Lassithi Folklore Museum

Location: Agios Nikolaos
Don't miss: Museums guide (free admission dates and other useful info)

Founded in 1978, in collaboration with the Cultural Society of Eastern Crete, the Folklore Museum of Agios Nikolaos is housed in a building that formerly belonged to the Port Authority, near Lake Voulismeni. Though small, it contains rare specimens of Cretan folk art that illustrate life in Crete over the past centuries.

The collection consists of local costumes, and many unique 18th or 19th-century textiles and embroideries. There are also items of daily use like utensils and pieces of furniture that date from the early and mid-20th century, as well as wood carvings, icons, old manuscripts, and rare books related to Cretan history.

Visitors will also have the chance to see a loom, musical instruments and a traditional Cretan bedroom, fully equipped and decorated. What is more, this folk art museum hosts two private collections, one consisting of 19th and early 20th-century weapons, and the other of embroideries by Mrs Chrysoula Koundourou-Xanthoudidou.