Mystras

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989, Mystras is a fortified Byzantine town in the Taygetus range above ancient Sparta, preserving an exceptional concentration of medieval churches, palaces, and frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries, when it served as capital of the Despotate of the Morea. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, ruled here before ascending to the throne of Constantinople. Abandoned in the 1830s when modern Sparta was built nearby, the site stands largely intact as an archaeological ruin.

• Nearest water0.3 km
• Nearest mountain4.7 km
• UNESCO within 50 km1