Archaeological Museum of Sitia: Unknown masterpieces of Minoan art

Museum

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Sitia, GR Get Directions

Although not as well known as other museums in Crete, the Archaeological Museum of Siteia boasts a collection of exquisite Minoan artefacts.

The Museum was inaugurated in 1984, one hundred years after the first official excavations by the Italian School of Archaeology, and includes finds from the wider region, covering a period of 4,000 years, from 3500 BC to AD 500.

Among them, the finds from the palace in Kato Zakros stand out, but the undisputed masterpiece of the collection is the Kouros of Palaikastro, the chryselephantine statuette of a young man, about 50cm high, dating from the 15th century BC and made of precious materials: the largest part of the body is made of hippopotamus tusks and lined with gold sheets, while the head and eyes are made of serpentinite and rock crystal respectively.

Directions

1st km of the Sitia – Ierapetra National Road
72300, Sitia

Get directions

On foot

1 minute from the center of Sitia

By car

1 minute from the center of Sitia

Opening hours

Summer hours

April 1 – October 31

Mon: 08:30 – 15:30
Tue: Closed
Wed: 08:30 – 15:30
Thu: 08:30 – 15:30
Fri: 08:30 – 15:30
Sat: 08:30 – 15:30
Sun: 08:30 – 15:30

Winter hours

November 1 – March 31

Mon: 08:30 – 15:30
Tue: Closed
Wed: 08:30 – 15:30
Thu: 08:30 – 15:30
Fri: 08:30 – 15:30
Sat: 08:30 – 15:30
Sun: 08:30 – 15:30

Last admission: 20 minutes before closing time  

The site remains closed on the following dates and public holidays: January 1, March 25, May 1, Easter Sunday, December 25 & 26.

Tickets

Full: €5.00
Reduced: €3.00

Admission is free on March 6, April 18, May 18, the last weekend of September, on October 28, as well as on the first and third Sunday of each month between November 1 and March 31.