The modest cafe in the small Greek fishing village of Oitylo has an unexpectedly beautiful ceiling. Covered in frescoes of angels representing the four seasons, it was painted for a movie shot in the village in the 1970s.
The cafe is on Instagram and at busier times must have its share of people dropping in just to capture the ceiling. But here in late September, the only other tourists are me and more fellow tour group members, and we don’t want to take photos of the cafe. We’re here to sketch it.
I’m travelling on an escorted tour called Making Art in the Peloponnese, a collaboration between Anastasis Kokkinos, the Melbourne-based director of Luxe Sailing, which offers small group sailing and land tours in Greece, and the Geelong-based artist and illustrator Teresa Lawrence.
With a provided backpack of art supplies, we’ve been travelling by small bus through the Peloponnese region, which is connected to the mainland of Greece and the capital of Athens by bridges over the Corinth Canal.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.
The southernmost part of mainland Greece, it has four peninsulas, a mountainous interior, many sparkling beaches and harbours, and millions of olive trees.
The tour is a revelation. Before this journey, I knew little about the Peloponnese. I had no idea, for instance, of the extent of its immense beauty, how diverse the landscape is and how much it feels like so many more popular, well-known destinations, yet has its own definite flavour. I’m also surprised that when we travel – slightly out of season but still in September – it’s devoid of the crowds that flock to those other spots.
The rural west feels like Sicily, which shouldn’t be surprising – it’s on the same circle of latitude as the Italian island and the two regions flank the Ionian Sea. Many interior landscapes feel like Tuscany’s rolling hills.
“It’s less expensive – it’s more authentic,” says Kokkinos, whose family origins are from the far-eastern island of Kastellorizo. “It’s the real deal to me.”
There’s another revelation comes more slowly. When you stop to sit in a place and draw it, you concentrate on different things than when you quickly take a photo. Waiters in cafes and passers-by in the street are curious about what you’re doing, and conversations begin.
Once you get over your nervousness about people looking over your shoulder, you become addicted to sitting and quietly recording what you see.
I’m not an artist, I should point out, and haven’t done any drawing or painting for decades. Apart from Teresa Lawrence, my two other companions aren’t artists either.
We’d all like to be better at it, and Teresa is a kind and patient teacher, but I find what I put on the page doesn’t matter nearly as much as the exhilarating feeling of being fully present in a place because I’ve stopped to really look at it.
Of healing cults and majestic landscapes
Our launch point for the Peloponnese is a 15-minute water taxi ride across the Aegean Sea from the island of Hydra to Ermioni, a small port on the north-easterly finger of the peninsula known as the Argolid, which has been continuously inhabited since at least Homeric times.
The harbour is startlingly less crowded than the port we’ve just left at Hydra, with only one large yacht moored off the jetty and the few waterfront cafes with a smattering of customers.
Our experience for the next 12 days will be of stunning landscapes that are in most part free of mass tourism, except for the ancient historical sites for which the region is known, among them Sparta, Mycenae, Olympia, Mystras and Epidaurus.
The winding road between Ermioni and Epidaurus passes through farmland dotted with terracotta-roofed whitewashed houses, vineyards, olive groves, orchards, solar farms, roadside shrines, dry stone walls, alleys of pointy cypress, and the occasional clumps of eucalypt. It’s all wrapped in the distant cliff faces of mountain ranges, of which Mount Taygetus (2407 metres) is the highest.
The landscape’s tranquillity belies centuries of conflict, from the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in 431-404 BC and the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 to the Battle of Kalamata in 1941 when 300 Anzacs lost their lives. The steep ravines and caves have long provided protection for resistance fighters, whether armed with spears or guns.
We stop in the shadow of the mountains at The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus, home of the most celebrated healing centre in the classical world.
Dating from the 4th century BC and devoted to healing the mind, body and soul, it’s a collection of temples, sporting and hospital facilities, baths and an amphitheatre that is considered one of the purest masterpieces of Greek architecture for its perfect proportions and acoustics.
We set up our stools outside the gate to the amphitheatre and draw for a while, chatting to a few intrigued tourists. While other visitors take selfies, sketching feels old-fashioned, as if I were an 18th-century lady on her Grand Tour of Europe with her watercolours.
