
XpatAthens
The Ultimate Road Trip Through Southern Peloponnese Greece
Keep in mind, to fully discover the splendid diversity of natural and historical wonders, many of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this road trip is best experienced over 2-3 days or ideally 4 days.
Need a car to make this road trip possible?
Just after setting out from Athens on this inspiring road trip, grab a quick coffee at the Corinith Canal. This man-made miracle completed in the late 1800s, offers breathtaking views and connects the mainland with the Peloponnese. Before it was built, ships wanting to cross the Adriatic, or go to Corinth, had to circle the Peloponnese, which added approximately 300 kms to their journey.
Our first destination, the well preserved fortified Byzantine town of Mystras, is located just under 2 hours south from the Corinth Canal. Also known as the ‘wonder of the Morea’, Mystras winds up the hill like an open-air museum and is one of the most unique sites in the southern Peloponnese, not to mention is also being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mystras was built amphitheatrically in 1249 and is home to many Byzantine churches, and over its long history was conquered by Byzantines, Venetians, and Turks. The most important sites in Mystras are the hilltop fortress and the Byzantine monasteries.
Our next stop, 1 hour and 30 mins away from Mystras, is an ideal year round getaway destination. Monemvasia lies on a big rock in the sea connected to the mainland by a small causeway. To actually enter the town, you have to leave your car behind. This medieval castle town of unique architecture on the south-eastern coast of the Peloponnese, is one of the most romantic destinations in Greece due to its fairy-tale atmosphere and unique history. You're up for a lovely surprise as you enter the fortress’ gates, as the whole town of castles, mansions, cobbled streets, squares and churches unfolds before your eyes.
Heading West and around 2 hours from Monemvasia, the next destination will most certainly impress you! The Cave of Diros is one of the most impressive cave complexes in the world as it’s full of lakes and extraordinary stalagmite and stalactite formations. Part of the cave tour is by boat while the rest can be done on foot, making it a truly remarkable experience for visitors of all ages!
From here, drive 20 minutes north to Limeni, a picturesque fishing village ideal for a delicious seaside lunch in one of the excellent traditional fish tavernas. The area is also home to the beautiful tower house of the Mavromichalis family, a family who played a significant role in the Greek War for Independence. While in the region, don't forget to pay a visit to Gerolimenas, a port of historical significance during ancient times. Today Gerolimenas is a traditional fishing village with lovely tavernas and a small pebbled beach.
Further along the central southern prong of the Peloponnese, about a one hour drive from Limeni, you will be met by the pretty coastal villages of Stoupa and Kardamyli. Mani is a popular destination among visitors seeking an authentic Greek holiday experience. The beautiful seaside town of Kardamyli is nestled between turquoise waters and lush green mountains and is ideal for a relaxing getaway away from the crowds all year round.
Next, just under 2 hours from Kardamyli, Pylos is an amphitheatrically built town, reminiscent of an island hamlet. The tranquillity that the town enjoys today contrasts its turbulent past as it is the location where the Battle of Navarino took place in 1827. Visit the Archaeological Museum of Pylos, take a stroll along the town’s seaside promenade and enjoy a coffee at one of the traditional ‘kafenio’ or sit down for a bite at one of the many restaurants in the area.
Need a car to make this road trip possible?
October 23 - A Time To Celebrate
October 16 - Autumn Rhythm In Athens
October 9th - Exploring Greece In Autumn
The Most Traveled Person In The World Is Greek
ACS Athens Receives The 'Regional Peace Through Sport-Initiative Of The Year' Award
For more information, please visit: ACS Athens
KLM Holds Environmental Awareness Campaign
Free Museums & Sites For Oxi Day On October 28th
Costa Navarino’s 3rd Messinia Pro-Am Is Coming 20-23 February 2019
Early bird discount for the international golf tournament until October 31st
Costa Navarino’s 3rd Messinia Pro-Am to be held on February 20-23, 2019 is fast approaching.
Registrations for the 3rd international golf tournament will close on January 18th 2019; however golfers from all over the world can take advantage of the “early bird” discount on their participation packages until October 31st, making their registration through the official website of the event HERE!
The 30 teams taking part in the award-winning signature golf courses The Dunes Course and The Bay Course at Costa Navarino will compete in a landscape full of centuries-old olive trees with stunning views of the Ionian Sea and the historic Bay of Navarino. This year’s professional golfers will be competing in the two 18-hole courses for a total prize fund of 30,000 euros.
You can get a taste of the anticipated action, in the 2019 video teaser of the event!
Messinia Pro-Am had a prominent presence in its first participation at the 2018 Sports Marketing Awards in Greece, winning 3 awards. In particular, the international golf tournament won the Gold Award in the “Sports Media” section, the Silver Award in the “Sports Events / Branded Events” section, and the Bronze Award in the “Sports Brands” section.
The 3rd Messinia Pro-Am is organized in collaboration with the PGAs of Europe and is held under the auspices of PGA of Greece and the Hellenic Golf Federation.
