Heraklion City Walls

Why go

Walking a section of wall reveals the scale of Candia's defences more clearly than seeing a single gate or bastion from street level. The elevated route also gives a view across present-day Heraklion, with the grave of Nikos Kazantzakis near the wall circuit.

What to look for

• Massive Venetian bastions along the landward walls.
• Views across Heraklion from accessible wall sections.
• The grave of Nikos Kazantzakis near the fortifications.

The full story

Heraklion's fortifications are the result of repeated rebuilding. Earlier Arab and Byzantine defences preceded the walls that Venice developed around Candia, as Heraklion was then known. Venetian work began in the fifteenth century and continued for more than a hundred years, adapting the city to the threat of artillery. The broad landward bastions explain why these walls look different from a narrow medieval rampart: they were built to absorb attack and support defensive fire. The harbour had its own strongpoint at Koules Fortress, while the walls enclosed the city behind it. Candia held out through a long Ottoman siege before surrendering in 1669. Later damage and changes did not erase the main circuit. Today the walls are still part of the city's shape, and a walk along an accessible stretch lets you compare the defensive edge with the streets that grew around it.

Useful to know

• Choose an accessible section instead of assuming the entire circuit can be walked continuously.
• Expect an exposed outdoor walk and plan around heat or strong wind.

Your next visit

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