The Permanent Exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Chania is set out in galleries on the ground floor and part of the upper floor of the building. Theofanis Bobotis remarks: “Inside, and around the atrium, are arranged the successive exhibition galleries, together with the main entrance, the distribution hub of the internal circulation pathways. The exhibition galleries match the strict geometry of the building masses.

With clean, plain surfaces and high ceilings, they provide a spacious exhibition space. A dynamic environment, capable of housing the modern museological study and future studies which will be developed with the addition of further finds and any new technologies and future exhibition methods that may arise. Thus, on entering the Museum, visitors walk around the successive galleries in a ‘circular’ route, ending back where they started.”

The Temporary Exhibition Gallery, accessed by a separate entrance to the permanent exhibition, is located on the ground floor, as are the Museum shop and offices. A wide, straight staircase and an elevator lead to the upper floor, which houses the Konstantinos, Marika and Kyriakos Mitsotakis Collection, the Educational Programme Room, the 120-seat amphitheatre and the café. The café, at the north end of the building, offers a panoramic view of the Sea of Crete and the city of Chania.

The Museum has fully equipped underground storage rooms for finds, four ground-floor conservation laboratories, rooms for photographing and drawing objects, and study areas. The lowest level, the second basement, contains all the electromechanical, water supply, heating and fire safety systems that support the Museum infrastructure and ensure the smooth functioning of all its state-of-the-art operations.

From the lowest basements to the exhibition galleries, the café and the roof, every part of the Museum is important for different reasons. Taken all together, they constitute a “living”, self-sufficient and functional organism, a Museum modern in every respect – environmental, architectural, museological, museographical, recreational and educational – a Museum capable of meeting the demands and challenges of the 21st century.