Archaeological Museum of Chania is housed in the former Venetian Basilica of St. Francis in the old city center on the street Halidon. The museum was founded in 1962. The artifacts exhibited in the museum, giving visitors a good idea of ​​the history of the development of western Crete from the Neolithic until the Roman times.

When the building was built is not known, although there is written evidence of the great earthquake in 1595, which referred to the church of St. Francis. Today, the museum building is an important historical monument of the city. During the period of Ottoman rule the church was rebuilt into a mosque and named in honor of Yusuf Pasha, conqueror of Chania. At the turn of 19-20 centuries, the building housed a cinema "Ideon Andron." After World War II until 1962 (when the building was handed over to the Archaeological Museum) there was a warehouse of military equipment. Archaeological Collection of Chania previously housed in various public institutions (administration, Gymnasium for boys, Hassan Mosque).

The museum contains an impressive collection of Minoan and Roman artifacts collected from the archaeological site of the city of Chania and the whole region. The museum exhibition is presented in chronological order and includes ceramics, sculptures, figurines, weapons, gold jewelry, stamps, coins, sarcophagi and other burial artifacts, mosaics, clay tablets with inscriptions, and more.

Among the great diversity of the museum exhibition is to provide a Roman floor mosaic depicting Dionysus and Ariadne (2-3 century AD). An important place in the museum's collection also take clay tablets with linear writings (1450 - 1300 BC.). Interestingly the painted sarcophagus (1400-1200 BC.) From Minoan acropolis Armenia and bust of the Roman emperor Hadrian.

In 2000, Constantine and Marik Mitsotakisy donated to the Archaeological Museum of Chania huge private collection of his family, which is a third of the museum and rich in rare historical relics.

Visiting the Archaeological Museum of Chania, you can plunge into the atmosphere of the ancient city, to see how the changed lifestyle and traditions of the inhabitants of western Crete, how to improve their knowledge and skills.