Crete is the largest of all the Greek islands. It is also the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Crete is also filled with many interesting sites, beautiful beaches, and cultural significance. It was  once the center of the Minoan civilization, the oldest in Europe.

          Crete is a very popular tourist destination and one of the most popular holiday destinations. Its attractions include the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos.  Knossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture. Others include the classical site of Gortys, the Venetian castle in Rethymno, and the Samaria Gorge, as well as many other natural sites and monuments.

Crete has some of the most wonderful beaches. Almost on every island in Greece, there is a blue, cloud-free sky in the summer. A few of Crete’s beaches are Falassarna beach, Platanias beach, Episkopi beach, Geropotamos beach, Fodele beach, and Mononaftis beach. Crete has rocky and pebble beaches, as well as smooth fine-grain sand beaches. The best thing is that it almost never snows and the winters are very mild.

        An important Cretan was King Minos. He was the legendary king of Crete. Two legends of Crete are those of Theseus and the Minotaur and Daedalus and Icarus. It is known that the first human settlement in Crete introduced cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs, as well as domesticated cereals and legumes. Crete was the center of Europe's most ancient civilization, the Minoans. It is often referred to as the “cradle” of European civilization.