Cretaquarium or Thalassocosmos (sea world) is a public aquarium situated near the town of Gournes 15 km east of Heraklion. In the aquarium, there are more than 2,500 Mediterranean and tropic sea creatures and species from 100 different areas. It offers to visitors a unique chance to come in touch with the marine world of Mediterranean. From hundreds of species that the aquarium hosts the most impressive is the big hunter shark.

The organized tour starts with a video of deep-sea sites in Crete combined with lyrics from the Greek mythology. “Thalassokosmos” literally makes visitors feel that they are in the ocean.

The aquarium also provides an acoustics tour, with numerous explanations and comments about the sea world in 4 languages, English, Greek, French and German.

Also, one of the rarest and protected species living at the Cretan aquarium is the Hippocampus (sea horse). It is opened daily throughout the year.