What's on in Heraklion (Crete), Greece through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Greece, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Olive harvest (1 Nov – 31 Jan (usually)), Winter: charters stop (5 Nov – 31 Mar)

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Winter: charters stop (5 Nov – 31 Mar)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Spring on the Messara

  10 Mar – 10 May · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The plain south of the city and the climb up to the Lasithi plateau are green and flowering for two months, which is also when the archaeological sites are walkable at midday.

Still on: Winter: charters stop (5 Nov – 31 Mar)

Peak crowds — Orthodox Easter, Coach and cruise season at Knossos

• Holiday

  Orthodox Easter

  10–13 AprEaster & Holy WeekClosuresBook early

  Shops, museums and half the restaurants shut from Good Friday through Easter Monday while the villages roast lamb. Domestic flights and the Piraeus ferries fill first. Source ↗

• Season

  Coach and cruise season at Knossos

  15 Apr – 31 OctCrowdedBook early

  The site takes the island's whole coach and cruise load between ten and two, on almost no shade. Being at the gate when it opens is the only version of Knossos worth having.

Still on: Spring on the Messara (10 Mar – 10 May (usually))

Busy — Coach and cruise season at Knossos, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Spring on the Messara (10 Mar – 10 May (usually)), Orthodox Easter (10–13 Apr), Coach and cruise season at Knossos (15 Apr – 31 Oct)

Peak crowds — Coach and cruise season at Knossos, Summer holidays in Greece

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  1 Jun – 5 Nov · usually

  Crete's water runs a month ahead of the mainland at both ends of the season. The city's own beaches are ordinary; the ones east towards Malia and west at Agia Pelagia are not. Source ↗

Still on: Coach and cruise season at Knossos (15 Apr – 31 Oct)

Peak crowds — Coach and cruise season at Knossos, Summer holidays in Greece

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Coach and cruise season at Knossos (15 Apr – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Coach and cruise season at Knossos, August peak

• Holiday

  August peak

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Greek and northern European holidays land together, the airport runs at capacity and hire cars are the thing that actually sells out. Book the car before the room. Source ↗

• Nature

  Peza wine harvest

  20 Aug – 10 Oct · usually

  The vineyards at Peza and Archanes, twenty minutes uphill, bring in vidiano and kotsifali from late August, and the estates open their doors while they do. Source ↗

Still on: Coach and cruise season at Knossos (15 Apr – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Coach and cruise season at Knossos, Summer holidays in Greece

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Coach and cruise season at Knossos (15 Apr – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually)), Peza wine harvest (20 Aug – 10 Oct (usually))

Busy — Coach and cruise season at Knossos, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Coach and cruise season at Knossos (15 Apr – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually)), Peza wine harvest (20 Aug – 10 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Olive harvest

  1 Nov – 31 Jan · usually

  Nets under the trees across the whole prefecture from November, and the presses running late into the night. The new oil is the reason to eat in a village in December.

• Season

  Winter: charters stop

  5 Nov – 31 MarOff-season shutdownClosures

  The resorts either side of the city close and the charter flights end, but Heraklion is a working port city of 150,000 and carries on. Rooms cost a third of August.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually))

Busy — Christmas holidays in Greece, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Olive harvest (1 Nov – 31 Jan (usually)), Winter: charters stop (5 Nov – 31 Mar)