AEGEAN, a member of Star Alliance, is the official airline partner of the event.
Vodafone και Hertz are the official sponsors of the event.
Erasmus is the official travel partner coordinating and ensuring the smooth registration & accommodation process.
For special accommodation packages at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino and the full program of Messinia Pro-Am, click HERE!
Hashtag: #messiniaproam
Photo credit: The Dunes Course @ Costa Navarino (professional player Adam Kritikos
Onassis AiR ~ Open Call 2019/20
ONASSIS AiR (Artists-in-Residence) is a year-round program, located in the urban centre of Athens, that grounds its mission in commitment to supporting artistic process, towards a less product-obsessed arts ecosystem.
The (inter)national artistic research and residency program in Athens (Greece) is being born in 2019 and is established by the Onassis Foundation.
What if we took the artistic practice, the craft, the process of creating, the process of research, each individual trajectory that artists, and other curious minds, go through day in and day out, as the starting point towards a less product obsessed arts policy? What if we refused the precarity of curators could take time to reconsider their practice without expectations and constraints of the production frenzy?
Onassis AiR, is a place where all the participants can interact with each other as peers. Regardless of age or how accomplished they are. To work and think and eat together as a community that does not strive for the next project, the next premiere, the next opening. A community that has the ability to pause, to rethink how each one of us functions and creates. A space that offers time. Time to learn, to change, or go deeper, by doing and undoing or non-doing.
Onassis AiR will support: Greek and international artists, curators, and thinkers working in time-based artistic disciplines, who wish to deepen, reconsider, or transform their practice or methodology.
Onassis AiR has been designed and will be run by Ash Bulayev (director of Onassis AiR) and Nefeli Myrodia (creative producer & dramaturg of Onassis AiR).
About the Onassis Foundation:
Committed to its mission of extending access to health, education and culture to as many people as possible, the Onassis Foundation supports education with over 7,000 scholarships covering study at the doctoral and postgraduate level in a wide range of fields both in Greece and internationally, investing in curious minds. At the same time, over 1,000 artists who are already releasing their potential enjoy the support of the Onassis Foundation in the form of scholarships. In addition, with over forty Onassis Stegi productions that tour abroad, it presents Greece at its best to the rest of the world. A restless Foundation that takes support for artists' needs to the next level is introducing a new programme: Onassis AiR (Artists-In-Residence).
Read more about each program strand:
- Onassis AiR Critical Practices Program is a full-time, 3-month encounter of 5 practitioners living and working in Greece. The program is designed as a collective artistic research community of time-based professionals (visual artists, choreographers, theatre and film directors, composers, performers, curators, producers, designers, writers, cultural theorists, and other curious minds).
- Onassis AiR (inter)national Curator & Artist-in-Residence Program is a one-month, individual artistic research residency for international and Greek artists, living in Greece or abroad. This strand is for any artist or curator or other creative and curious practitioner (time-based practice) who has a concrete artistic research question or project they would like to take further. Regardless of experience level, but assuming that each participant has an existing individual practice at the time of the application.
- Onassis AiR Exchange Residencies are individual artistic research residencies, varying in duration and scope, taking place at one of our collaborating institutions, outside of Greece. Exchange Residencies are intended for artists living and working in Greece within time-based practices: artists, makers, designers, theorists, curators, and other curious minds who would benefit from participating in one of the collaborating programs around the world.
- Onassis AiR Emergency Fellowships are the most reactive and tailor-made strand of Onassis AiR program. Emergency Fellowships are intended for international and local artists, curators, and other practitioners. Emergency Fellowships are meant to be a stimulus to artists and curators who have a unique, unanticipated, and very time-sensitive need.
Onassis AiR DNA:
- Time-based
This program is for artists and curators who work with time-based mediums. - In-flux
This program is for artists and curators with an existing professional practice, who are going through a shift, who are in-flux, and those who look to redefine how they work or create. - Local
This program is very much rooted in the city of Athens and all the contradictions, beauty, tempo and light that it offers. - (Inter)national
This program is for artists and curators who live in Greece & international artists, regardless of their nationality. - DIWO
This program prefers to avoid the ethos of DIY (do-it-yourself) and instead embraces the logic of DIWO (do-it-with-others). All participants must have an interest of working and thinking and being with others (peers), and are willing to connect and engage socially within the diverse communities of Athens. - Self-learning
This program is not educational, but is based on the principles of self-learning and learning-by-doing. - No gurus
This program will not have teachers or master-classes or students - instead it is based on peers who all have their individual craft and methodologies and questions, and who share such concerns and questions with each other without unnecessary hierarchies inherent in the notion of “master artists”. - Welcome back
This program, and its different strands, is meant to be a place you can return to. If you have been part of one of the strands of ONASSIS AiR, you are always welcome to apply again for another strand, or simply come and talk to us about your needs. And as a past participant, you are always welcome to drop by for lunch, or to borrow equipment and use the spaces (if what you need is available during that moment), or ask for advice, or use the library.
Read more about Onassis AiR HERE!