hips don't lie: A Greek classic! Ancient amphitheatres and warm hospitality in the Peloponnese

By

Mark Palmer

PUBLISHED:

11:19 EST, 28 June 2013

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UPDATED:

11:19 EST, 28 June 2013

The Greek economy might have hit the buffers – but it’s full steam ahead on its superhighways. In fact, nothing could be easier than a fly-drive break in this rattled, but captivating, country.

Hop on a plane to Athens, throw your bags in a hire car, then make for the E94 and go west. Almost immediately, the Aegean sea is on your left, mountains to the right and expectations galore straight ahead.

At Korinthos, we leave the motorway and head south down the eastern strip of the Peloponnese, home to no fewer than six Unesco heritage sites and some of the world’s most impressive monasteries.

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Escape to Epidaurus: The heart of the Peloponnese is less than a three-hour drive from Athens

Before long, we see signs to Epidaurus, the grandest of all ancient Greek open-air amphitheatres, capable of seating 15,000 people. Hit it before or after the coaches roll in (we got there in late afternoon when the sun lit up the stage to almost exaggerated effect) and it could just be the highlight of your whole trip. An actor speaking softly centre-stage with no microphone can be heard from the top tier of marble seats 55 rows above.

The good news is that Epidaurus is not just an iconic tourist trap; classical dramas are staged throughout the summer and I gather it doesn’t really matter if you don’t understand a word of modern Greek.

There’s a fine museum and you can also wander around the ruins of Asklepios, where people would travel thousands of miles to sleep in the hope that Asklepios might appear in their dreams and cure them of all ailments.

We should have stayed longer but when you’re booked in at Amanzoe (which draws its name from the Sanskrit word for ‘peace’ and ‘zoe’, Greek for life), the newish Aman hotel an hour further south near Porto Heli, there’s a sudden impetus to reach your base.

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Showstopping: You can still see performances at Epidaurus’ amphitheatre

It’s some base. For me, few other hotel groups can match Aman for that key balance between luxury and simplicity. This one is built on the top of a hill and looks not unlike the Acropolis, with lots of pillars, pegolas, pavilions, temples, terraces, olive trees and tingling 360-degree views. It covers a huge area and there’s a certain amount of building work going on at the fringes of the estate.

The villas are all low-lying and have sprouting lavender and wild grasses growing on their roofs. Staff glide about as if in a higher state of consciousness. ‘I feel like I’m in the Garden of Gesthemane,’ says my wife. But then a few minutes later she describes the whole confection as a ‘beautiful woman who doesn’t have anything to prove – who can wear no jewellery and still sparkle.’

Amanzoe has its own beach club. You can walk it in half an hour or cycle down (but you’ll have to come back up at some point), or take the shuttle. We opt for the lazy option, promising to make up for it with vigorous swimming in the wonderfully clean sea. Porto Heli is a huge, almost circular bay.

On the way into town we spot a shop selling clay pots and end up choosing one that we just manage to fit in the overhead rack on the flight home. We don’t have enough to pay for it and so drive off to find a hole in the wall.

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Famous find: Navplion is home to Greece’s first pharmacy, which now serves up the country’s best ice cream – according tot he locals

When we get back the charming woman owner and her nine-year old daughter are waiting with a glass decanter we’d admired earlier all wrapped up and ready to go. She insists we find it a good home and charges us nothing for it, so we drive off again, returning with a chocolate cake in thanks for their kindness. We have bought a pot and already it is full of bonhomie.

The islands of Spetses and Hydra are just off the coast here, both car-free and easily reached by water taxi. Mycenae is 90 minutes’ drive from Amanzoe and Navplion – a fine old Venetian town set in the Gulf of Argos and once the capital of Greece – takes less than that.

Navplion is where the first pharmacy opened in Greece and locals claims it serves the best ice cream in the country.

Today the Greeks are in sober mood. They need tourists more than ever. I suspect Patrick Leigh Fermor found the same in the Fifties, later producing Mani: Travels In The Southern Peloponnese.

He loved the region, and I suspect it’s not changed much – another good reason to visit this summer.

Travel Facts

ITC Classics, 01244 355 527, www.itcclassics.co.uk, has three nights’ BB at Amanzoe, from £1,869pp (two adults sharing) including BA return flights from Heathrow and car hire.