5 Best Sights in The Peloponnese, Greece

Looming some 540 meters (1,772 feet) above Ancient Corinth, the Acrocorinth is one of the best naturally fortified citadels in Europe. Citizens retreated in times of invasions and earthquakes, and armies could keep an eye out for approaches by land over the isthmus and by sea from the Saronic Gulf and the Gulf of Corinth. The moat and three rings of wall are largely Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian, and Turkish—but the right-hand tower of the innermost of the three gates is apparently a 4th-century BC original. Corinth's famous Temple of Aphrodite, which had 1,000 prostitutes in attendance, stood here at the summit, too. On the slope of the mountain is the Sanctuary of Demeter, which you can view but not enter. Take the road next to the ticket office in Ancient Corinth; if you don't have your own car, you can hire one of the taxis that often wait for visitors for the trip up to the tourist pavilion and café (about €5 round-trip), from which it's a 10-minute walk to Acrocorinth gate.

On the main square stands the town's 13th-century Church of Elkomenos Christos, reputedly the largest medieval church in southern Greece. Carved peacocks on its portal are symbolic of the Byzantine era; the detached bell tower—like those of Italian cathedrals—is a sign of Venetian rebuilding in the 17th century. Sculptures from the church, together with other interesting finds from excavations around the island, are held across the square in the town's Archaeological Collection (€3; closed Tues.), a small, interesting museum housed within an 16th-century former mosque. Outside, a canon dominates the square, typically forming a backdrop to the many selfie-ing couples.

This venerable mosque near the southeast corner of Syntagma Square has been put to various purposes since Nafplion was liberated from the Turks: as a school, a courthouse, municipal offices, and a movie theater, during the latter of which it acquired the name most still know it by: Trianon. (The writer Henry Miller, who did not care for Nafplion, felt that the use of the building as a movie theater was an example of the city's crassness.) The landmark occasionally hosts temporary exhibits and performances. It remains one of the oldest surviving examples of Ottoman architecture in Nafplion.

A Roman odeon remains in use in Patras, almost 2,000 years after it was built. Today the productions of Summer Arts Festival (mid-Jun.–mid-Sept.) are staged in the well-preserved theater, which was discovered in 1889 and heavily restored in 1960.

For solitude and a dizzying view, pass through the upper town's wooden entrance gates, complete with the original iron reinforcement. Up the hill is a rare example of a domed octagonal church, Agia Sofia, founded in the 13th century by Emperor Andronicus II and patterned after Dafni Monastery in Athens. Under Venetian rule the Byzantine complex served as a convent. Follow the path to the highest point on the rock for a breathtaking view of the coast.