The appeal of the Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos in Greek) is hard to overstate. This southern peninsula, technically an island since the cutting of the Corinth Canal, seems to have the best of almost everything Greek. Its ancient sites include the Homeric palaces of Agamemnon at
Mycenae and of Nestor at
Pylos , the best preserved of all Greek theatres at
Epidaurus , and the lush sanctuary of
Olympia , host for a millennium to the Olympic Games. The medieval remains are scarcely less rich, with the fabulous Venetian, Frankish and Turkish castles of
Náfplio, Methóni and
Kórinthos ; the strange battle towers and frescoed churches of the
Máni ; and the extraordinarily well-preserved Byzantine shells of
Mystra and
Monemvasiá .
Beyond this incredible profusion of cultural monuments, the Peloponnese is also a superb place to relax and wander. Its beaches , especially along the west coast, are among the finest and least developed in the country, and the landscape inland is superb - dominated by range after range of forested mountains, and cut by some of the lushest valleys and gorges to be imagined. Not for nothing did its heartland province of Arcadia give its name to the concept of a classical rural idyll.
The Peloponnese is at its most enjoyable and intriguing when you venture off the beaten track: to the old hill towns of Arcadia like Karytena, Stemnítsa and Dhimitsána ; the Maniot tower villages such as Kítta or Váthia ; at Voïdhokiliá and Elafónissos beaches in the south; or the trip along the astonishing rack-and-pinion railway leading inland from the north coast at Dhiakoftó to Kalávryta .
Anciently known as the Moreas , from the resemblance of the outline to that of a mulberry leaf ( morá ), rounded at the top, with three long fingers below (from west to east, Messinía, the Máni and Monemvasiá), plus the thumb of the Argolid, it will amply repay any amount of time that you devote to it. The Argolid , the area richest in ancient history, is just a couple of hours from Athens, and if pushed you could complete a circuit of the main sights here - Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus - in a couple of days, making your base by the sea in Náfplio. Given a week, you could take in the two large sites of Mystra and Olympia at a more leisurely pace. To get to grips with all this, however, plus the wonderful southern peninsulas of the Máni and Messinía, and the hill towns of Arcadia, you'll need at least a couple of weeks.
If you were planning on a combination of Peloponnese-plus-islands, the Argo-Saronic or Ionian islands are the most convenient, although you would be better off limiting yourself to the mainland on a short trip. The Argo-Saronic islands are linked by hydrofoil with the Argolid and Pireás. Of the Ionian islands, isolated Kythira is covered in this section of the guide since closest access is from the southern Peloponnese ports, but Zákynthos or Kefalloniá can also be reached from the western port of Kyllíni, and Greece's second port city of Pátra serves as a gateway to Corfu and to southern Italy.
Travelling about the peninsula by public transport , you'll be dependent mostly on the buses . These are fast and regular on the main routes between the seven provincial capitals, and from these towns go to most other places at least once a day; travelling between smaller towns in different provinces is considerably more complicated. The Peloponnese train line , now over a century old, is in a poor state, especially on its highly scenic southern loop, with trains risking mishaps on defective sleepers if they exceed the leisurely timetable; however they do provide some direct connections and landscape views unavailable on buses. Renting a car is worthwhile if you can afford it - even for just a few days - to explore the south from Kalamáta or Spárti, or heartland and coastal Arcadia from Náfplio or Trípoli.
