Luxury holidays in Peloponnese
This remote southern region and its ancient churches will keep Byzantine fans busy for days: crumbling ruins, monasteries and churches line the quiet roads where traffic comes mostly in the form of passing cows. Flora flourishes in a landscape of vineyards, olive trees and orange groves, and there are mountains to the east and west. Mediaeval walled towns include the castle-rock, Monemvasia, an isolated fortress across the Aegean. Above ground, the peninsula boasts golden beaches with transparent turquoise waters, but underground, it’s just as exciting – buried cities and caves to navigate by boat. Don’t miss Sparta, home of Helen of Troy, and Mystras, a deserted fortified town, stopping off from long drives at one of the roadside tavernas serving souvlaki and saganaki.
When to go
It’s warm and sunny from April until early October, but crowd sizes peak in August, when the narrow mountain passes get congested.