Enjoy the unique beauty of southern Peloponnese.
Visit Messinia
Welcome stranger in the place where the antiquity and history, complemented by its natural beauty. Admire its beauties, knotting and linking its glorious past. It is worthwhile to wander around the prefecture, is worth the trouble to climb Taygetus worth the trouble to visit Mani, place of rocks, stone, sea and gorges.
Fertile plains and imposing mountains, beaches and pebbled coves, villages and Byzantine churches matched harmoniously in a place that satisfies the expectation for an unforgettable vacation.
Kalamata – capital and main port of Messinia, founded probably in place of the Homeric city of Farai. The shadow of Taygetos, the vast groves touch the shore and an endless beach. After liberation from the Turks, thanks to the products of the fertile Messinian land (oil, raisins, figs, etc.), became a rich urban center and important port. It is located 238 km. West of Athens.
Walking in the city
The legendary ‘Castle Isabeau “that animates every summer thanks to the prestigious International Dance Festival. The Castle in the panoramic view is built on the site of the citadel of Faron. Constructed in the 13th century. by William Villehardouin and underwent subsequent additions and alterations by the Venetians and Turks. At the foot of the castle lies the church of Ag. Ioannou dating back to the post-Byzantine times.
The Old City, a favorite meeting place for young people, here is gathered a large part of the nightlife. Visit the Cathedral of the Visitation (1873), patron church of Kalamata, the monastery of nuns (12th c.) With its famous silk workshop and the Byzantine church of the Holy Apostles (13th c.), With the cloisonné masonry. This church received special historical value as in this place was celebrated the first thanksgiving of liberated Kalamata on March 23, 1821.You may visit also:
The Town Hall, the Gallery of Contemporary Greek Art, with paintings, sculptures and engravings, the Benaki Museum with finds dating from the Bronze Age to Roman times, the Folk and Historical Museum with traditional items, local costumes and relics from Greek Revolution of 1821, the municipal theater and the Railway Park where exposed old locomotives and railway wagons.
Meeting place for the residents and visitors is the spacious central King George Square. From here starts the pedestrian part of the main road Aristomenous where there are many shops and cafes. West of the square, the district developed around the picturesque train station with pedestrian network, small cafe-bars and taverns.
One of the gifts of Kalamata, is the huge beach 4km quiet, clean waters that offer each year the blue flag. The seafront stretches along the boulevard Navarino and is one of the most beautiful places in the city to walk, bike ride, and of course a cool dip.
A picturesque village of Messiniaki Mani is Kardamyli, where there are the ruins of the Homeric Acropolis and the fortress complex of Mourtzinos and the tombs of Dioskouroi. Kardamyli is a spectacularly beautiful seaside village located in the Mani, a stunning region in the southern Peloponnese coast of Greece defined by travel connoisseurs as the New Côte d’Azur. The scene impressively theatrical, full of crystallic blue waters, majestic cypress trees, wild olive groves, verdant rolling hills and distant snowcapped mountains, makes Kardamili one of the prettiest villages that overlook the calm seas and splendid sunsets of the Messinian Gulf. In 3 hours and 30 minutes drive from either Athens or the port of Patras and just 35 km from the nearby city of Kalamata, Kardamili remains one of the most well-hidden secrets of south Mediterranean: an exclusive, small, intact shelter which boasts the impressive villas, charming stone houses, lush gardens, the picturesque harbor and fantastic beaches.
Kyparissia is a coastal town situated at the foot of Mount Cold. It is worthwhile to visit the Ancient City, the remains of ancient harbor work, the Pavilion Exhibition Game Hunting Association of the harbor and the Eagle village with lots of waters and lush vegetation.
Methoni is a beautiful coastal town. On the south side of the castle worth visiting is the Bourtzi. It is worthwhile to visit the Messinian Inousses consisting of Sapientza
Pylos or Navarino, is a beautiful historic town with bright colors. Inside the harbor is Helonaki, the monument of the Fallen Saints in the homonymous battle. Worth visiting Palaiokastro, the cave of Nestor, Niokastro, the lagoon of Gialova, in the area of Voidokilia.
Stoupa is a seaside village, with extensive sandy beaches where you can visit the abandoned mine today Prestovas, Lefktro village and the village of Kastania.
Ancient Messene
is a significant ancient city in terms of its size, form, and state of preservation, and still has much to offer. It possesses not only sanctuaries and public buildings, but also imposing fortifications, and houses and tombs. It enjoys, amongst other things, the advantage of never having been destroyed or covered by later settlements, and is located on an unspoiled inland site. Its natural setting combines the grandeur of the mountains of Delphi with the low-lying, riverine tranquillity of Olympia, the dominating bare limestone mass of Ithome, the site of the ancient acropolis, with the low fertile valley around the ancient city.
Pylos is located in the South entrance of Navarino with Niokastro towering over her, unfolds before you Agios Nikolaos in small “valley” between the hills. As you come from the north-west side of the city,worth to gaze for a few minutes the road. You see the whole, with the marina and the port, with the boats of fishermen and tourist boats of visitors who anchor in the calm waters. The picturesque setting completes with houses with red tiles, the castle and opposite the Yalova with Divari, the Voidokilia, over Fig Tree and Palaiokastro.
Filiatra have modern residential look and mansions with courtyards and gardens. The Ancient City, Tower Wonderland and Christianoupolis are just some of the attractions, while the entrance of the village adorns the model of the Eiffel Tower, the Ch. Fournaraki.
The Foinikounta, fishing village has become a tourist resort and is famous for its wonderful sea of. Worth visiting Schiza islands and St. Mariano.
Its old facade with tile-roofed houses, narrow streets, retains the landlocked town of Trifylias country that is built in front of the homonymous valley and where you can visit the Mycenaean Palace Englianos (Nestor).
Enjoy your summer holidays in the most picturesque and fabulous places in Messinia.
