Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING
STEMNÍTSA
I Stemnitsa T 27950 81371. The town's eponymous
taverna turns out dishes in keeping with the wild mountain
setting, plenty of fresh produce, as well as game. About
€15/person. Daily lunch & dinner.
extensive menu, featuring both mountain game (wild
rabbit €11, wild boar or venison €20) and vegetarian
specialities, such as vegetable pie (€4.50) or their own pea
soup (€6). Daily lunch & dinner.
Ì O Drymonas T 27950 31116. Set on the road at the
southern entrance to town, this elegantly rustic spot has a
large variety of mezédhes and local dishes, including fresh
game, all of it gourmet quality. Very friendly service; menu
in Greek only. About €10-15/person. Daily lunch & dinner.
DHIMITSÁNA
Kioúpi T 27950 31232. This very central and amiable
option has some tables with views down the valley, and an
2
Messinía
The province of Messinía stretches from the western flank of the Taïyetos ridge
across the plain of Kalamáta to include the hilly southwesternmost “finger” of the
Peloponnese. Green, fertile and luxuriant for the most part, it is ringed with a
series of well-preserved castles overlooking some of the area's most expansive
beaches. The towns of Koróni , Methóni and Finikoúnda and their beaches draw the
crowds, but the pale curve of fine sand at the bay of Voïdhokiliá , near Pýlos,
sandwiched between sea, rock and lagoon, is one of the most beautiful beaches in
Greece. Messinía's notable archeological sites, such as ancient Messene west of
Kalamáta and Nestor's Palace north of Pýlos, rarely see visitors in the quantity of the
Argolid sites.
Kalamáta and around
KALAMÁTA is by far the largest city in the southern Peloponnese, spreading for some
4km back from the sea, and into the hills. It's quite a metropolitan shock after the
small-town life of the rest of the region. Few visitors linger here, but if you are
travelling for a while it's a worthwhile stop, boasting plenty of big-town facilities,
decent tavernas and a pleasant historic centre. Kalamáta is synonymous with olives
(and to a lesser extent figs), grown nearby on the Messinian plain.
Brief history
The town flourished as a commercial centre during the Turkish period and became one
of the first independent Greek towns in 1821; the first newspaper to be printed on
Greek soil was produced here the same year. In 1986 Kalamáta was near the epicentre
of a severe earthquake that killed twenty people and left 12,000 families homeless. But
for the fact that the quake struck in the early evening, when many people were outside,
the death toll would have been much higher. As it was, large numbers of buildings were
levelled throughout the town.
The Kalamáta old town
he old town is attractive in certain places, especially along pedestrianized promenades
lined with palms. Much rebuilt due to earthquakes , the last major one in 1986, little
remains of note. The typical Kástro (Mon-Fri 8am-2pm, Sat & Sun 9am-3pm; free)
has survived, more or less, and makes for a green morning stroll among evocative ruins.
he archeological museum (Mon 1.30-8pm, Tues-Sun 8am-8pm; €2), freshly
reopened, has very modest collections, though everything is informatively labelled and
panelled in world-class style. It shares a building with the new “tourist support office”,
and just in front of them, adorning Platía Agión Apostolón, is the diminutive and
delightful Byzantine church for which the square is named, the oldest part dating from
at least the twelfth century. Heading straight down towards the port, you'll soon walk
 
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search