thio Gythio is best known as the port of ancient Sparta, a reputedly founded by Heracles and Apollo. Today it is a bustling fishing village and port town built in the Turkish tradition on the hills that surround the port.
It is at the nearby Marathonisi Islet that mythology says that Helen of Troy and her lover Paris consummated their love which sparked the Trojan Wars. There is a tower on the islet, built in the eighteenth century which houses a museum that looks at the history of the region.
There is a well preserved ancient theatre on the northern edge of the town.
Gythio is known for its seafood, and the seafood restaurants that line the port all serve traditional, fresh fare. There are some wonderful swimming beaches on either side of the town.
The port also services ferries to Athens, the Lakonia coast and Crete.