Drawing the perfect geometric lines of the ascending marble steps is a challenge, but it’s beautiful sitting in the shade of cypress trees and contemplating the sporting events and ceremonies that took place here more than 25 centuries ago.
Bays, boats and bougainvillea
Could Nafplio be the most beautiful city in Greece? I’m wondering this, as we wander the bougainvillea-draped pedestrian streets of the north-eastern harbour city, which sits above a protected bay on a rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus.
Above us tower the steep stone walls of the castle of Acronafplia, which was fortified in the 4th century by Romans and then Franks, then changing hands between the Ottomans and the Venetians for three centuries. When the Ottomans were defeated in the War of Independence, Nafplio became the seat of the new government.
We’re staying at Nafsimedon, a lovely pink and white neoclassical mansion situated on a park under the fortress. It’s a brief stroll to the marina and harbourfront corniche flanked by palm trees and into the historical centre, where the pedestrian streets are lined with two and three-storey shuttered houses with iron balconies.
French doors open onto the pale marble paths and the painted chairs and tables of many cafes and bars. One street is strung with a clothesline of brightly coloured cotton table napkins.
Many of the houses host interesting boutiques stocked with quality crafts, shoes and clothing. There’s a charming folkloric museum with a shady courtyard. And more cats than people. I draw a lot of cats.
The streets that run alongside the castle are more touristy, but mostly the historic centre feels alive with local people – children play and squeal in the squares, there’s a wedding and people take their evening passeggiata with cups of gelato.
One balmy night, we eat inexpensively at a restaurant called Kakanarakis 1986, at tables in a street garlanded with bougainvillea, and I enjoy the best fish dish of my life – a simple grilled dorade.
On another day, we sit at one of the many terrace restaurants that line the port and watch sightseeing boats go back and forth to the Venetian castle of Bourtzi, picturesquely situated in the middle of the harbour.
Two mega-yachts are moored at the marina. Saudi princes, we’re told, in Nafplio to buy property. I don’t blame them. It feels like one of the most liveable places in Europe.
When Hercules is on hand
It’s a three-hour drive from Nafplio to Monemvasia through valleys thick with ancient olive trees and tunnels that cut highways through the mountains.
When we reach the coast, it’s a short drive along a causeway to reach the walls of the castle at Monevasia. Founded in the 6th century, it’s one of the oldest continually inhabited fortified towns in Europe. The original settlement was carved out of the rock.
Due to its location on key sea routes, it was an important trading post and fort. Strategically, it can’t be seen from the shore and can only be reached from one direction, hence the name, which means “single entrance”.
It’s a layer cake of 14 centuries of architectural styles – medieval, Byzantine, Venetian, Ottoman. The settlement flourished during the medieval ages, with the wealthy living in the Upper Town and the rest below them.
The castle once boasted 46 churches and 10,000 residents. Now, there are two significant Byzantine churches remaining, the Agia Sofia and Elkomenos Christos. The permanent population is nine.
Most of the old houses, mansions and seminaries have been converted into hotels and guest houses. There are no cars. The narrow ancient market street is still the town’s main street, lined with shops, bars and restaurants.
This can be crowded but wander away down to quiet lanes and terraces that overlook the sea or climb to the ruins on the top for views to Milos and Santorini. It’s much more compact than Dubrovnik and an easy walk if you don’t mind steps.
We’re staying in the Hotel Byzantino, which is a collection of rooms scattered all over the castle. Hercules (his real name) greets us at the gate and carries our luggage on his shoulders to the various rooms. No room is the same.
Mine is uphill, a simple bedroom with beamed ceilings that has a pleasant view of the town square and the sea through two little windows. Another of my companions has a steep room with a large terrace that has gorgeous views of the glittering Myrtoan Sea. It’s not a place for those with mobility problems.
Our breakfast is taken in another building, in a low room that was once a hammam. For dinner, there’s a choice of restaurants, many with outlooks over the sea. I like Oinomeao, where we sit at a downstairs terrace, dining on sea bream and haloumi salad, surrounded by cats.
From prickly pear to pebbly beach
Between Monemvasia and our next destination, Oitylo on the Mani peninsula, the landscape is harsh and beautiful, with clumps of prickly pear blooming alongside thousands of olive trees.
