Photos: Cayambe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright protection. It may only be used according to the rules mentioned here. This specifically excludes use in social media, if applicable terms of the licenses listed here not appropriate. Please do not upload an updated image here without consultation with the Author. The author would like to make corrections only at his own source. This ensures that the changes are preserved.Please if you think that any changes should be required, please inform the author.Otherwise you can upload a new image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Sailko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo credits
Photos: Cayambe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright protection. It may only be used according to the rules mentioned here. This specifically excludes use in social media, if applicable terms of the licenses listed here not appropriate. Please do not upload an updated image here without consultation with the Author. The author would like to make corrections only at his own source. This ensures that the changes are preserved.Please if you think that any changes should be required, please inform the author.Otherwise you can upload a new image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Sailko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Inside the walls of the harbour fortress
Your local guide
Giorgos Kastrinakis
View profile
Highlights
- A sixteenth-century sea fortress
- Original stone versus later repairs
- Vaulted shipsheds five centuries old
- The fortress seen from the water
- A harbour local's own history
About this tour
This session follows the old sea defences of Heraklion, from the fortress walls to the shipsheds where Venetian galleys were repaired. You see the difference between original stonework and later repairs, explained by someone who has worked on boats along this exact quay. It ends looking back at the fortress from the water.
I keep the phone low near the water for most of the walk, then hold it steady on the arsenali arches so their scale reads clearly. Questions come throughout, and I slow down at any section you want to see again.
This suits anyone interested in maritime history or old fortifications. It also works as a first orientation before exploring the rest of the harbour on your own.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 6 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Heraklion before heading out.
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Koules Fortress exterior 17 min
The camera circles the sea walls of the sixteenth-century fortress, and I explain which sections were rebuilt after later sieges and which stone is original.
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Venetian Arsenali 17 min
You see the vaulted shipsheds along the quay where Venetian galleys were once repaired, their stone arches still holding after five hundred years.
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Harbour quay 17 min
From the water's edge I show the whole fortress against the working harbour, and point out the fishing boats that still use the same stretch of quay.
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Your questions 11 min
Time to ask anything about Heraklion: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 5 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Kalitsounia (cheese and herb pies) and Lakkos, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Athens time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 12 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Heraklion, showing you Koules Fortress exterior and Venetian Arsenali live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need to know the history already?
No background needed. The guide explains everything as it comes up.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet and the link comes with your booking. I hold the phone low along the quay so the fortress rises the way it does from a boat.
Times shown in Athens time (EET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Only travellers who booked and paid through Locals Guide and whose tour took place can leave a review, within 60 days of the tour. Every review is marked "Verified booking". We check reviews before they appear and publish positive and negative ones alike; we remove only reviews that break our rules (insults, personal data, unrelated content). Guides cannot pay for, edit or hide reviews, and ratings are the plain average of all published reviews.
Next: Tue 3 Nov · 12 seats left From 27,00 €
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