Knossos Palace is located at 5 km east of Heraklion, the capital of the island. The first palace of Knossos was built around 1900 BC, but 200 years later it was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt after that. Knossos Palace was the capital of the Minoan Kingdom and the administrative, economic and religious centre of the region.
         
The ruins tourists can visit here include the Palace of Minos, the homes of the officials and priests who surrounded him (Little Palace, Caravanserai, House of the Frescoes etc), the homes of ordinary people and the cemetery. The palace was a labyrinthine complex built around a central court, which included places of worship, treasuries, workshops and storerooms.

Phaistos Palace (also called Phestos or Festos) is located 63 km southwest of Heraklion and approximately 78 km southeast of Rethymno, in the middle of Messara plain.
         
The Palace of Phaistos is the second most important palace of the Minoan period. It is said to have been established either by Minos (according to Diodoros Sikeliotis) or by Phestos, son of Herclules (according to Pafsanias and Stefanos Vyzantios).
         
Today visitors can admire only parts of the west and north wings, because the other two wings were destroyed by an earthquake in 1450 BC. Life in Phestos continued after the earthquake and the destruction of the palace. It was occupied by the Dorians around 1100 BC and the city was evacuated at 150 BC, when it was attacked by the town of Gortyna.

The palace was the residence of the mythical Radamanthes and the architectural layout is identical to that of Knossos.

Malia Palace is the third largest palace of Minoan Crete after Knossos and Phaistos. It occupies 7500 square meters at the edge of a fertile valley near Hersonissos in Northern Crete. The palace's proximity to the sea was very important for its development. It was first built around 1900 BC, a time of intense development for the entire island population. The Palace’s history followed the same cycle as the other palaces’ hystory of the time, and it was destroyed by unknown reasons around 1650.

Kato Zakros Palace is located at the eastern part of the island and is the smallest of the Minoan palaces, about 5 times smaller than Knossos Palace. It was built around 1900 BC, rebuilt around 1600 BC, and destroyed around 1450 BC along with the other major centers of Minoan civilization.  Kato Zakros palace was the administrative, commercial, and religious center for the entire area.
Kato Zakros was built on very wet land, so in order to keep the water under control, the palace had a number of drains, a cistern, and a fountain. Its harbor and strategic location made it an important commercial centre for trade to the east.