Remains of the ancient city of Minoa can be seen upon arrival to the cosmopolitan beach of Marathi. Minoa was one of the two harbours of the powerful city-state of Aptera during Greek times. It dominated the entrance to the protected bay of Souda. Excavations have revealed part of its harbour and some buildings dating from the second century A.D. Used from Neolithic times, there is a cave in the mountainside above Stavros sandy beach, at the north tip of the Akrotiri Peninsula. Evidence exists of its use as a sanctuary from the end of the Bronze Period through all the Greek periods.

Many other caves are found on the Akrotiri which, besides their historical importance, also contain stalactites and stalagmites that have spurred the local imagination and created beautiful legends. For example, at the rear end of the cave of Our Lady of the Bear (Spileo Arkoudas) there is a grey bear-shaped stalagmite with a small pond in front of it. A local legend says that the Virgin Mary (there is a chapel dedicated to the Virgin inside the cave) turned the bear to stone after she caught it drinking the monks' water. Archaeologists claim that in antiquity the cave was a shrine to Artemis, who was transformed into the shape of a bear.

The Akrotiri also has its fair share of beautiful monasteries entailed with a long history. The Katholiko Monastery is the most ancient monastery on Crete, dating back to the eleventh century. It contains a church dedicated to Agios Ioannis Xenos (St. John the Hermit), which is carved into the rock of the mountainside, and its facade lines up with the slope of the mountain. The bridge across the ravine, and some buildings of the old monastery are still preserved. The monasteries of Gouverneto (1537) and Agia Triada (Holy Trinity, built in the 17th century by the Venetian Zangaroli family) are perfect examples of Byzantine churches on which strong Venetian influences are visible throughout. These sites also offer extraordinary walking routes for visitors who enjoy wild and captivating views.

Worth visiting is the memorial park dedicated to Eleftherios Venizelos and his son Sofocles at the entrance to the Akrotiri peninsula (Pr. Ilias). Eleftherios Venizelos was a Cretan statesman who fought for independence from the Turks and later for union with Greece. He was prime minister of Greece several times, and one of the most important Greek statesmen. From this site in 1897, Cretan revolutionaries raised the Greek flag to symbolize their demand for union with Greece. A salvo from the European fleet destroyed the flagpole. A Cretan again raised the flag under fire, using his body as the flagpole.