beerag04 said:
We went last summer with an 11 and 8 year old and did something different than the norm. Spent three days in Athens and did all the normal touristy stuff. Then we rented a car and spent a few days driving around the interior of the country. We like road trips and it was a great experience.
- Sparta - Stopped for about an hour or so. Just not much there, but very cool to see the grave of Leonidas and compare Sparta to Athens (agrarian vs urban)
- Koroni - Very simple little coastal town. Touristy without being too much so. Stayed two nights. Swam in the sea. walked around the 13th century castle. Ate at the local shops. One of the best days we've ever had as a family. Beaches are much rockier than on the islands. Pilos is also a similar option that's a little bit bigger town.
- Olympia - Where the first Olympics were held. My boys and I had a race in the stadium. Very cool memory. Temple of Zeus is there, but not much left of it.
- Delphi - Ruins of the Oracle of Delphi. Ruins are cool. Town is great. It is in the mountains rising up right next to the sea. Beautiful area.
I would still like to go back to hit the islands someday, including Cephalonia and Corfu on the west, but I'm so glad we did this trip as well.
ETA - Absolutely do a food tour in Athens as mentioned above.
Most people do the islands but you did it right for "history"
I did a Peloponnese trip about 15 years ago and thought it was pretty cool. We did Olympia, Mycenae, Nafplion/Argos. Ancient amphitheater in Epidaurus. Stopped in Corinth to see the canal, then on to Athens. 1 full day in Athens then a cruise to kusadasi, Crete, Rhodes, Mykonos, Patmos, and Santorini.
While the islands are the "cool thing to do". The history and charm of Greece, IMO is the Peloponnese. That's also where tons of the history is.
