Kalamata, Greece - September 2025
- chrissihuf
- Nov 20, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 2
Brief History/Information, What we did & Places of Interest
After a few days in Nafplio, it was time to move on. The mission was to drive the two hours from Nafplio to Kalamata with some stops in between. There are two different routes you can take for this journey; one on a very mountainous but scenic road, or one via a flatter terrain. Since we were driving a group of six in a large van, we decided to take the flatter route. I don’t think ‘flatter’ is the correct term for this route, but since we didn’t take the mountainous route, I really can’t compare.
Our first stop was Sparta… everyone knows Sparta for the Spartans and the Battle of 300. What attracted us to go here? Well, after getting information on my heritage, I found that my ancestors were from Sparta and also information on the ancient city and people. At the site near modern Sparti we explored the archaeological remains of ancient Sparta (walls, acropolis, etc). If you’re interested in ancient military history, classical Greece, or the evolution of social/political systems, Sparta is a great place to visit. There is a lot to see in this area, we decided to only visit the ancient/archaeological area.
Calliounis distillery has been in operation since 1850, with the same founding family still in ownership. This is the oldest distillery in Greece and the third oldest business in Greece! This was an incredible stop. The head chemist conducted a very thorough tour for us and it ended with an amazing tasting sessions.
Kalamata is widely known for its olives and olive oil, and that’s why we wanted a stop in Kalamata! But we couldn’t find any olives or olive oil companies, so we settled on a grocery store that sold many different types of olives and olive oil.
We stayed at the charming Garden City Resort. Very nice rooms, great pool and common area and close walking to the coastal promenade area. The day and time we arrived, there was no hotel laundry service, so we actually found a laundry facility and did our own laundry. **NOTE: if you launder your own clothes, read the signs carefully, some facilities (like ours) had the soap already in the washer and part of the charge.
There is a traditional delicacy food known in the Peloponnese region and Kalamata- Gournopoula, or roast suckling pig. We went to Thiasos, a highly recommended restaurant to get Gournopoula, and by the time we were there, about 5:00, they were sold out. We ended up ordering other food and drink, but it wasn’t what we were looking for and were sadly disappointed.
We then went to the Kalamata Castle. This is a medieval castle that sits above the city. I think this is worth visiting. The views from here are phenomenal. It was very empty, so it was nice having it all to ourselves. We also walked along the coastal promenade along the Gulf… this was your traditional tourist area with the same shops.
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