It is the seat of the municipality of Malia which also includes the villages Mohos, Krassi and the area of Stalis.
The region of Malia is very rich due to its fertile land, its springs of water of excellent quality, both gifts of the mount "SELENA" located south of Malia, its archaeological site, and of course its gorgeous sandy beach, which attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Access
From the city of Iraklion (the bus station is located near the port) there is regular public transportation available for visiting Malia.
There is also bus service from Agios Nikolaos.

Facilities
There is a wide range of tourist and other facilities provided in Malia.
Malia is the suitable place for the visitor who wants an intense night life.
Malia has one of the longest stretches of beach in Crete which actually starts from the small town of Stalis west of Malia and extends for more than 4 km to the east.
This beach is fairly organized and provides all the amenities that a tourist might want.
During the high season (July-September) the beach can get fairly crowded. However there are many smaller beaches in coves around Malia, for those who prefer a more secluded place.. Opposite to the beach there is a small islet, easily accessible by swimming, with a small church on it.

The Palace of Malia
The arcaeological site of Malia is located 3 km East of the village of Malia. The excavations at Malia were begun in 1915 by J. Chatzidakis and were continued by the French Archaeological School. The Palace, houses in the town and the cemetry at Chryssolakos have already been excavated.
The site was inhabited in the Neolithic and early Minoan period (6000- 2000 BC), but very little trace remains.
The Palace of Malia, which covered an area of 7,500 sq.m. , is the third- largest of the Minoan Palaces and is considered the most "provincial" from the architectural point of view.
According to tradition the third son of Zeus and Europa, Sarpedon, ruled here.

The first Palace was built in 1900 BC and desroyed in 1700 BC when a new Palace was built. Following the fate of the other palaces in Crete it was also destroyed in 1450 BC . and the present ruins are mainly those of the new palace.
The Palace had two floors and its entrance is from the western paved Court, trough a procession passage.
It is a building with a central court, loggia, thetre, sanctuaries, Royal quarters, workshops and magazines.
North of the western court is the hypostyle crypt, discovered recently, and protected from the weather conditions by a modern roof. The large underground room, whose ceiling was supported by columns, is considered as a council chamber for the political deliberations of the local lords, separete from the dwelling quarters and the official buildings.
Its a forebear of the classical Greek Pritaneion, which had a similar function.

At the south west part of the central court is located a round table, with little cavities around the edge and a bigger at the center, standing on a base.
This table is believed to be a kind of kernos of the classic Greece. In the cavities the minoans put the seeds, offering to the god, so they wished to have a fruitful crop.
This explanation seems more probableas this custom still exists in Crete.

At the east side of the central court, with a pillared portico, was the palace's eastern entrance near which there ware the rooms of the royal treasury. On the same side was arw of Magazines, narrow cells leeding off a communal corridor and occupied by pitoi (jars) standing on bases, with an arrangement for gathering liquids (channels and vases for oil and wine.)

About 500 m north of the palace was the necropolis, a royal burial enclosure, certainly belonging to the lords of Malia, suurounded on all four sides by levelled areas and perhaps by porticoes.
Here was found the famous Bee pendant which is now on display at the Iraklion Museum.
This pendant is in the shape of two bees, or wasps, storing away a drop of honey in a comb.
The ancient cemetry is located at a place named Chryssolakkos a name that means the "pit of gold" beacause of the precious objects that the farmers used to find there.