Road Tripping in Laconia: Sparta, Mystras and Monemvasia

We woke up early on Saturday (6:30am) since we had a long day ahead of us - maybe the most packed day of our road trip. The plan for the day was to visit Sparta and nearby Byzatine Mystras, then make our way towards our hotel for that evening in Monemvasia with a pitstop in Kosmas (the town where two of David's four Greek great grandparents were born). It was still dark when we set out, and we caught a bit of sunrise when leaving Nafplio. The drive to Mystras was great - first the sunrise views, then fog-filled valleys as we made our way up steep mountain roads. 

Sunrise on the way out of Nafplio

We saw these little church models all over - they're placed where someone dies or is injured in a car crash.

The winding road up from the coast.

Dense fog in the mountains.

It was sunny again by the time we arrived at Mystras at 9am. We walked around the site for about 2.5 hours, as it's a pretty large. It was not crowded, but more people were arriving by the time we left. Mystras is a medieval Byzantine site that basically cascades down the side of a mountain. Make sure to bring comfortable shoes! It's a confusing site, and after trying to walk to specific places we mostly gave up on that and just wandered from place to place, gradually making our way uphill. We stopped in three different churches that still had frescoes, and visited the still active monastery. Perhaps the best preserved interior was in the "Metropolis" building (AKA the church of St. Demetrios), which had vivid frescoes. We also were followed for quite some time by a very demanding but cute cat. Mystras is definitely worth a visit. It's quite different than the classical or ancient Greek sites we visited, and has a good mix of well preserved buildings and crumbling areas that are fun to explore. The views across the valley are the cherry on top.

First view of the ruins of Mystras rising up the mountain.

Remains of a house.

Looking out towards Sparta and the wide fertile valley.

Paul in front of a small chapel.

Cats in the monastery grounds.

More cute cats! The nuns must feed them.

The church in the monastery.

Cooking Jesus?

Frescoes in the church.

David made so many cat friends in Greece.

This cat came running at us meowing, and then followed us for 15 minutes.

He didn't want to leave us!

The palace, which was closed for ongoing renovation.

David doesn't hold a monopoly on making cat friends!

View from Metropolis.

Inside Metropolis, with well preserved frescoes and floors.

We next drove to the edge of the modern city of Sparta, going directly to the ancient archaeological site. Not much remains, but there are a few small ruins, and the setting is nice with great views of the Taygetus mountains across olive tree fields. Near the archaeological site is a sports complex that houses a modern statute of King Leonidas (from classical fame and the movie 300).

After we visited the ruins, we went to the city proper. Sparta is an interesting small city to visit, but don't come here thinking it's a mini-Athens or that it looks at all like the classical city in the movies. The modern city was reestablished in 1834, and doesn't punch with the weight of its classical namesake. That said, Sparta is walkable, has a nice central square and a few museums. First, we drove to the Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil. It's a very well done museum, with large working displays showing how olive oil was produced across the millennia. We didn't know this at the time, but later in the week (while visiting another museum) we found out the Olive Museum is part of a network of nine museums across the country dedicated to preserving Greece's cultural heritage. The museums cover specific topics such as marble crafts, tanning, olive oil, and silversmithing.

We then walked to the main square of Sparta and had lunch at Kapari (which translates to capers). We shared warm dolmades in a lemon sauce (avgolemono), moussaka and a chicken gyro. Delicious, but too much food for lunch! After eating, we wandered around the central square and then walked a few blocks to the archaeological museum. Oddly it has a 10 euro entrance fee, which doesn't fit with how small the museum is. Here you'll find some nice statues and mosaics, with the main attraction being a surprisingly goofy-looking classical-period statue of Leonidas.

The archaeological remains of ancient Sparta.

The theatre of Sparta, with sweeping views of the mountains.

The modern Leonidas statue.

Inside the Olive and Olive Oil Museum.

The streets of Sparta.

We've never had warm lemon sauce (avgolemono) dolmades before, but we would have them again!

Lunch time on the square.

The main square of Sparta.

The archaeology museum.

Leonidas looks so happy!

Leaving Sparta, we began the hour and a half drive southeast to Monemvasia. But we had a special stop planned along the route - Kosmas, the village where two of David's great-grandparents grew up. We turned north on the Kosmas-Leonidio road; it was about a 20 minute drive up a scenic mountain road, passing tractors and goats. Approaching the town, there is a monument to the citizens of Kosmas who "fought bravely against the fascist Italian invaders" during World War II.

Kosmas itself is a tiny cute town. The small main square has four huge trees next to a church. There's one small tourist store, and a couple of cafes and restaurants. We sat for a bit and had a cappuccino and hot chocolate, then went to the small store and got koulourakia that tasted like David's mom's but had a texture more like soft biscotti.

The road to Kosmas.

Goat in the road!

One of David's ancestral villages.

Looks like the Italians got their asses handed to them. Despite his face, David's Italian half is conflicted.

David in Kosmas.

The main square.

Small but cute, with a nice mountain esthetic and more trees than the lowlands.

A street in Kosmas, with bonus cat.

Views from Kosmas. We were surprised we could see all the way to the sea.

