Forget “all-inclusive” resorts, or worse, the dreaded “tourist traps”. The prestigious Conde Nast Travel travel website posted an extensive travelogue of the southern Peloponnese recently, with a particular emphasis on southern-most Laconia prefecture.

The sparsely-populated region is forever identified with Sparta, its ancient capital, although it’s also noteworthy for its rugged Mani promontory, the medieval town of Monemvasia, which lies within a fortress on a Gibraltar-like rock formation and the Mt. Taygettus range, to name only a few.

Laconia is “real Greece”, with genuine Hellenic and Mediterranean sights, sounds, smells and flavours. In one instance, the site’s authors also indulge themselves as pickers in the annual olive harvest – only milking a goat and turning it into healthy cheese was missing.

The coastal town of Gytheio, in Mani, is also prominently showcased.