10 historic sites
Castles in Greece
The birthplace of Western civilization, Greece's fortresses span 3,000 years — from the Mycenaean citadels of the Bronze Age to the Byzantine towers, the Crusader castles of the Dodecanese and the Ottoman fortifications of the Aegean coast. Rhodes alone contains one of the world's best-preserved medieval walled cities, still encircled by the 4-kilometre walls built by the Knights Hospitaller.
greece · Western Greece
Chlemoutsi Castle
The best-preserved Frankish castle in Greece — built by crusader knights in 1220 and home to the only museum in the country dedicated to the forgotten centuries of Frankish rule over the medieval Peloponnese
greece · South Aegean, Rhodes
Lindos Acropolis & Castle of the Knights
A dazzling acropolis of ancient temples and crusader walls above the Aegean
greece · South Aegean
Palace of the Grand Master
The Gothic fortress-palace of the Knights of Rhodes — the most complete Crusader castle in the eastern Mediterranean
greece · Ionian Islands, Corfu — northwest coast, near Paleokastritsa
Angelokastro
The fortress that held Corfu's western frontier for a thousand years — three Ottoman sieges, never captured
greece · Corfu Town, Ionian Islands
Old Fortress of Corfu
The Venetian sea fortress guarding Corfu Town — 1,000 years of Byzantine, Venetian and British layers
greece · Peloponnese, Laconia, 8km west of modern Sparta
Mystras
The last Byzantine capital in Greece — a hillside ghost city abandoned since the 1830s, where the frescoes painted before Constantinople fell are still on the walls
greece · Peloponnese
Palamidi Fortress
A Venetian fortress above Nafplio reached by 999 steps — with the Peloponnese at your feet
greece · Corinthia / Peloponnese
Acrocorinth
One of the most impressive fortified sites in Europe — 575 metres of layered history above the Isthmus of Corinth
greece · Messenia / Peloponnese
Methoni Castle
Venice's gateway to the East — a sea fortress at the tip of the Peloponnese with an octagonal tower rising from the sea
greece · Central Macedonia (Pieria), foot of Mount Olympus
Platamon Castle
The Crusader fortress guarding the gateway between Macedonia and southern Greece, with Mount Olympus as its backdrop and the Aegean at its feet