After vibing in Kosmas for a bit, we continued the drive to Monemvasia. This ocean-front fort town was highly recommended online, and while it was a bit out of the way we're glad we added it to our itinerary. It's a small town tucked into the back side of a dramatic island in the Myrtoan Sea, connected to the mainland by a short causeway. Historically, the area was initially populated by the Minoans as a trading post. It continued to exist, in one form or another, through the millennia. The actual modern town was established by the Spartans in the 6th century BCE and went through a period of decline before it increased in importance as a trading post and fort during the Byzantine and then Venetian periods. The town exchanged hands between the Venetians and Ottomans a few times over the centuries before Greek independence. It sort of reminded us of a smaller version of another Venetian walled city we visited last year: Dubrovnik. 

Like Dubrovnik, no cars can enter the old city, adding to its charm. Monemvasia is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited fortress towns in Europe, and it's a growing tourist destination thanks to its dramatic location and charming streets. This popularity was reflected in several new construction sites within the walls, and a busy entryway of shops and restaurants.

Driving across the causeway, the narrow road leading to the gate in the city walls is where most people park, but all of the spots were full. Paul dropped David and our bags off at the gate, and drove back down to the large dirt parking area at the base of the causeway. It was only about a 15 minute walk back to the gate. We arrived right around sunset, and met our AirBnB host who gave us some tips and a tour of the apartment. Our room had a large terrace with a great view across the town and the sea. We only had one night in Monemvasia, so we set out right away to walk around before it was completely dark. We took the path out the east gate to the modern lighthouse, and then went back into town for some shopping and exploration. There were a lot of cute cats here! After wandering, we had a light dinner at Matoula, sitting outside where it was starting to get a bit chilly. We shared a Greek salad, a fava bean dip, and a type of flat spinach pie. We finished off the night walking around a bit more, getting some Gelato, and hanging out on our patio.

First view of the island rising beyond the causeway. Monemvasia is on the backside.

The road hugs the sea as it heads uphill to the city gates.

Yes, this is our terrace. Can't beat those views.

Entrance to the bedroom from the terrace.

The second floor bedroom, in a renovated traditional house.

David in the doorway.

The path outside the east gate towards the lighthouse.

Don't fall in!

Atmospheric alleys of Monemvasia.

Cat and cacti.

This mischievous cat was up to something.

Sunset vibing.

Whoever threw that, your mom's a χω!

Dinner time. Not our first and not our last horiatiki salad of the trip.

We had so many Greek pie dishes over the 10 days (basically you can put any food noun in front of -pita and it's a thing here).

Sunday morning we woke up not long after sunrise, and set off on the hike up a pathway to the upper town. This area is a series of ruins perched at the very top of the island. The original town was founded here, at the top, and only grew to the lower area later in its history. At that time, the upper city was the military and administrative center, but is now abandoned in favor of the lower town. It was extremely windy at the top, and we had the site mostly to ourselves. We walked around for a bit, taking in the views and visiting the church of Agia Sophia, a 12th century Byzantine church at the highest point (300 meters above the sea below). An attendant in the church thought David was Greek and started speaking to him in Greek. She pointed out a fresco of Jesus as an old man with white hair. We walked back to the lower town, had breakfast, showered, packed up, and left by 11am.

Sunrise from our terrace.

Pretty!

Lion King style sun rays.

David in the upper town.

Looking down at the lower town.

Flowers.

Porthole to the sea to keep an eye out for Turks (or pirates, or Venetians, etc)!

We've never seen "old man" Jesus before.

Cat group nap time. Look again, there are more cats than you counted the first time.

The streets of Monemvasia in the morning.

One last sit on the terrace before heading west to the Mani Peninsula.

Walking down the road to our car.

The view when leaving - remember the town is on the other side.

Movie star David.

Monemvasia is a worthy stop. We thought one night was enough, as it's a pretty small town, and we had more than enough time to walk around and explore. If you're looking to relax, it could be a nice place to spend a few days just chilling. With that we hit the road heading west towards the Mani peninsula and our next hotel in Areopoli.

Wandering Epidaurus to Nafplio’s Heights

We started our next day with a walk to another coffee shop (this one called coffee berry) and grabbed some pastries at a shop called Elephant. We passed by a bakery on the way back to the AirBnB and David tried to find some anise-flavored koulourakia (a type of Greek cookie that his mom makes). They had lots of similar cookies, but nothing quite what he was looking for. We then set off for our main activity of the day - a visit to Epidaurus and the Saronic Gulf.

Epidaurus (about a 30 minute drive east from Nafplio) was a classical Greek city that was said to be the birthplace of Apollo's son, Asclepius, the healer. People would travel from far and wide during both Greek and Roman periods to visit the healing temple of Asclepius. A small city popped up to support the temple and a large theater was constructed. 

Epidaurus is high on the tourist list for this region of Greece and there are tour busses coming in from Athens every day. It wasn't that crowded when we were here (yay shoulder season). The theater, while historically well preserved due to its isolated location, has been somewhat renovated and is still used for a summer drama festival. The theater is the main attraction here by far, but there are also quite a few interesting ancient ruins, information providing context, a small museum, the ruins of a basilica, and some countryside to explore. Special props to the Australian dude who climbed to the top of the theater and said "well we know the Greeks didn't have vertigo" to Paul, before smiling at his own Dad joke and wandering off.

