Most visitors come to Pylos for the beaches, then notice that the bay in front of the town has been at the centre of Greek history for more than three thousand years. Within a short drive you can see a Mycenaean palace, the island where Sparta suffered one of its most famous defeats, two fortresses and the waters of the last great battle fought under sail. This guide puts those layers in order.
Navarino Bay: the setting that shaped everything
Britannica describes the Bay of Navarino as a small, deep and almost landlocked bay, and as one of the safest anchorages in the Mediterranean. The long island of Sphacteria works as a giant breakwater, leaving a broad channel to the south and the narrow Sikia channel to the north. The modern town sits on the southern headland of the bay and is still also known by its old name, Navarino.
The Palace of Nestor and the Mycenaean world
On the Ano Englianos hill near Chora, north of the bay, lie the remains of the palace linked with King Nestor, the wise elder of Homer’s epics. According to the University of Cincinnati, whose archaeologists led the excavations, the very first day of digging on 4 April 1939 uncovered stone walls, fresco fragments, painted Mycenaean pottery and fragments of tablets in Linear B script, the first ever found on the Greek mainland. The palace archive proved to be the most extensive of its kind on the mainland, and it contributed greatly to the decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris in 1952 as an early form of Greek.
Today the core of the site is protected by a steel arch that covers 3,185 square metres, according to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. Visitors follow metal walkways suspended from the roof, so you can look down on the throne room and the central hearth without stepping on the fragile floors, and a lift provides access for people with disabilities. Excavations around the palace resumed in 2015 under Sharon Stocker and Jack Davis, and one of the most impressive finds was the grave of the so-called Griffin Warrior.
Sphacteria and the surrender that shocked Sparta
In July 425 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, the Athenian general Demosthenes set up a base on the headland of Pylos. After the Athenian fleet defeated the Spartan navy in the bay, a Spartan force was cut off on Sphacteria. Britannica notes that when peace negotiations failed, the Athenians attacked the island and forced the Spartans to surrender, an almost unprecedented event for an army known for fighting to the end. Around 300 men were taken prisoner, more than 100 of them elite Spartan warriors, and the result was a shocking blow to Spartan prestige.
Two castles, two eras
Across the bay, the ruins of Palaiokastro, or Old Navarino, belong to a Frankish castle built in 1278, according to Britannica. Above the modern town stands Niokastro, the “new castle”, which the Ottomans built in 1573. Visit Peloponnese gives its area as roughly 70,000 square metres, enclosed by thick walls designed to resist cannon fire, with a citadel of six bastions at the highest point. Inside you will find the Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, first built as a mosque during the reign of Sultan Murad III, with an octagonal dome resting on four massive pillars.
Niokastro is also home to the Archaeological Museum of Pylos, housed in the Maison building. Its exhibition, “Searching for Pylos”, runs from prehistory to the Roman period, with finds from Mycenaean tholos tombs and from prehistoric settlements at Iklaina and Romanos. Two further spaces host exhibitions of the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, including one on the ancient sunken cities of the southern Peloponnese.
20 October 1827: the Battle of Navarino
The event that made the bay famous across Europe came during the Greek War of Independence. On 20 October 1827, the allied fleets of Britain, France and Russia, led by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Rear-Admiral Henri de Rigny and Rear-Admiral Count Heiden, faced the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet inside the bay. Royal Museums Greenwich records that the fighting lasted about four hours, that the allies did not lose any ships and that the Ottoman fleet was virtually destroyed. It also notes that this was the last fleet action fought under sail. Britannica links the battle to the securing of Greek independence and adds that two years later the French built a little town on the south shore of the bay, the town you walk through today.
Planning a history-focused stay
Pylos lies about 50 kilometres from Kalamata, whose international airport is the usual gateway, and roughly 270 kilometres from Athens, a drive of about four hours. For distances, routes and the main sights on one page, this practical guide to Pylos, Greece is a useful starting point. A few tips:
- Visit the Palace of Nestor in the morning, before the midday heat.
- Keep at least half a day for Niokastro, since the walls, the citadel, the church and the museums are spread over a large area.
- Ask about the unified ticket. The Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia mentions a combined three-day ticket that covers several archaeological sites and fortresses in the area.
- End the day by the water, looking across at Sphacteria as the sun goes down.
Many travellers base themselves just north of the bay. In Petrochori, on the dune coastline north of Gialova and next to Voidokilia, Ammothines combines a Greek restaurant, an all-day beach bar and seven glamping tents set among the dunes, with views over the Ionian Sea. From there the wider region of Messinia, Greece is also within reach, from Ancient Messene to the castles of Methoni and Koroni.
A bay that rewards slow travel
Pylos is small, but few places pack so many turning points into one view. Spend a morning with the Mycenaeans, an afternoon on Ottoman walls and an evening facing Sphacteria, and the beaches will feel even better afterwards.
Sources
- Britannica, Bay of Navarino. https://www.britannica.com/place/Bay-of-Navarino
- Britannica, Battle of Pylos. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Pylos
- Britannica, Battle of Navarino. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Navarino
- University of Cincinnati Department of Classics, History of Archaeology. https://classics.uc.edu/humanities/classics/about/archinclassics
- Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Palace of Nestor. http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh355.jsp?obj_id=2562
- Visit Peloponnese, Pylos New Navarino Fortress (Niokastro). https://visitpeloponnese.com/en/prdct/pylos-new-navarino-fortress-niokastro
- Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia, Archaeological Museum of Pylos. https://www.efamess.gr/en/pois/archaiologiko-mouseio-pylou/
- Royal Museums Greenwich, The Battle of Navarino, 20 October 1827. https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-12115
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