Heraklion
City in Crete, Greece / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heraklion or Herakleion (/hɪˈrækliən/ hih-RAK-lee-ən; Greek: Ηράκλειο, Irákleio, pronounced [iˈrakli.o]),[4] sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a municipal population of 179,302 (2021)[2] and 211,370 in its wider metropolitan area,[5] according to the 2011 census.
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Heraklion
Ηράκλειο | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 35°20′25″N 25°8′4″E | |
Country | Greece |
Administrative region | Crete |
Regional unit | Heraklion |
Government | |
• Mayor | Alexis Kalokairinos[1] (since 2023) |
Area | |
• Municipality | 244.6 km2 (94.4 sq mi) |
• Municipal unit | 109.0 km2 (42.1 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 33 m (108 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (2021)[2] | |
• Municipality | 179,302 |
• Density | 730/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
• Urban | 211,370[3] |
• Municipal unit | 156,842 |
• Municipal unit density | 1,400/km2 (3,700/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Heraklian, Heraclian |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Postal code | 70x xx, 71x xx, 720 xx |
Area code(s) | 281 |
Vehicle registration | HK, HP, HZ |
Website | Heraklion-city.gr |
The ancient Minoan palace at Knossos is located 5.5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of the city. It is the second most visited archaeological site in Greece, after the Parthenon.
Heraklion was Europe's fastest growing tourism destination for 2017, according to Euromonitor, with an 11.2% growth in international arrivals.[6] According to the ranking, Heraklion was ranked as the 20th most visited region in Europe, as the 66th area on the planet and as the 2nd in Greece for the year 2017, with 3.2 million visitors[7] and the 19th in Europe for 2018, with 3.4 million visitors.[8]