A guide to
NAFPLIO

When you hear about Greece, your mind directly goes to the famous touristic destinations like Athens, Santorini and Mykonos. But Greece has much more to offer than those places.
Imagine a city full of colors and romance, with a picturesque old town, a beach where you can relax and recharge with good vibes and historical sites that will take you back in time. One city that offers all these and much more is Nafplio! Let's discover it together!

#greece 🇬🇷 #europe

Table Of Contents

• 🗺 Where to go
• 💡 Recommendations
• 📝 Things to know

Arriving in the center of the city, you could appreciate the main points of interest of Nafplio: the port, Palamidi fortress, the main square and Bourtzi. There is where the buses arrive and all transportation in general

Where to go

1. Visit Palamidi fortress

One of the things you cannot miss is Palamidi. Located on the hill overlooking the Old Town of Nafplio, Palamidi Fortress is an ideal place for travelers who want to combine a glance into the past and amazing panoramic views of the city of Nafplio.

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How to get there

Once you arrive in Nafplio, it's not so difficult to find where the Palamidi fortress is. Up on the hill above the town, it's visible from almost every part of the town. But how can you go there? Well, it's reachable in two ways, the easy one via a car or the hard one via the stairs. Legend has it that there are 999 stairs, so it could be a little bit challenging. If you are brave, you can challenge yourself and try to climb the stairs. Just make sure to bring a lot of water, and prefer either early in the morning or later in the evening towards the sunset. The beginning of the stairs are located at Polizoidi Street on the way to Arvanitia Beach. Regardless of how you decide to reach the fortress, once you reach the entrance, you will have to buy a ticket, which as of 2024, costs around €8.

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Working schedule
Palamidi is open every day except for some holidays (January 1, March 25 (National Day), May 1, Easter, and for Christmas December 25 and 26). Its regular hours are between 8:00 AM - 18:00 PM.
The entrance fee is 8 EUR from April to October and 4 EUR from November to March.

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Aaaah! But there are also some days with free admission:
- March 6 (In memory of Melina Mercouri)
- April 18 (International Monuments Day)
- May 18 (International Museum Day)
- The last weekend of September Annually (European Heritage Days)
- October 28

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A little bit of history

But before you decide to go all the way up to the Palamidi fortress, you would be wondering what is Palamidi and the history about it? First of all, the fortress is named after Homeric hero "Palamidis" who according to the legend took part in the Trojan war. It was constructed as a defense fortress by the Venetians between 1711 and 1714 and it has eight bastions.Throughout the years, it changed hands a few times, until 1822, when it was captured by the Greeks. Since then, it served many purposes, including being a prison, with Theodoros Kolokotronis, a hero of the Greek war of independence, being one of the prisoners. Since 1962, it is an archaeological site.

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What are the highlights

Now you are up there, having passed the entrance, so let's see what you can do inside the fortress. Palamidi is a really huge place, and since you are there, we recommend you to explore every part of it. The best preserved bastion is the Agios Andreas Bastion. There you can find a small chapel and the prison where it is said that Theodoros Kolokotronis was imprisoned. The place that he was held is quite small, and can fit only a few people, so that's the only place where you might have to wait on a queue. Other than that, you are free to explore the rest of the fortress. Some places are not so well maintained. You will encounter some ruins, some caves, and you will have the opportunity to take some nice panoramic photos of Nafplio.

2. Get lost in the streets of Nafplio

After you have fallen in love with this panorama, you will want to discover it yourself. One of the main attractions that we will encounter in the center, is the Syntagma square. It's an ample space where you will find some historic buildings like the first Greek parliament, and the archeological museum of Nafplio. In the streets around the square, you will see the houses with their old façadas in their balconies and the Bougainvilleas that form tunnels between the streets.

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Curious points

1. 🐈

   The cats, that you will find everywhere, as they are part of the Greek culture.

2. 🍦

   It's incredible the quantity of ice cream shops in the streets next to the square. You will be able to see and crave almost any flavour of ice cream; some of them offer as much as 42 flavours and in different presentations.

3. ☕️

   Also, the wide variety of cafeterias will surprise you. Here you can read more of our recommendations about coffee and cafes

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Aaah! And if you are tired of your walk to Palamidi and you don't want to explore the center on foot, you can take one of the alternatives, like the tour in bus, the little train or the carriage.

3. Walk to Arvanitia beach

After you relax a little in the center, why not visit the beach? There two ways to go there. One is through the town, where you can find a parking lot, and next to it, there is the stair the leads to the beach and a cafe. The other is more nice and funny, with an incredible view. This is a stone path, very old-fashioned, bordering the sea until reaching the beach. In this link you can find the route.

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What are you going to see on the path?

When you are in the stone path, you will find some peculiarities, that form the landscape. The first that you need to know is that there is a sign that says "do not enter", but the reality is that all visitors and locals pass through one side of the mesh.

Walking on the stone path, you can see the colorful sea and a wonderful landscape that comes together with the nature in some areas at a brutal level, strong as you can imagine, splashing the rocks, causing the water to bounce and create a unique moment, and with the subtlety of the flight of the seagulls that flutter around the place trying to catch a fish, adorning the panorama, something unmissable. Approximately in the middle of the path, you will find a magnificent tunnel from which you can enjoy a phenomenal landscape; you have the rustic of the stones and the sea on the other side, and in the background, the beach. The contrast of color creates something perfect.

