Koutrakis Art


This wonderful spot is highly recommended for getting a hands-on education in traditional Minoan pottery. English is a struggle, but Giorgos and Kristina will kill you with charm. Check out the massive kiln, fired by olive-wood pebbles up to 1000°C, gauged by when the pyrometric cones begin to bend.

Workshops are €5 per person per hour, and there's a lovely shop selling all sorts of colourful bowls and pots. It’s on the Voni–Thrapsano road 2.7km northwest of Thrapsano.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Nikos Doxastakis Workshop

1.26 MILES

Watch giant clay pots being churned out at the traditional Nikos Doxastakis workshop. From the centre of Thrapsano, head up to the village’s municipal…

2. Timios Stavros Church

1.61 MILES

In the middle of Thrapsano, the twin-aisled 15th-century Timios Stavros church houses well-preserved frescoes. You might have to ask around for the key.

3. Nikos Kazantzakis Museum

3.65 MILES

In a modern building overlooking the kafeneia-flanked central plaza of author Nikos Kazantzakis' ancestral village, this well-curated museum zeroes in on…

4. Vathypetro

6.12 MILES

About 5km south of Arhanes, and well signposted, Vathypetro was built around 1600 BC, probably as the villa of a prosperous Minoan noble. Archaeologists…

5. Archaeological Museum of Arhanes

6.12 MILES

This small museum displays many important finds from regional excavations, especially from Minoan times. Among the highlights are clay larnakes (coffins)…

6. Fourni

6.45 MILES

On a hill west of town and reached via a steep footpath, Fourni is the most extensive Minoan necropolis in Crete. Burials took place here over a period of…

7. Mt Yiouhtas Peak Sanctuary

7.04 MILES

Driving south from Arhanes, look for the turn-off for Giourtas. The narrow (but drivable) road leads to the top of Mt Yiouhtas. After a bone-rattling 5km,…

8. Anemospilia

7.47 MILES

Anemospilia packs major importance into its small frame. Excavation of this middle-Minoan three-room temple yielded evidence that human sacrifice played…