{"id":8788,"date":"2023-10-01T13:26:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T13:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/exploring-messenia-western-greece\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:57:09","slug":"exploring-messenia-western-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/exploring-messenia-western-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"Methoni Castle, Greece: A Historic Venetian Fortress By The Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’d heard some amazing things about the castle of Methoni (from our previous day in Costa Navarino)<\/a>, which was built by the Venetians over 800 years ago.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

The history of Greece still surprises me so much, it always seems so mystical and ancient… which is pretty obvious when I come to think of it! \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

Jutting out into the sea, we had the whole site to ourselves, it was so surreal.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

We spent a good few hours just wandering the old castle and exploring the rocky shores.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

What makes this castle so special is its history being built by the Venetians, occupied by the Ottomans and finally becoming under Greek control.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

You can still go inside the turrets, too.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

The whole experience of visiting the castle had me itching to explore, then eat some more! (yup, my holiday appetite never ends) \ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

After exploring the castle, we hopped over to Gialova that is nestled on the edge of Navarino Bay.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

Best of all, our walk through the little streets led us straight to the waterfront, with a mix of local restaurants that serve fresh fish that seems so irresistible when near the sea.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Between us, I think we must have ordered four plates that we quickly devoured.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

It must have been that sea-breeze making us hungry! \ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Before we knew it, our massage was quickly approaching and we dashed straight across after driving back to our hotel, Costa Navarino<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

I really tried my best not to fall asleep (as I feel like I’ve wasted my massage otherwise), so I was so thankful I only dropped off for a few moments. During other massages, I’ve not been so successful!<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

After our relaxing massage, we spent a few hours chilling out, grabbing a frappe (and beer on the beach) and catching up on some more relaxation time. Needs must, after all. Ha!<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

As this was our last evening in Greece, we decided on a later than usual dinner and headed over to Inbi for a little bite and some comfort food, all washed down with a night cap at the terrace outside.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Our whole experience was so relaxing and I was so happy that I’d finally been able to see some of mainland Greece.<\/p>\n

\"Messinia<\/a><\/p>\n

Our trip had been far too long coming and the only thing missing was a few extra days. After all, you can never relax too much!<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n
\"Messinia <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’d heard some amazing things about the castle of Methoni (from our previous day in Costa Navarino), which was built by the Venetians over 800 years ago. The history of Greece still surprises me so much, it always seems so mystical and ancient… which is pretty obvious when I come to think of it! \ud83e\udd23 … Continue Reading<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,396],"tags":[355,356,972],"class_list":["post-8788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","category-travel-journal","tag-europe","tag-greece","tag-messinia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}