Everywhere in the path, you can see the 'cacti', with their flowers, their green colors and red for those that are already in bloom. Their rough, dry appearance growing from the cliff makes them look like the survivors of the desert. They are quite representative in this area and make the path more interesting.
Let's learn a little more about the 'cacti': Opuntia, normally known as nopal, is a genus of plants with flowers that are part of the Cactaceae family. Some of them are known for their fruits and eye-catching flowers; this genus is named after the name of the ancient Greek city Opus.

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The beach

On the path there are many "entrances" that offer a different route to the sea. Some of them seem a little uninhabited, as the nature has taken over part of these paths. Some other are more accessible and it is the main entrance which is the one that gives you a walk around a section of trail with pine trees, a little more fresh. This trail will lead you to a 'cafe/restaurant' where you can drink or eat something.

The beach is made of stones, and its water is dark blue, strong and refreshing, in these summer days where the weather becomes so perfect to enjoy the sea, accompanied by a good Freddo espresso. Its colorful sea, intense and strong, the contrast of the colors, the water hitting strong against the big rocks that you will find a little away, the boats that can be seen in the distance from this beach, enjoy it, have pleasant memories.

4. Visit Bourtzi

You can go to this castle which is on a nearby island, by taking a little boat which costs 5€ for the round-trip. Arriving at the castle, it looks bigger than what it seems from the port, and the entrance also costs 5€. With this you will be able to walk around all of the castle, including the museum where they explain the history and the change that has happened with the passage of time. Also, they will explain that the entrance fee is to be able to periodically perform maintenance on the place, although there was a help from the government. It is necessary to keep the castle in good condition in order to continue being open to the public, which you can notice easily, because every room is very well-maintained.

It is a safe place and I can guarantee that you will learn a little bit of its history and enjoy the landscape that this place provide. A sneak peek, prepare for the stairs. As you can imagine, being a place with so much history, it comes with a few stairs to enjoy its landscape and discover its passages. In the main garden, you will admire the different kind of flowers, full of vibrant colors and the magic of this place.

Take your time, walk without hurry; nobody is going to limit your time there

5. Finish the day with a cocktail and a view of the port

After a long day, one of the indicated place that offer you a view that is really worth the time, will be in the port, where you can enjoy a fabulous cocktail with Bourtzi in the background or some boats and the sea showing its splendor, since there are a lot of bar-restaurants to choose from according to your likes.
So, in the next section we want to tell you about some amazing places and a little about our experience there.

Recommendations

1. Try the best cocktail with Bourtzi in the background

Of all the cafe-bars next to the docks, Iliostasio is one with the best view, since you can see the Bourtzi in the background. Besides that, its products are of good quality and at a reasonable price, and they offer between others, brunch, cafe and cocktails. Our recommendation is the ayo cocktail.
The base of ayo is Tequila and it is accompanied by a red Grenadine color that makes its flavor very interesting, one slice of dehydrated orange that decorates the glass and gives a touch of bitterness with a great and aroma and color to the drink
Directions

2. Try Freddo Espresso

Cold coffee, like the name says it is a espresso, but this one is double, with a special preparation from Greece. It is usually one of the most recommended coffees, cold coffees to be precise, ideally taken without sugar, but if you wishes with sugar, they can prepare it like this.
In the majority of the places that you visit in Greece, the coffee will be served with either a glass or a jug of water. In some other places, the coffees are accompanied by a cookie.
There are alternatives to the Freddo Espresso, that is to say, if your preference is for milk, you can order a Freddo Cappuccino.

3. Visit ROSSO cafe-bar

ROSSO cafe-bar is one of our recommendations to try Freddo Espresso, since it has a very pleasant place at the entrance, it has something eye-catching, a car, well half of a car, in which you can sit and take a spectacular photo and enjoy the extensive menu that this place has. It has a good service and they serve the coffee with a pretty tasty Rosso cookie. It's located close to the port, so it's an ideal place to spend the afternoon, share and enjoy quality products, listen to soft background music and comfortable seats.
Directions

4. Best time to travel

Everything it's according to your like, but as a recommendation, it's better to travel in late spring or summer, since the weather is ideal to enjoy the many options that Greece has to offer to you, like to enter the sea without freezing in the attempt, enjoy its breeze and the wonderful sunsets that these magical places give you. 
In the spring, it could be perfect, because there is a nice sun that starts to warm your days a little, and even though there are some windy days, it is pleasant and suitable for exploring the places. In the summer, you can fully enjoy the splendid sea that this place offers. With a little higher temperature, your summer outfit will go very well with the warm sunny days and dreamlike sunsets.

Things to know before your visit

1. 🐧

   What currency do they use in Nafplio?

   Euro(€)

2. 🐧

   What type of power outlet?

   Type-C

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   Is tap water drinkable

   Yes, it's drinkable

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   A bit of history

   Nafplio was the first capital of Greece between 1829 and 1834.

5. 🐧

   Some words

   Kalimera - Good morning
   Kalispera - Good evening
   Kalinihta - Good night
   Efharisto - Thank you
   Ohi -> No
   Ne -> Yes