Our exit from America strategy is to teach English somewhere like this. ;)

A random little church we walked by in the morning.

Inside the church.

Business cat.

Playtime cat.

This is basically the same thing as a Turkish simit but is called a koulouri. Usually we saw it called a "Greek bagel."

Similar...but not quite like the ones my mom makes.

The theater at Epidaurus - it's easy to see why this is a UNESCO site, it's well preserved and maintained.

At the top of the theater looking down.

Paul at the top of the theater.

Inside the Epidaurus Museum.

There were a lot of pine trees here and they smelled amazing.

There was even a stadium here for athletic events.

From Epidaurus we drove to ancient Epidaurus. Wait, you say, weren't the theater and ruins ancient Epidaurus? Well, not quite. The site of the big theatre and UNESCO site is indeed called Epidaurus, but further east is the site of Palaia Epidauros AKA Archaia Epidauros (Αρχαία Επίδαυρος). It's a town built on top of the site of the original ancient city, and still has the remains of another smaller theater built in 400AD. It's all a bit confusing, and guidebooks even warn you not to follow the signs for ancient Epidaurus if you're going to the huge theater, which is the main attraction.

Once we arrived in ancient Epidaurus, we unfortunately saw that the Theatre of Palaia Epidauros (AKA "Small Theatre of Epidauros") was surrounded by a fence and undergoing some renovations. Luckily you could still see the site through the fence. Next we went down to the seafront, which is a quaint little harbor that was just brilliant on this bright sunny day. We had lunch at Mike's Restaurant, enjoying the sea views while listening to someone's dog bark at passing cats...incessantly. 

Our second theatre of the day.

Olives with the town in the background.

Brilliant water on the seafront.

David's lunch was melitzanes imam - which is the Greek version of the Turkish dish imam biyildi.

David looking like a movie star at lunch. 

Cat!

There were a lot of sea urchins.

On the way back to Nafplio, we saw on google maps there was a random small waterfall that only had a few reviews. We had read that during the dry season many of the waterfalls go almost completely dry, but we decided to check it out anyway (one of the benefits of having a rental car to visit middle-of-nowhere places)! We went down a tiny dirt farm road as far as we could, then hiked on a small trail into a little valley that was noticeably cooler and dark. There were little pools of water, but no flowing water, and indeed the waterfall was reduced to the tiniest trickle. Still, neat to stop at such a random site, with nobody else around. It felt like a little adventure.

Dirt road adventure? Why not!

Clear pools in the valley.

There's the waterfall!

Driving back to Nafplio, we drove straight to Palamidi Fortress, which looms above town. It was built by Venetians in the early 18th century, and at times was controlled by the Ottomans and then the Greeks. This fortress is well preserved, and we enjoyed walking around the walls and taking in the sweeping views on a brilliantly sunny late afternoon. We then drove down the hill, stopping at a Lidl grocery store before taking a break at the AirBnB.

The impressive walls towering above Nafplio.

Picturesque views.

A cute baby tortoise!

The water was impressively turquoise. 

Lots of great beautiful views to the sea.

Naplio bends around the Gulf along the outcrop behind Paul.

Looking down towards our AirBnB in Naplio. We love how compact Greek cities are!

Looking through a fortress window.

A rabbit cactus!

David at the entrance to a tunnel.

Prickly Pear cacti are invasive in Greece but were all over the Peloponnese.

We could see Larisa Castle and Argos - everything is pretty close together.

Inside the fortress.

We then walked to central Nafplio for sunset, for the third time. We relaxed and meandered along the waterfront, then had cocktails at a little bar called Hedgehog. They were really good; we had a negroni and an old fashioned. We had dinner at Mousiko Kafeneio, a small plates restaurant/bar that wasn't great despite a 4.9 rating on Google. We went back to the AirBnB to pack up for an early departure. Side note - throughout the day, Paul got several comments on his Toronto shirt. One guy said "go Blue Jays," and one woman said she was from Toronto. Paul had to explain he wasn't Canadian, but had just picked up the shirt when visiting friends. But apparently Nafplio is popular with Torontonians!

Of course David found a cat.

Diva cat wanted to be in the wedding photos.

A lil crab on the seaside rocks.

Cocktails at Hedgehog.

The Greek eye (Mati) is everywhere and jewelry featuring it was a requested gift from David's sister and mother. Don't think too hard about how this is exactly the same as the Turkish eye (Nazar). 😉

So ended our time in Nafplio. When we were planning the trip we knew that this would be a good spot to hang out for a few days, but honestly that's not doing it justice. If you only have time to visit one area of the Peloponnesian peninsula you should strongly consider this one. From the delightful center of Nafplio to the ruins of nearby bronze age Mycenae, to the Ottoman and Venetian fortresses and classical period theaters, this region has a lot to offer and is only about a two hour drive from Athens. That said, our road trip continues and we visited many more amazing areas! Up next is classical Sparta, Byzantine Mystras, and Venetian Monemvasia.