The Palazzo Ducale, a two-storey structure with arcade on the ground floor, dominated the very heart of the Venetian town, on Kallergon Square and St. Mark's Square immediately to the south, just north of the Fontana Morisini. It served as the official residence of the successive Dukes of Crete, the meeting place of the Maggior Consiglio (Grand Council) and the courtroom. 

Its main facade was directly opposite the Basilica of St. Mark, official church of the Duke of the entire kingdom.

The Ducal Palace occupied an entire block, and was designed along the lines of equivalent buildings in the mother city.  It stood two storeys high; the main facade opposite the Basilica of St. Mark St. had a large arch-like portal on the ground floor and a tripartite main opening flanked by double lancet windows on the balcony above.  The same facade was surmounted by M-shaped crenellations.