Heraklion

Knossos at opening time and the Venetian walls by evening

Take city bus 2 to Knossos for opening time and walk the palace before the coaches, looking for the throne room, the grand staircase and Evans's fresco copies. After a lunch break in the centre, see the Archaeological Museum's Minoan finds and walk the Venetian walls and harbour fortress as the light softens.

Look for the throne room, the grand staircase and the copies of frescoes Evans hung back on the walls, then be gone before the heat.

Afternoon. Come back for lunch in the centre and a rest, then spend the late afternoon in the Archaeological Museum, which in summer stays open into the evening. You will recognise pieces from the rooms you have just walked through: the Bull-Leaping Fresco, the Snake Goddesses, the Phaistos Disc.

Day two, morning. This day belongs to the Venetians. Follow a stretch of the walls to the Martinengo Bastion and Kazantzakis' grave, which looks over the rooftops to Mount Juktas, then cut through the centre to Lions Square for a bougatsa beside the Morosini fountain.

Afternoon. Visit the Historical Museum near the waterfront, which picks up the island's story after antiquity, then browse the market stalls on 1866 Street.

Evening. Walk out on the breakwater beyond the Koules fortress as the light goes, with the city stacked up behind you, and finish with raki at a taverna in the lanes.

Bougatsa at dawn, 1866 Street cheeses and raki after dark

Breakfast in Heraklion means bougatsa at an old café around Lions Square, filled here with soft white cheese and dusted with sugar and cinnamon. Shop for Cretan cheeses and herbs on 1866 Street, the market lane south of the square, and end the evening with small plates and raki in an old-town taverna.

Start the day like a local, with bougatsa at one of the old cafes around Lions Square. The Heraklion version is filled with soft white cheese, not custard,, then dusted with sugar and cinnamon; ask for it sweet or plain.

1866 Street, the market lane running south from the square, is where to stock up on Cretan cheeses such as graviera, thyme honey, olive oil, mountain herbs and raki in recycled bottles. It is touristy at the top end but still used by locals.

At dinner, look for the dishes that make Cretan food distinct. Dakos is a barley rusk soaked with grated tomato, olive oil and crumbled mizithra cheese. Kalitsounia are small cheese or greens pies. Chochlioi boubouristi are snails fried face-down in oil with rosemary and vinegar. Staka, a rich butter-cream, turns up with eggs or with lamb. Wild greens appear on almost every table.

The cheapest good meals are in the old-style tavernas and kafeneia of the centre; O Kafenes tou Kagiampi on Monofatsiou Street is a traditional example. Every meal ends with raki (tsikoudia), usually on the house with a plate of fruit. Sip it; it is strong.

Phaistos, Gortyn and Heraklion's mild winters

Heraklion stays mild most of the year: January averages highs near 16C, April 20C and June to August 26-28C with almost no rain, while autumn stays warm. For day trips, the Minoan palace of Phaistos and the Roman ruins of Gortyn lie in the Mesara plain to the south, easiest by car.

January and February average highs around 16C and lows near 11C, with 50-60 mm of rain in the wettest months. By April, highs reach 20C and rain falls to about 13 mm, and from June to August the sky is close to rainless, with highs of 26-28C. September and October are still warm at 23-26C, and the sea holds its summer heat well into autumn. Spring, when wild flowers cover the hills, is the best time to combine museums with walks.

The best day trip heads south across the island to Phaistos, the second great Minoan palace, set on a ridge above the Messara plain where the Phaistos Disc was found. Nearby Gortyn has the Roman-era capital of Crete and a famous law code carved in stone. Both are much easier by hire car than bus, and you can end the day swimming on the south coast.

East along the coast, KTEL coaches reach Agios Nikolaos on its lake and harbour, and to the west Rethymno has a Venetian quarter and a fortress worth a full day. In July and August, start any of these trips early to beat the heat and the traffic.