Greece’s Only Surviving Byzantine Palace Opens After 42 Years of Restoration
Greece's last surviving Byzantine imperial palace opened its doors this week for the first time in 42 years, fully restored and ready for visitors. The Palace of the Despots in Mystras, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Laconia, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis alongside Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.
The palace is the only Byzantine royal complex still standing on Greek soil. Its architectural layout traces the full arc of late Byzantine power, with the wings of the Kantakouzenos and Palaiologos dynasties, administrative halls, and a towering Throne Room that once hosted the court of the Despotate of Morea.
"A premier site of Byzantine heritage back on the cultural map of Greece and Europe." — Culture Minister Lina Mendoni
Three new exhibitions are now open inside. The permanent display, "Imperial Narratives," covers the ruling families who shaped Mystras across the centuries. A second exhibition, "In the Princess's Chambers," explores how the city captivated European intellectuals from the 15th through the early 20th century. The third, housed in the Throne Room itself, showcases handmade court garments from the Palaiologos era, created by the monastic sisterhood of Pantanassa with help from the Greek National Opera's costume department.
Restoration work since 2019 included a modern fire suppression network, a restored cobblestone road connecting the lower and upper city, and a new accessibility lift installed on the southwestern Palaiologos wing. Mendoni noted the palace is the 30th new or fully transformed museum space opened under the current government, adding that the project puts "a premier site of Byzantine heritage back on the cultural map of Greece and Europe."
The site sits within the broader Kastropolis of Mystras, a fortified Byzantine city that was one of the last centers of Greek intellectual and artistic life before the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
