

This time it seemed to me 2 times more than 25 years ago when I was the first. Minoan civilization. Not to forget our ancestors!

A nice ancient minoan city . Great place and nice view

A nice place for professionals, tourists have seen it soon!

A nice place for professionals, tourists have seen it very fast!

So I really like this old minor city. Nothing is rebuilt here - much remains reserved for one's own imagination. But I could well imagine that here 3,000 to 2,500 years ago (!) The old Minor people built a city that was really impressive. Especially exciting I found the old wine press in the wine cellar.

Very nice place but no services - toilet or buffet, very close to the main road

Breathtaking, the shear age of it, loved wandering around it.

The archaeological site shows an ancient city of the Minoans. There are many signs that explain what was once here. One recognizes the old cityscape very well and can roughly imagine how people once lived here. The entrance is well priced and the place is still completely unknown to many tourists.

It's worth looking at the excavations, but don't expect too much either.
Under 18s apparently don't have to pay admission and three euros, for adults, are okay too.

A quick look into the past

In the complex you get an impression of what it was like on Crete in times long past. The complex is not as spectacular as Knossos, but very authentic. Admission costs only 2 and is open from 8 am to 3 pm except on Sundays and Mondays.
The most important information is available on display boards in Greek and English. I found it interesting that there were only a few archaeologists on site besides us. So we could look around in peace and let the age of the system affect us.

As the name suggests, it is a Minoan city. Located on the northern coastal road between Aghios Nikolaos and Sitia.
Single site; Do not miss!