Peloponnese Tour

Tag: ilia

Medieval towns and fortified landscapes

GUIDE
Medieval towns and fortified landscapes
The Peloponnese’s medieval heritage is best understood in place: a hillside city at Mystras, the inhabited fortified town of Monemvasia and castles controlling coasts and routes.
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DISCOVER THE PELOPONNESE
Choose your next visit
LACONIA
Mystras
LACONIA
Monemvasia
LACONIA
Vathia
MESSINIA
Methoni
IN THIS GUIDEStay near the places you want to explore Follow the western fortresses Respect the living landscape Find a road trip
Stay near the places you want to explore
Give Mystras its own visiting day from Sparta. At Monemvasia, an overnight allows time for the lanes and changing light without an immediate onward drive. Mani’s tower settlements bring another architectural history, with private homes and everyday village life still part of the landscape.
Follow the western fortresses
Methoni, Koroni and Pylos offer distinct coastal visits. Chlemoutsi introduces the Frankish Principality of Achaia and works on a western journey. Choose a small number and spend time on their setting and interpretation instead of treating every castle as interchangeable.
Respect the living landscape
Churches and monasteries may remain places of worship, and tower houses are not automatically open attractions. Keep to permitted areas and confirm visiting arrangements. Steps, worn stone and exposed ramparts also make footwear and weather part of the decision.
KEEP EXPLORING
Continue your journey
LACONIA
Mystras
LACONIA
Monemvasia
LACONIA
Mani
MESSINIA
Methoni
MESSINIA
Koroni
ILIA
Chlemoutsi Castle

23 March 2020
Ancient Olympia

ILIA
Ancient Olympia
Olympia brings the sanctuary of Zeus, the ancient Games and major museum collections into one substantial visit. Stay nearby so that the site can be explored without the pressure of arriving and leaving on the same long driving day.
Home / Ilia / Ancient Olympia
IN THIS GUIDEWhat makes it stand out Planning your visit Find a road trip
What makes it stand out
Follow the relationship between religious monuments, spaces used by athletes and the stadium. The Games were part of a sanctuary world, not a modern sports event transplanted into antiquity. The archaeological museum helps restore detail to the remains outside, while the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity provides another focus if you have time.
The setting in the river landscape matters too. A complete visit moves between the monuments and their surroundings, rather than treating the stadium as the only destination.
Planning your visit
Allow most of a day for a considered site-and-museum visit, with breaks according to the weather. Check current opening, ticket arrangements and any heat-related restrictions. One local night is useful; two support a fuller regional stay. Foloi offers a woodland day, while Bassae requires a separate mountain journey and works well with an Andritsaina overnight. Do not add all three after a morning at Olympia.
A CLOSER LOOK
Ancient Olympia in pictures
Laurel wreath photographed at Olympia
Philippeion Olympia Peloponnese
Olympia Ancient Ruins Peloponnese
Olympia aerial Peloponnese
Olympia Peloponnese
Ancient Olympia Peloponnese
KEEP EXPLORING
Continue your journey
ILIA
Andritsaina
6 DAYS
Six days from Patras to Olympia and Bassae
10 DAYS
Ten days through the UNESCO sites of the Peloponnese
REGION
Ilia
Foloi Oak Forest Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae Katakolo

1 March 2020
Six days from Patras to Olympia and Bassae

Road trips / 6 days
A PELOPONNESE ITINERARY
Six days from Patras to Olympia and Bassae
Enter through the northwest and build a journey around a port city, coastal wetlands, Olympia and the western mountains. This route gives Achaia and Ilia their own space and ends at Olympia, ready for an onward western or inland journey.
Patras
Time on the road
6 days · 5 nights
Your pace
Moderate, with a mountain section
When to go
spring and autumn; Bassae depends on weather
Where you’ll spend the night
Patras nights 1–2; Olympia nights 3–4; Andritsaina night 5; three bases, two hotel changes
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
01
Patras
Arrive in Patras and explore the centre and waterfront. Choose accommodation that suits your port, bridge or road arrival.
02
Upper town and museums
Visit the archaeological museum or castle, then walk the upper town at a comfortable pace. Keep another Patras night instead of leaving immediately after sightseeing.
03
Strofylia and Olympia
Leave Patras for a permitted visit to Strofylia and the Kalogria coast. Continue to Olympia afterwards. Chlemoutsi is an alternative main stop, not a further compulsory attraction on the same day.
Olympia
04
Olympia
Give the sanctuary and museums a full day with breaks. Stay in Olympia again.
05
Andritsaina
Drive into the western mountains and settle in Andritsaina. Walk the town and enquire about library access. This is a different landscape from the coast and deserves more than a roadside pause.
06
Bassae and onward travel
Visit Bassae after confirming the site and road conditions. Return to Olympia to finish the route, or add a night and continue into Arcadia. An Athens return after the temple is a long travel day, not included as an easy finish.
Before you go
Confirm wetland access, museum days and Bassae opening before leaving the coast.
Use public paved roads and legal parking. Riders should plan the Bassae section for daylight and suitable visibility rather than treating it as a fast transfer.
Adjust the pace
With more time: Add one Olympia night for Foloi and one coastal night for Chlemoutsi.
With less time: Spend four days in Patras and Olympia and omit the mountain extension.
Allow extra travel time. Day 3 includes the wetland detour; Day 6 depends on the selected onward destination.
Explore the places on this route
ACHAIA
Patras
ACHAIA
Strofylia and Kalogria
ILIA
Chlemoutsi Castle
Ancient Olympia Andritsaina Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae Foloi Oak Forest Five days from the Corinthian Gulf to Kalavryta
PLAN YOUR ROAD TRIP
Your route, your rental car
Choose your pick-up point and travel dates, then search for a car that suits your journey.
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28 August 2017