Fodor's Expert Review Methoni Fortress

Methoni's principal attraction is its kastro, an imposing, well-kept citadel that the Venetians built when they took control of the town in 1209. The town already had a long history: after the Second Messenian War in the 7th century BC, the victorious Spartans gave Methoni to the Nafplions, who had been exiled from their homeland for their Spartan alliance. With its natural harbor, the town was an important stop on trade routes between Europe and the East during the Middle Ages. A stone bridge leads over the dry moat to the citadel; various coats of arms mark the walls, including those of Genoa and Venice's Lion of St. Mark. A second bridge joins the kastro with the Bourtzi, an octagonal tower built above the crashing surf on a tiny islet during the Turkish occupation (shortly after 1500).