The beautiful city of Nafplio is located in the north east of Peloponnese and by car from Athens it takes about 2 hours to get here. The city has a rich history, including being the capital of Greece during the period 1821-1834.

The clearest sign you see today of the city’s long history is the Palamidi Fortress, built on a 216 meter high hill on the outskirts of the city. Wherever you sit in the old part of town, you’ll see the hill with the impressive fortress straight above you. The Venetians built the fort in the years 1686-1715 during their second occupation of the town. Today, the fortress is open to the public, and to get up to the top of the hill you climb a staircase of 913 steps , but all the steps are worth the effort as the view from the top is just amazing. From here you can enjoy a view of the whole city and of the bay of Argolida. In order to get into the fortress on the top, you have to pay an entrance fee of 8 euros, but if you are just looking for a good stair-climb with an accompanying view, you do not have to go all the way into the old facilities of the fortress. If you do not want to climb up all these steps, you can always drive a car up, or get a taxi to take you, to the east side of the fortress.

Today, there are about 33,000 inhabitants in Nafplio, but throughout the year this number is expanded greatly by the thousands of tourists, both foreign and Greek, who want to experience the city for its charm and romantic spirit. Nafplio is special in that way that it is an “all-year-round city”, it has it all. You can spend a whole day in the city without any problems.

There are many small pretty and colorful side streets that invite you to explore and often hide smaller shops, cafes and restaurants. The central pedestrian street goes straight through the old city center, from one side to the other. There are plenty of shops ranging from locally produced products to clothing stores and restaurants.

We recommend the food store ”To Anapliotiko mpakaliko” – it has many locally produced delicassies and is situated on Plapouta street. Come here if you want to buy a tasty souvenir to friends back home!

As said, the central pedestrian street takes you through the old town, from the green park where the city’s old train station still stands as an ornament and into the large and open Syntagma Square where restaurants, cafes and taverns are lined up next to majestic old buildings. Here you also find the Archaeological Museum of Nafplio.

In the evenings, there are always many playing children here supervised by their parents sitting in the nearby restaurants. There is a lovely activity in the square and just sitting here with a good drink and watching everything that is constantly happening is very a soothing experience.

Down by the city harbor there are many cafes nicely lined up along the seafront. From here, you look out over the Argolida Bay, but also over the ancient fortress of “Bourtzi”, which is a bit out into the sea on a small island. Bourtzi was built in 1473 by the Venetians and was first used as a defense against pirates and enemies which came by sea. In the early 1800s, the Greeks took it back and used it as a fort. The fortress has acted as a prison during the Greek Revolution, and Theodoros Kolokotronis who was one of the war fathers of the greek revolution actually was imprisoned here. From 1930-1970 Bourtzi was used as a hotel but today it is only a tourist attraction that can be reached by a small boat.

The walking path continues where the city ends and winds around the great cliff on the outskirts of the city. It takes you on a beautiful stroll with the sea on the one side and a cactus-clad mountain wall on the other. It is also here you will find the beautiful pebbly beach that is a bit hidden in a small pine forest. The beach is very nice and inviting although surrounded by shells of unfinished hotels. The beach is at the foot of the hill that the Palimidi fortress is built upon and the stairs taking you up the hill are located only a short distance from the beach.

Nafplio gives a sense of a big city mixed with a village. The town is fresh and refurbished with new, modern buildings but also old beautiful houses that melt in well and provide a lovely mix of old and new. The narrow alleys and side streets also give a picture of a beautiful little village. Nafplio has a lot to show off, but we think two whole days here are enough to experience the city to its fullest.

How to get to Nafplio

By car from Athens you take the big highway “Attiki Odos” towards Korinthos. Then you follow the signs towards Tripoli and Kalamata which will then lead to signs to Nafplio. It is very well signposted all the way and the roads are very good to drive on. Keep in mind that Greece’s highways have very many tolls and a one way trip to Nafplio from Athens costs just over 10 euros.

There are also buses from Athens and other cities in Greece to Nafplio so there are good opportunities to visit Nafplio from wherever you may be.