Messinia - embark on a spectacular journey in time.

Live an unforgettable experience of authentic Peloponnese with its bewitching landscape and a marvelous history that has been shaped for more than 4,500 years. Separated from the Greek mainland by the Corinth Canal for more than 100 years, the Peloponnese is the heart of ancient Greece and the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Perceived by renaissance painters as a pastoral utopia, this area boasts some of the most magnificent and haunting monuments of Ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire.

Spend a warm summer night enjoying a performance of the ancient Greek dramatists while sitting on the old stones of the Epidaurus theatre at the Sanctuary of Asklepios, the god of medicine, which is considered one of the purest masterpieces of Greek architecture. Situated in a valley and surrounded by dense and scented groves of trees, Epidaurus is one of the numerous UNESCO world heritage monuments in Peloponnese and probably the most beautiful archaeological site on the peninsula. Follow the twisting paths in the imposing ruins of the royal palace of Agamemnon in Mycenae, the greatest city of the Mycenaen civilization and another important world heritage monument, indissolubly linked to the Homeric epics. Visit Olympia, the birthplace of the great Olympic Games, held there every four years beginning in 776 B.C. and behold the incredible grandeur and clarity of this archaeological site which witnesses today countless masterpieces from the ancient Greek world.

Wander around the breathtaking medieval ruins and abandoned churches of the UNESCO world heritage site of Mystras, the last dazzling city of the great Byzantine Empire with its formerly marvelous palaces, churches and monasteries. Visit the medieval, Byzantine and Venetian fortress-town of picturesque Monemvasia perched on its distinctively shaped rock, or pass the majestic Taygetos mountain and get to know the stonily austere quality of the Mani region with its typical tower houses.

The Peloponnese peninsula is a paradise of compelling monuments standing as testimony of every period of Greek history, great archaeological sites, unique settlements and amazing castles, set in an alluring scenery of unrivalled natural beauty. Especially the area of Messinia is blessed with a wealth of natural attractions: verdant rolling hills and rugged mountains with deep gorges, pristine coastlines and endless sandy beaches, crystalline lagoons and sparkling waterfalls, lush olive groves and endless vineyards producing gorgeous wines. As Messinia boasts not only a breathtaking seaside landscape, but also an outstanding natural heritage, its magnificent Gialova lagoon surrounded by the natural bay of Voidokillia provides shelter to more than 60% of the bird species recorded in Greece, is the only refuge in Europe of the African chameleon, while a nearby gulf is the second most important Mediterranean habitat of the protected Caretta caretta sea turtle.

However, in Messinia, nature and people form a unity. The area is dotted with more than 500 picturesque little villages with traditional stone houses and an abundance of Greek hospitality wholeheartedly offered to the guests in idyllic local establishments. Taste age-old traditional recipes and local delicacies such as kagiana or diples and enjoy the flavors of Messinia that linger in the memory.

Visit Messinia and experience a veritable kaleidoscope of colour and life. This is the place to feel how the glorious past melts into an exciting present.