Home Destinations Europe Greece Peloponnese Sights

Sights & Attractions in Peloponnese

Read our Peloponnese sights reviews. Or post your own.

Peloponnese Sights

The gods of ancient Greece blessed the Northern Peloponnese with natural beauty, and forgotten civilizations left behind their mysteries. The region includes several distinct geographical areas: on the eastern side are the Argolid plain and the Corinthiad, where Tiryns and Epidauros are. Here, too, the ruined city of Mycenae, with giant tombs to the heroes of Homer's Iliad, stands sentinel over the plain, where warriors once assembled en route to Troy. Nearby Nafplion, with its ancient Greek, Venetian, and Turkish edifices jutting into the Bay of Argos, is the most beautiful city in Greece.

On the western side are the provinces of Achaea and Elis, home of Ancient Olympia and the scattered remains of the ancient Olympic stadium, and the bustling port city of Patras. The easiest way to get around the Northern Peloponnese is by car, on the region's well-maintained and well-marked roads. Corinth, Nemea, Tiryns, Argos, and Epidauros are within easy reach of Nafplion, and when it comes time to venture farther, it's easy to get to other parts of the Peloponnese via the E65, a four-lane highway.

Politically, the Southern Peloponnese is divided into regions established by the ancients—Messinia in the southwest, Laconia in the southeast, and Arcadia to the north. Massive mountain ranges sweep down the fingers of the peninsula; the beaches are some of the finest and least developed in Greece. For the traveler, the area is best divided into the three regions listed above and the rugged Mani, which is separated from the rest of the Peloponnese by the Taygettus range (part of the Mani is administered by Messinia and the other part by Laconia). Arcadia is the most accessible region from Athens, and Messinia and Laconia are nearby. The Mani is well worth the trip to the southern tip of the region.

Less »