The olive groves seem endless, punctuated by a small village where residents sit outside the one cafe sipping their morning coffee.
We stop for a cooking demonstration, olive oil tasting and lunch in the groves at Eumelia, a regenerative farm, olive oil producer and farm stay surrounded by ancient olive trees (one gnarled specimen is 4000 years old.)
Husband and wife team Frangiskos Karelas and Marilena Karadima created the agrotourism business on his grandfather’s land, following the principles of organic, biodynamic farming.
The architect-designed main house and five cottages use eco-friendly materials and technologies, including solar and geothermal heating, and zero-kilometre dining where possible.
We return to the coast at Oitylo, population 324. Our resort hotel, Brazzo di Maina, is terraced along a gorge that overlooks the stone buildings and tower houses of the village and a curve of pebbly beach with turquoise waters edged with colourful tavernas.
Built on the site of an ancient Mycenaean citadel, it was mentioned in The Iliad for the ships it sent to the Trojan War. It also holds the curious ruins of a temple to the Egyptian god Serapis, which suggests the city once traded with Egypt.
The beach is almost deserted, and we encounter rain for the first time. My room has a corner terrace with two stone archways framing the view, so one morning we sit and paint while the rain clears. We travel a few minutes around the bay to the fishing village of Limeni for lunch at the glamorous Kourmas, a restaurant serving the freshest daily catch at tables cliff hanging over the beach.
The next day, we stop at Old Kardamyli traditional restaurant, which overlooks the medieval town, feasting on tomato fritters, stuffed zucchini flowers and a rich vegetable stew called soufiko at tables under shady fruit trees.
We’re on our way to Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor House, home of the English author and his photographer wife. Considered one of the most beautiful homes in Greece, it’s now part of Athens’ Benaki Museum.
Completed in the mid-60s, the complex of four buildings, including house and studio and arcaded seating areas was designed by architect Nikos Hatzimichalis for the well-known travel writer and soldier and his artist wife. (Among Fermor’s dozens of books, Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese is a good companion for this trip.) The couple bequeathed the house to the Benaki Museum after his death in 2011.
Atop a hill between two small bays, the house opens on to terraces, gardens and outdoor seating areas, with a private pathway down to a lovely pebbled cove. Inside, the couple’s well-thumbed books are still in place in the large library, and there is an abundance of comfortable chairs, sofas and window seats on which to read them. I want to move in immediately. I could rent it, if I booked well ahead, for €6000 ($9738) a night, minimum five-night stay.
In the land of the good oils
The drive to Kalamata from Kardamyli takes us around winding cliffs with staggering sea views and through medieval villages made of local stone. Kalamata is our final destination in the Peloponnese before returning to Athens.
I knew it was a prosperous trading city and port due to its famous black olives and olive oils, but I didn’t expect it to be so gorgeous.
The Taygetos mountains tumble down to the Bay of Messinia, which has waters as clear as any Greek island, even though this is a city of about 73,000 people. The site of ancient Pharae, the city is topped by the remains of a 13th-century castle, where a renowned dance festival is held each July.
In September 1986, the city was hit by a moderately strong earthquake that caused heavy damage throughout and killed 20 people. Some historic buildings remain in the old city, but much of the city has been rebuilt in contemporary Mediterranean style, featuring rows of apartment blocks that face the Messinian Bay and port and have long balconies and colourful awnings.
The bay is a big broad sweep lined with palm trees, similar to the Croisette at Cannes, and stretches for four kilometres. There are beach clubs with bright umbrellas and day beds dotted along the shore, a mix of pale sand and fine pebbles.
We’re staying at a beachfront hotel, the Elite City Resort, and each room has a balcony with uninterrupted views of the glistening bay. Kalamata’s attractions are many and include the Archeological Museum of Messenia and the bijou 11th-century Church of Agio Apostoloi in the centre of the old town.
It’s a good base for day trips to Sparta and Mycenae, to one of the other local beaches, or for hikes around the Polylimnio Waterfalls in the mountains.
We’re based for four days in Kalamata, and we spend most of it enjoying the old city, which is full of cafes, bakeries, haberdasheries and small boutiques. Because we’re stopping frequently to sketch or paint with watercolours, we drink a lot of coffee and eat our fill of Greek salads.
