Greece Travel Guide
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Crete Island Guide
    • Cyclades
      • Amorgos Island Guide
        • Amorgos Beaches
          • Aegiali Beach
          • Levrossos Beach
          • Kalotaritissa Beach
          • Katapola Beach
          • Psili Ammos Beach
      • Andros Island Guide
      • Folegandros Island Guide
      • Ios Island Guide
        • Ios Beaches
          • Agia Theodoti Beach
          • Gialos Beach
          • Kolitsani Beach
          • Magganari Beach
          • Mylopotas Beach
          • Psathi Beach
      • Koufonissi Island Guide
      • Mykonos Island Guide
      • Milos Island Guide
      • Naxos Island Guide
      • Paros Island Guide
      • Santorini Island Guide
      • Serifos Island Guide
      • Sifnos Island Guide
      • Sikinos Island Guide
      • Tinos Island Guide
    • Dodecanese
      • Astypalea Island Guide
      • Karpathos Island Guide
      • Kos Island Guide
      • Rhodes Island Guide
  • Guides
    • When to Visit
    • Island-Hopping
    • Ferry Travel
    • Travelling Greece on a Budget
  • Trip Reports
    • Greece 2022
    • Greek Odyssey 2021
    • Western Cyclades 2020
    • Cyclades 2019
    • Amorgos 2019
    • Mini Cyclades 2018
    • Cyclades Tour 2017
  • Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Travel Gadgets
  • Gallery
  • About

Day 2: Mystras

June 20, 2022June 30, 2022, Featured Mystras
  • Prev
  • Next
This post is part of a series called Greece 2022
Show More Posts
  • 2022: Another Greek Summer Beckons
  • It’s Almost Time… Kalamata Here I Come!
  • Day1: Manchester to Kalamata
  • Day 2: Mystras
  • Day 3: Climbing Mount Taygetus
  • Day 4: Monemvasia
  • Day 5: Elafonisos
  • Day 6: Back to Kalamata
  • Day 7: Travelling to Paros
  • Day 8: Visiting Antiparos
  • Day 9: Paros Logaras and Punda Beaches

Monday 20th June 2022

Good Morning Sunshine

I woke at 7 feeling refreshed despite waking a few times during the night. I’d agreed to meet Ed for breakfast at 8:30 so I spent this unexpected free time reviewing the photos and videos I’d captured yesterday. I opened my curtains and was greeted with a clear blue sky, much better weather than yesterday!

Clear blue sky outside Hotel Fotini

Breakfast at the hotel was a typical affair: coffee, bread, jam, and orange juice, but with a ham and cheese panini and it was all served to our table instead of buffet style. It was filling enough, and I didn’t expect anything more given the budget nature of the hotel.

Next Stop: Mystras

As I mentioned yesterday, our next stop was Mystras. It’s not all that far from Kalamata as the crow flies but is separated by the Taygetus mountain range. There is a path through the mountains but it’s filled with twists and turns and – according to Google – is slower than taking the toll road north from Kalamata and circling around the mountains. We chose the latter option and it was definitely an easy drive, taking about 90 minutes on really nice and mostly empty roads. There were 3 toll stops totalling about €5.

We arrived at our next accommodation, Mystras Inn, at 11:30 and were glad to be told we could check in early. A lady escorted our car to the parking area right outside some very modern-looking rooms:

Our little Suzuki Swift outside the rooms at Mystras Inn

We unloaded the car and after checking I had no urgent work to do, I met Ed back at the taverna which is part of the Mystras Inn. We decided to try the local Sparta beer (pretty decent) and figure out our sightseeing plans. The main attraction at Mystras is the acropolis and archaeological site that sits atop a tall rock and is visible for miles around:

The Acropolis of Mystras visible on top of the rock in the centre of the photo

Exploring Mystras

Getting to the top involves either a very steep walk, a car journey or a taxi. Taking the car wasn’t ideal as we’d have to retrieve it later as the ruins are spread down the hill so you descend as you see them and end up at the bottom. We opted for a taxi which cost €8 as we’ve got a big walk tomorrow so didn’t fancy going up on foot either.

Entry to Mystras cost €12 which, in hindsight, seems a bit expensive. The acropolis ruins are fairly modest and while the entire archaeological site is large, much of it is just ruined walls that funnel you gradually down the hillside. It was interesting and I would still recommend it if you’re in the area and like Greek history.

The palace complex of Mystras

As we exited the site from the lower car park, we stopped at a nearby taverna called Xenia for a cold Mammos beer before continuing back to our accommodation. I spent the next couple of hours in my room resting up after a hot afternoon’s sightseeing.

Dinner Time

Partly for the sake of convenience and partly due to limited alternatives, we decided to eat dinner at Mystras Inn’s own taverna. It occupies a nice spot in the main public area of the village and is one of only 3 or 4 restaurants in the area. I chose the moussaka while Ed had stuffed tomatoes and we shared some house red wine. The food was pretty good, even though the moussaka was tray-baked which is never as good as the individual bowls.

My moussaka at Mystras Inn

We got through a second carafe of red wine during the meal and even managed some baklava for dessert. It was nice enough but had very thick pastry at the bottom and was difficult to cut with just a small spoon.

Feeling pretty stuffed and only moderately tipsy, we headed back to our rooms to rest up ahead of tomorrow’s hike…to the summit of Mount Taygetus!!

Posted in Featured, Mystras
Tagged Kalamata, Mystras, Mystras Inn, Peloponnese
Leave a comment
Will Appleby
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
  • Pinterest

Post navigation

   Day1: Manchester to Kalamata
Day 3: Climbing Mount Taygetus   

You may also like

Day 9: Paros Logaras and Punda Beaches

Continue Reading

Day 8: Visiting Antiparos

Continue Reading

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Author

Will Appleby

Listen to my ramblings about Greece and why I keep going back year after year.

Search

Tags

2020 amorgos beach Crete Cyclades hotel reviews hotels Ios kamares Kos Kos Town Naxos reviews sifnos

Popular posts

Western Cyclades 2020: Trip Planning Overview

August 5, 2020September 22, 2020

Touring Greece Without a Plan

July 3, 2021July 3, 2021

An Exciting Journey Begins

July 1, 2021July 3, 2021

Categories

  • Amorgos (10)
  • Andros (7)
  • Articles (2)
  • Crete (20)
  • Cyclades Tour 2017 (18)
  • Elafonisos (1)
  • Featured (18)
  • Folegandros (4)
  • General (4)
  • Guides (1)
  • Hotel Reviews (41)
  • Ios (8)
  • Kalamata (2)
  • Karpathos (5)
  • Kos (17)
  • Koufonissi (4)
  • Milos (5)
  • Mini Cyclades 2018 (12)
  • Monemvasia (1)
  • Mykonos (6)
  • Mystras (2)
  • Naxos (23)
  • Paros (6)
  • Rhodes (4)
  • Santorini (6)
  • Serifos (3)
  • Sifnos (19)
  • Sikinos (3)
  • Syros (1)
  • Tilos (1)
  • Tinos (1)
  • Travel Gadgets (1)
  • Trip Planning (6)
  • Trip Reports (68)

25 Islands visited
47 000 KM traveled
6,300 Photos taken
112 Hours recorded

© 2021 Greece Travel Guide. All Rights Reserved.