Peloponnese

Patras

Kefalonia

Zakynthos

Mystras

Nafplio

Mycenae

Strofilia Forest

Epidavros

Sparta

Athens

AncientOlympia

Peloponnese

Let's take a trip around Peloponnese. Click on the interactive elements to find more about some places of interest. Bon voyage!

Greece's capital

Our hometown

The castle of Mystras is the most important byzantine monument in Greece and it is built on a hill near Sparta in south eastern Peloponnese. The city of Mystras was founded by the Franque Prince of Achaia William of Villehardouin and later became part of the Byzantine Empire. In the 13th century it became a very important cultural centre. We can still see palaces of the leaders and many churches, some of which are masterpieces of the Byzantine Art. Mystras is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Monument.

The forest of Strofylia is in a National Park of 22,000 acres in North Western Peloponnese together with a lagoon. It is the largest pine forest in Greece and leads to an exotic long sandy beach with characteristic sandhills. This beach is one of the most popular ones for Patra’s people while the forest and wetlands are the protected habitat of many rare birds.

The ancient theatre of Epidavros was built at the end of the 4th century BC in order to provide entertainment to the patients in the nearby Asclepion, a kind of medical centre of that time. Together with other monuments, it was dedicated to the God of Medicine, Asclepius. The theatre is a UNESCO Monument of Cultural Heritage and it’s famous for its excellent acoustics as you can hear the actors clearly even if you sit at the furthest part from the central stage. It is situated in the middle of a forest and holds 15.000 people in many performances that take place every summer.

Mycenae was a famous and rich city in Peloponnese that reached its peak between 1350 BC till 1200 BC. The writer Homer tells us that the mythical hero Agamemnon, who was the most important King of the city as well as one of the strongest ancient Greek Kings, was the leader of the expedition of the Greeks against Troy. The city was surrounded by walls with huge stones that made many people believe that they were built by the Cyclops, the giants of the Greek Mythology. In the archaeological site we can see the famous ‘Treasure of Atreas’ which is the impressive tomb of King Atreas, father of Agamemnon. Mycenae is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Zakynthos is an island in the Ionian Sea, west of Peloponnese. The people from Venice gave it the name ‘Fiore di Levante’, which means ‘flower of the East’, because of its great beauty. The magical beaches of the island attract thousands of visitors from all over the world but at the same time they are the home of the Careta Careta sea turtles which lay their eggs there. Navagio, the Shipwreck, is one of the most famous beaches of the island while the Blue Caves are famous for the blue colours of the rocks and all visitors love swimming there. The island has a special musical tradition and people are known for their romantic and pleasant character which shows in their love songs, the kantades.

In the Ionian Sea we have the 7 islands and Kefallonia is the largest one, famous for its beaches. Myrtos is the most well-known and awarded beach of white sand and pebbles with blue waters below huge breath-taking cliffs. The peninsula of Assos, the summer resort of Fiscardo, the beach Xi with the red sand make the island one of the most popular holiday destinations. A very special sight is the cave of Melissani with its indoor lake and a characteristic opening to the sky. In 1953 the island was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake, one of the biggest ever in Greece. Yet the people of the island never lost their pleasant and somehow ‘crazy’ temperament!

“This is Sparta!” Does it ring a bell? Sparta is a city in South Eastern Peloponnese with a long history. Ancient Spartans were fearless warriors with a very hard training from a very early age. The most glorious moment of its History was the battle of Thermopylles in 480 BC when 300 Spartans with their King Leonidas defended their land against hundreds of thousands Persians who were trying to conquer the Greek land. All the Spartans died at the end but delayed the Persians long enough for the rest of the Greeks to fight them and beat them!

The Stadium was the most popular place where the Games took place as well as the Gymnasium where the athletes trained. Another important building was the Temple to Goddess Hera where there was the beautiful statue of Mercury by the sculptor Praxitelis, a masterpiece of sculpture and one of the best exhibits in Olympia’s museum. That is where the Olympic Flame is lit for the modern Olympic Games. But the most important building was the Temple of Zeus with his huge statue, 12 metres high, made by gold and ivory, work of the famous sculptor Fidias, and one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the world! The Games were considered such an important event that all fights stopped during them. Only men took part in them and the winners were given an olive leaf wreath, called kotinos. Winning at the Games was a huge honour and the Greek cities welcomed the winners with great respect. The archaeological site of Olympia is visited by thousands of guests every year and it has been a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site.

Ancient Olympia is in Western Peloponnese. It is the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games which took place every 4 years since 776 BC together with other religious ceremonies dedicated to the most important God of Ancient Greeks, God Zeus. Until the 5th century BC, Olympia was famous in all Ancient world and was the most important religious centre. In the site there were many buildings, mainly temples and other structures for the athletes.

Nafplio is a wonderful seaport city in eastern Peloponnese. It became the first capital of Greece in 1828 after the revolution against the Ottoman Empire. The old part of the city is full of beautiful buildings and squares. From its centre, 999 steps lead to its castle, Palamidi, a Venetian castle with a panoramic view and a long History, while a small island with a fortress can be visited on the port, the place where the executioners (of those condemned to death) lived. Nafplio is one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities in Greece!