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Tiers of stone seats occupy the north side of the West Courtyard, a paved space that was used for rituals and theatrical ceremonies, including, perhaps, the bull-vaulting depicted in some Minoan frescoes. South of the courtyard are two well-like stonelined pits used for storing grain, and in the northeast corner are the remains of a shrine which was part of the earlier palace.

This broad, monumental stairway leads from the West Courtyard up to the remains of a propylon, or portico, and into a colonnaded lightwell. This was the main entrance to the palace.

This vast courtyard, formerly flanked on two sides by covered walkways, may have been a parade ground. Niches, perhaps for sentries, are recessed into walls by the main entrance.

The stumps of columns lining this square space indicate that it was once a colonnaded courtyard. Beneath it are traces of an even more archaic building, dating from what is known as the Prepalatial period (3500–1900 BC).

This row of mud-brick coffers may have been the filing department. The Phaestos Disc, with its undeciphered hieroglyphics, was discovered here. It can be seen in the Irakleio Archaeological Museum.

The storerooms were where essentials such as grain, oil, wine and olives were kept in huge ceramic jars called pithoi . Several pithoi remain in the storerooms.

To the southeast of the site,the smaller ruins of the First Palace are fenced off for their protection. The palace was built c.1900 BC and destroyed about 200 years later.

The remains of a sophisticated kiln or bronze-smith’s furnace stand in a large courtyard. Off the courtyard are small chambers which may have been workshops for the palace artisans.

The remnants of a small temple built during the Classical era provide evidence that Phaestos was still lived in some 1000 years after the mysterious collapse of the Minoan civilization.

Now fenced off, these rooms were the grandest in the complex, consisting of the Queen’s Chamber, the King’s Chamber, a lustral basin (covered pool), and even a bathroom and lavatory with running water .