6 h. tour (semi-private tour, up to 16 people)
Cost per person: 150 euro (120 euro for children up to 5 years)
(skip-the-line entrance tickets for Mystras and Olive Oil Museum included)
(children up to 3 y.o. free)
(transportation + guidance throughout + guided tour of Mystras castletown + free time in Mystras + guided tour of Sparta Olive Oil Museum)
Departing the beautiful port, you will enjoy a drive of approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes through the lush valley of Evrotas, till you reach the impressive the ruined Byzantine city of Mystras. It is divided in 3 sections, surrounded by the ancient walls and has two gates, either to enter, or exit. There is one on the top level and one on the lowest one. Be prepared for extensive walking on a steep path made of stone and have your guide enter with you the most important of the remaining Byzantine churches, where you will see and hear explanations about the wall paintings and the floor mosaics. You will also see several foundations of houses where the nobles lived and the Palaces which are under restoration.
After the visit of Mystras, you will drive to modern Sparta, a city that doesn’t look at all as simple and remote as the descriptions about the ancient one let us imagine. The modern city is characterized by the beautiful architecture of the many neoclassical buildings in it and the several palm trees along the central avenue, which ends in front of the colossal bronze statue of Leonidas, the General, a legend of the ancient times. Nowadays there isn’t much left of the ancient city of Sparta, apart from a few foundations of the ancient city and remainings of the ancient theater. Your guide will give you a lot of information about the amazing and different way of living and thinking of ancient Sparta, connecting it with the amazing view of the whole landscape you will be seeing from the top of Mystras.
You will then visit the Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil where your tour guide will present a lot of interesting information as well as the history of the extra virgin olive oil throughout the centuries, so much related to the Greek culture and the flourishment of Ancient Greece since it was one of the main products the Greeks were trading with other civilizations and still remains one of the main export products of modern Greece.
At the end of the tour you will return back to the port of Gythion, on time for your ship’s departure.
We need a minimum of 8 participants in order to run this tour.
