Greece - Korina Miller [163]
There is no tourist office or tourist police. The regular police ( 27230 31203) are signposted near the post office.
Sights
FORTRESS
This splendid kastro (admission free; 8am-7pm May-Sep, to 3pm Oct-Apr), a great example of military architecture, is vast and romantic. Within the walls are a Turkish bath, a cathedral, a house, a cistern, parapets and underground passages. See how many Lion of St Mark insignias you can spot.
This vast fortification is built on a promontory south of the modern town and is surrounded on three sides by the sea and separated from the mainland by a moat. The medieval port town, which was located within the fortress walls, was the Venetians’ first and their longest-held possession in the Peloponnese. It was also a stopover point for pilgrims en route to the Holy Land. During medieval times the twin fortresses of Methoni and Koroni were known as ‘the Eyes of the Serene Republic’.
A short causeway leads from the fortress to the diminutive octagonal Bourtzi castle on an adjacent islet.
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Achilles ( /fax 27230 31819; www.achilleshotel.gr; s/d €55/70; year-round; ) The smartest of a range of small family hotels in town, with 13 comfortable modern rooms, all with balcony and views. There’s a light, airy dining area, too. Breakfast costs €6.
Apartments Melina ( 27230 31505; www.geocities.com/messinias; studio €65-75, 2-/3-/4-person apt €75/85/90; 6-person ‘villa’ €120) Immaculate, spacious apartments right across from the beach, with a trim garden of vines, roses and palms, and friendly English-speaking owners.
O Nikos ( 27230 31282; Miaouli; mains €5-11; year-round) ‘Good, clean, cheap and with big helpings’ is the local boast of this quaint and unpretentious place. A reliable bet.
Taverna Klimatari ( 27230 31544; Miaouli; mains €6-13; Apr-Oct) Locals are in agreement: this is the place to head for traditional dishes. It’s in an old home – with seating on the front porch or in a courtyard. Typical choices include onion pie, stuffed zucchini flowers and cod fish with spinach.
Getting There & Away
Buses depart from Methoni from the fork at the Pylos end of town where the two main streets meet. Bus services depart for Pylos (€1.50, 15 minutes, six daily), Kalamata (€5.50, 1½ hours, six daily) and Finikounda (€2, 15 minutes, one to two daily). Unbelievably, there is no bus between Methoni and Koroni; you must change at Finikounda – if the timetable works, that is. The bus to Kalamata stops at Harakopio, 4.5km from Koroni. For bus information call 27230 22230.
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PYLOS ΠΥΛΟΣ
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Pylos (pee-loss), on the coast 51km southwest of Kalamata, presides over the southern end of an immense bay. With its huge natural harbour almost enclosed by the Sfaktiria Islet, a delightful tree-shaded central square, two castles and surrounding pine-covered hills, Pylos is one of the most picturesque towns in the Peloponnese.
From the bay on 20 October 1827, the British, French and Russian fleets, under the command of Admiral Codrington, fired at point-blank range on Ibrahim Pasha’s combined Turkish, Egyptian and Tunisian fleet, sinking 53 ships and killing 6000 men, with negligible losses on the Allies’ side.
The attack was known as the Battle of Navarino (which is the town’s former name) and was decisive in the War of Independence, but it was not meant to have been a battle at all. The Allied fleet wanted to achieve no more than to persuade Ibrahim Pasha and his fleet to leave, but things got somewhat out of hand. George IV, on hearing the news, described it as a ‘deplorable misunderstanding’.
Orientation & Information
Everything of importance is within a few minutes’ walk of the central square, Plateia Trion Navarhon (Sq of the Three Admirals), down by the seafront.
The KTEL Messinia bus station