The Peloponnese's landmarks span a canal that reshaped Mediterranean shipping to fortress towns still guarding its coastline centuries after they were built.
This sprawling Venetian fortress crowns a hill above Nafplio, reachable by road or a famous 857-step staircase climbing straight up from the old town. Built in the early 18th century, its bastions offer sweeping views over the Argolic Gulf and the town's red-tiled rooftops below. The complex includes cells once used to imprison Theodoros Kolokotronis, a hero of the Greek War of Independence.
Cut through solid rock in the 1890s, this narrow 6.4-kilometer canal separates the Peloponnese from mainland Greece, joining the Ionian and Aegean Seas along a route the ancient Greeks themselves once dreamed of digging. Viewing platforms on the road bridge let visitors look almost 90 meters straight down at ships squeezing through the vertical limestone walls, and bungee jumping operators run from the same bridge for the more adventurous.
One of the largest Venetian sea fortresses in the Mediterranean, Methoni Castle juts into the sea on a small promontory in Messinia, connected to the mainland by a stone bridge over the old moat. Its most photographed feature is the octagonal Bourtzi tower standing alone at the far end of the peninsula, once used as a prison. Sunset here, with waves breaking against the ramparts, is one of the region's most memorable sights.