Peloponnese Peninsula Travel Guide

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Peloponnese Peninsula
Nafplion © HBarrison
The southern part of mainland Greece, known as Morea, consists of the large Peloponnese Peninsula, now divided from the mainland by the Corinth Canal. The Poloponnese was the ancient stomping grounds of mythological heroes such as Hercules, Sisyphus, Callisto, Electra and Perseus. Nowadays, the peninsula plays host to virtually every tourist that comes to Greece, because most of the country's important and imposing ancient sites are found on its landmass, dominated by two mountain ranges, the Taygetos and Parnon. The Olympic torch is ritually lit at Olympia by a high priestess, just as it was in ancient times, and carried across the continents of the world to the host country to mark the start of the Games.

Besides the ancient ruins at towns like Sparta, Monemvassia, Corinth, Mycenae, and Epidaurus, the fertile coastal strip of the Peloponnese also serves as Greece's market garden and centre for wine production. Many tourists enter Greece by sea from Italy and other Mediterranean ports through the Peloponnese port of Patras, the third largest town in Greece.

The peninsula is a playground too, for the Greeks themselves. Summer sees thousands of Athenians heading south at weekends to enjoy the many seaside resorts and beaches of the Peninsula.



Resorts

See our separate guides to the following Peloponnese Peninsula holiday resorts: Nafplion


Attractions

Ancient Corinth © Alun Salt

Ancient Corinth

The ruins of ancient Corinth, a short drive from the modern city, are spread around the base of the rock of Acrocorinth, which forms a natural acropolis for the city. Most of the surviving buildings are Roman rather than Greek, dating from the...  see full details



Epidaurus © *clairity*

Epidaurus

A definite must on a tour of the Peloponnese is the famed ancient theatre of Epidaurus, built in the 3rd century BC and so well preserved that with little or no restoration it is still in use today for regular summer dramatic performances,...  see full details



Mycenae © Andreas Trepte/Merops

Mycenae

This ancient site, 31 miles (50km) south of Corinth, bears the remains of the ancient palace and citadel of Mycenae, a place of archaeological controversy but fascinating for the lay visitor. Homer's fabulous story has it that the kingdom of Mycenae was dripping in...  see full details



Olympia © GNTO

Olympia

Amongst shady pine, olive and oak trees, in a valley between Mount Kronos and the Alfios River on the Peloponnese Peninsula, lie the remains of two temples and the stadium where the first Olympic Games took place in 776 BC. Since the modern...  see full details



Sparta © byrdiegirl

Sparta

Made popular again by the 2006 film 300, the ancient city of Sparta sits in the middle of the Plains of Laconia in the Peloponnese, which is one of the most historic regions in the world. You can visit the tomb of King...  see full details


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