Surrounded by the teal waters of the Aegean Sea, imposing Monemvasia is an iceberg-like slab of rock, with sheer cliffs rising hundreds of meters from the sea, linked to the mainland by a single, highly defensible 200 meters long causeway. While uninhabited in antiquity, the rock may have been the site of a Minoan trading post. The town and fortress were founded in 583 by inhabitants of the mainland seeking refuge from the Slavic and the Avaric invasion of Greece. From the 10th century AD, the town developed into an important trade and maritime center. Over the centuries it belonged to the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Despot of the Morea, the Venetians, and many others, until 1822 when it became the seat of the first Greek national assembly. In spite of Monemvasia’s immense popularity, the extraordinary visual impact of the medieval village, and the delights of exploring medieval town walls and Byzantine churches, override the effects of mass tourism.
Parking location – Monemvasia: 36.687261N 23.042938E