Sightseeing in Greece
Sightseeing can mean different things to different people. To us it means having a look at whatever is around. Some of the things you look at are more worth it than others though, so when we see something we really like, or if we want to write up a short day trip from Athens to a nearby place of interest, here is where we put it. Sometime we might organise these into some sort of order, but for now have a browse to read a bit about some of Greece’s famous and not so famous must see sights!
We had heard about this winery somewhere around Katakolon and one Saturday we decided to go find it. It turned out to be the Mercouri Estate and while there we got chatting with a Scottish fella by the name of Chris who happens to be helping out with the tourist program (that's multicultural Greece for you). One thing led to another and I suggested he write a quick blurb about the estate for Travels in Greece. He said yes, and here it is. For anybody in the area, a trip to the estate is well worth it, what with the lovely buildings, the old museum piece tools on display and the grounds full of peacocks. The wine is pretty good too! If you happen to get chatting with Chris, say hi to him from us, over to you Chris....
We received an email today regarding the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology which resides on the main square of Katakolon opposite the train station and next to the church. The last time we were in Katakolo in the summer of 2009 it appeared very shut and we were told that it was unlikely to re-open, but the email seems to negate that news.
In addition to the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, the Museum of Ancient Greek Musical Instruments housed in the same building also appears to have re-opened after a period of dormancy and exhibits a wide range of working musical instruments from ancient Greece. If you don't have time to make Olympia, or simply want to see everything there is to see in tiny Katakolon, go check them out!
I had not even heard of Chlemoutsi Castle until we started looking for somewhere to go from Katakolo to do a bit of sightseeing, which is surprising since it is easily the best preserved Frankish castle in the Peloponnese and has some stunning views of the Ionian sea with the islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia in the distance.
The open-air Water Power Museum just outside Dimitsana opened in 1997 after ten years of restoration work and is the first open air museum in Greece. It offers an excellent display of fully restored pre-industrial milling installations which operated from the 16th to mid 20th century.