What Wikipedia says

Heraklion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is one of the largest cities in Greece. According to the results of the 2011 census, the population of the city was 173,993 inhabitants while the Heraklion urban area has a population of 225,574.

Heraklion is close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, which in Minoan times was the largest centre of population on Crete. Though there is no archaeological evidence of it, Knossos may well have had a port at the site of Heraklion as early as 2000 BC.

Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. Travellers can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to destinations including Santorini, Ios Island, Paros, Mykonos, and Rhodes. There are also several daily ferries to Piraeus, the port of Athens in mainland Greece.

The port of the city is dominated by the Venetian constructions, such as the Koules Fortress (Rocca al Mare), the ramparts and the arsenal. Around the city can be found several sculptures, statues and busts commemorating significant events and figures of the city's and island's history, like El Greco, Vitsentzos Kornaros, Nikos Kazantzakis and Eleftherios Venizelos. Also, many fountains of the Venetian-era are preserved, such as the Bembo fountain, the Priuli fountain, Palmeti fountain, Sagredo fountain and Morosini fountain (in Lions Square).