Leonidio, Greece

Leonidio

Leonidio is situated near the ancient city of Prasiae, which was an important harbour for Sparta until it was destroyed by the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War. 

The main bridge in Leonidio

The ancient Greek traveller and geographer Pausanias describes the area as the "garden of Dionysus", because of the fertility of its plain, and in ancient myth the young Dionysus was found on its beach and later brought up in a cave emerging from it.

Mother Mary's Monastery Elona

During the Middle Ages, Leonidio was winter refuge for the inhabitants of Prastos, the former capital of Tsakonia. When Prastos was burned to the ground by the Turks during the Greek Revolution, however, its refugees found shelter in Leonidio, protected by the morphology of the landscape.

Plaka, the port of Leonidio. It is located 4km from the town

In the coming years the town flourished and thrived, counting among its residents wealthy merchants and seamen, closely associated with Constantinople and Odessa, during this period beautiful neo-classical house and tower house structures were built within its limits, including the "Tsikaliotis Tower".

Lakos beach