The Peloponnese is the heartland of ancient Greece, the large, hand-shaped peninsula south of Athens connected to the mainland by the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, a landscape of mountains, olive groves, and a coastline of extraordinary beauty that contains more classical sites per square kilometre than anywhere else in the Greek world: Mycenae, the city of Agamemnon that gave its name to a civilisation; Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games; Epidaurus, whose ancient theatre has acoustics so perfect that a coin dropped on the stage can be heard from the back row; Mystras, the Byzantine ghost city on the slopes of the Taygetus mountains; and the Mani Peninsula, a wild, tower-house-studded landscape that is one of the most dramatic and least-visited regions in Greece. The Peloponnese is accessible from Athens (a 1-hour drive to Corinth, or, famously, a swim across the 6.3 km Corinth Canal, an event held annually for the bold) and rewards a road trip of at least a week, the distances are manageable, the roads are good, and the combination of ancient history, dramatic landscapes, and some of the best food in Greece (the oranges of Laconia, the olive oil of Kalamata, the wine of Nemea) is unbeatable.

Quick Facts: The Peloponnese, Greece

• Essential sites: Ancient Olympia (the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the stadium where the first Games were held in 776 BC, the Temple of Zeus that once housed one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Allow 2–3 hours. Entry: ~€12 summer / €6 winter). Mycenae (the citadel of Agamemnon, the Lion Gate, the oldest monumental sculpture in Europe, the beehive tombs, and the gold mask of Agamemnon in the excellent museum. Allow 2 hours. Entry: ~€12). Epidaurus (the most perfectly preserved ancient theatre in Greece, the acoustics are genuinely astonishing. Go early or late to avoid the coach-party crowds. The Sanctuary of Asklepios, the god of healing, surrounds the theatre and is worth exploring. Allow 1.5 hours. Entry: ~€12). Mystras (the Byzantine ghost city, the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire in Greece, abandoned in the 19th century, a UNESCO site of ruined churches, palaces, and monasteries on a hillside below the Frankish castle. Allow 3 hours. Entry: ~€12). Ancient Corinth (the city that St. Paul wrote his letters to, with the Roman forum, the Temple of Apollo, and the Acrocorinth, the fortress on the mountain above, the most dramatically sited castle in Greece. Allow 2 hours. Entry: ~€8)
• Beyond the ruins: Nafplio (the most beautiful town in the Peloponnese, the first capital of modern Greece, a Venetian port city of elegant mansions, a waterfront promenade, and three fortresses including the Palamidi, with 999 steps to the top. The best base for exploring the Argolid region, Mycenae, Epidaurus, and the Nemea wine region are all within 30–45 minutes. Excellent restaurants, boutique hotels, and a genuinely romantic atmosphere). The Mani Peninsula (south of Kalamata, a wild, rocky finger of land covered with stone tower houses built by the famously independent and feuding Maniot clans, dramatic coastal roads, and the extraordinary Diros Caves, an underground river network of stalactite-filled chambers navigated by boat. Diros Caves entry: ~€8). The beaches of the western Peloponnese (long, sandy, and dramatically less crowded than the islands, Voidokilia, a perfect horseshoe bay near Pylos, is one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece)