Private Tour To Sparta With Visit To Mistras

[TOUR CODE #P13]

This is a 10 hour private tour!
Historical Information In Details About This Private Tour!

Visit Sparta – given its military pre-eminence Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars – see Corinth Canal which connects two sea gulfs – the great technical achievement – visit the Castle of Mystras – the capital of the Byzantine Despotate (14th – 15th Century) a ruined medieval city with its glorious palace.

Experience and admire the beauties of Greece on this guided private tour, travelling in our luxury air-conditioned car / mini bus / bus while listening to our professional licensed guide explaining all important historical and monumental sites and introducing you to the spirit of more than 3000 years of Greek history.

Travel at your own pace.
This private tour includes a private guide and vehicle, just for you. Enjoy the world’s known destinations with itineraries taliored to feed your needs.

You will be meet by our personnel and start your private tour passing by Corinth Canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth (Ionian Sea) with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea, cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former an island. The canal is 6.3 kilometers in length and was built between 1881 and 1893.

Mystras Church

We will see Tripoli – the biggest city of Peloponnese – and arrive at Sparta or Lacedaemon, that was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece.

Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged victorious, though at great cost. Sparta’s defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Sparta’s prominent role in Greece. However, it maintained its political independence until 146 BC, when the Romans conquered Greece.

Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its political (rather military) system which completely focused on military training and excellence in the battle-field. Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates (Spartan citizens, who enjoyed full rights), Mothakes (non-Spartan free men raised as Spartans), Perioikoi (freedmen), and Helots (state-owned serfs, non-Spartan local population).
Spartiates underwent a rigorous upbringing exercising all the time and Spartan phalanxes were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan women enjoyed considerably more rights and equality to men than elsewhere in the classical world.

Mystras Palace

We continue with visit to Mystras that was a fortified town in Morea (the medieval Peloponnese), on Mt. Taygetos, rising along ancient Sparta. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering. The site remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period, when it was wrongly taken as ancient Sparta. It was abandoned in the 1830s, when the new town of Sparti was built, approximately eight kilometers to the east.

In 1249, Mystras became the seat of the Frankish Principality of Achaea, established in 1205 after the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders of the 4th Crusade, and Prince William II Villehardouin, a grand-nephew of the Fourth Crusade historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin, built a unique example of medieval palace under restoration now.

In 1261, the Crusaders (or Franks) surrendered Mystras and other forts in the southeastern Peloponnese as ransom for William II, who had been captured in Pelagonia, and Michael VIII Palaeologus made the city the capital of the new Despotate of the Morea. Princes reigned there, although the Venetians still controlled the coast and the islands.

Mystras and the rest of Morea became relatively prosperous after 1261, in comparison to the rest of the empire. Under the despot Theodore it became the second most important city in the empire after Constantinople, and William’s palace became the second residence of the emperors. The frescos in the Peribleptos Church, dating between 1348 and 1380, are a very rare example of late Byzantine art, well preserved contributing greatly to the understanding of Byzantine art.

Mystras was also the last refuge of Byzantine scholarship; the Neoplatonist philosopher George Gemistos Plethon lived there until his death in 1452. He and other scholars based in Mystras influenced the Italian Renaissance, especially after he accompanied the emperor John VIII Palaeologus to Florence in 1439.

The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, was despot at Mystras before he had been crowned emperor and had been departed from there to be enthroned at Constantinople. Demetrius Palaeologus the last despot of Morea, surrendered the city to the Ottoman emperor Mehmed II in 1460. The Venetians occupied it from 1687 to 1715, but otherwise the Ottomans held it until 1821 and the beginning of the Greek War of Independence. It was abandoned by King Otto for the newly rebuilt Sparti.

Afterwards we will drive you back to your original pick up point.

Back to the private tour!

Do you prefer to include Lunch in this tour?
In order to organize Lunch (3 course menu-without drinks) in a typical Greek restaurant you have to add 1½ hours more on the duration of this tour and 20.00 Euros per person on any of the above prices.

How to book
Click here to pay and book this private tour
Or e-mail us at adm@hopin.com
Or call us at +30 210 4285500

Highlights
Sparta, Mystras Palace, Corinth Canal, Taygetos mountain, Tripoli

Schedule Details
This tour is private and is available from Athens or Piraeus port or Athens Airport
Recommended Departure Time: 9:00am
Duration: 10-12 hours (approx.)
Return details: to original departure point (at your hotel or Piraeus port or Athens Airport)

Additional Information
All prices in this website are in Euro
Other languages are available upon request with additional price
Licensed guide = approved from the Greek government

Personal – No groups
Enjoy your own guide and vehicle, set your own pace.

Flexible -  No preset times
Start when you want. Change what you want.

What to bring
Comfortable footwear, Sunblock, Hat, Camera

F.A.Q. Got some questions?
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

See Also:

1. Private Tour to Sparta With Visit to Mistras [TOUR CODE #P13] [PRICE FROM: 780,00 €] This is a 10 hour private tour! Visit Sparta – given its military pre-eminence Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars – see Corinth Canal which...