Everywhere we stop to eat, the food is good and cheap. For a slightly elevated experience, Foino serves classic Greek food with a twist, using seasonal ingredients from small and local producers.
For me, the great discovery is the Victoria G Karelios Collection of Greek Costume, a jewel box of a museum holding one of the most comprehensive collections of Greek traditional costumes in Greece.
Mrs Karelios, the collector and donor behind the museum, oversaw the architectural redesign of the house, transforming it into an elegant abstract space where some costumes are displayed ingeniously so that they rise through two storeys.
Local seamstresses spent thousands of hours recreating each costume, and professional tailors scoured towns and villages for antique pieces to be included.
Kalamata’s more well-known highlight is its Central Market, which showcases the abundant bounty of the Peloponnese, especially on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when farmers come into town with their fresh produce.
Undercover at the centre are a series of small shops, including butchers and fishmongers, where you can taste oils, olives, cheese, syrups and other regional delicacies. Greek cheeses, such as graviera, kefalotyri and manouri, are seriously underrated.
The farmer’s stalls are overflowing with figs, pomegranates, prickly pear, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini flowers, peppers and other late summer produce. Around the perimeter there are hardware stores and the occasional cafe so traditional that it’s still patronised only by men. On the corner of the market is a souvlaki shop, Psistaria Nikitas, which we’re told is the best in town.
To mark the end of our tour, Teresa Lawrence has arranged a small exhibition of our work at a family-run taverna, Thalassaki Giannakopoulou Vasiliki Restaurant.
The four of us have been travelling parallel to another of Luxe Sailing’s land tours, and everyone gathers for sparkling wine to unveil the exhibition.
We’ve each contributed several small paintings, a microcosm of what we’ve observed these past 12 days – streets, houses, doorways, cafe scenes, monuments, costumes, seascapes, olive trees, cats and market stalls.
And there’s an unexpected bonus to this, apart from the sheer joy of discovering the Peloponnese in such an engrossing way: I can now say I’ve exhibited in Europe.
THE DETAILS
TOUR
Luxe Sailing and Land Tours offers luxury small group, fully guided and inclusive, land and cultural tours. For 2027 departures, “Peloponnese Land Tour” 14 days, from $9800 a person; Making Art in Greece – Peloponnese, 14 days, from $9800 a person; Making Art in Greece – Athens, seven days, from $5900. See luxesailing.com
FLY
Qatar Airways normally flies daily from Sydney and Melbourne to Athens via its hub in Doha, Qatar. Note the route is currently disrupted due to conflict in the Middle East.
TRANSPORT
Ermioni, our starting point in the Peloponnese, can be reached by regular car ferry or bus service from Athens. You can also drive to any point on the Peloponnese peninsula across the Corinth Canal. The highways are excellent, but it would be helpful to understand the Greek alphabet as signs do not always have translations.
FIVE MORE WONDERS OF THE PELOPONNESE
Mystras Perched high on the slopes of Mount Taygetos, Mystras was once the most important Byzantine city outside Constantinople. Its beautiful uninhabited buildings include palaces, mansions, churches and monasteries.
Messene This is one of the most important ancient towns in the Peloponnese, dating to 369 BC. Its fortified city walls and towers stretch for 9.5 kilometres and the ruins include churches and monasteries, houses and funerary monuments.
Nemea In mythology, Nemea was the site of Heracles’s battle with the Nemean Lion. The Temple of Zeus is its major attraction, but it’s also one of the best wine regions in Greece, where the agiorgitiko grape variety is grown.
Mycenae Rich in ancient myths, this was the fortified city of King Agamemnon, and its walls, made of massive boulders, were supposedly built by the Cyclops. The famous Lion Gate at the town’s entry, the Treasury of Atreus and the vaulted tomb of King Agamemnon make it a must-visit for ancient history buffs.
Olympia The first official Olympic Games took place here in 776 BC in a wooded grove. Today the torch for the modern Olympics is lit in the oldest building on the site, the Temple of Hera. The celebrated sanctuary includes the Ancient Stadium and an Archeological Museum full of treasures.
The writer travelled as a guest of Luxe Sailing.