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The Old Town
A riot of red in the middle of an Old Town lane
Looking down a lane of steps on the steep hill behind the commercial center
One of the lanes in the tourist-oriented shopping and dining district
Agia Sofia is one of the oldest churches in Nafplio
A Ferris wheel in the OSE Park — Municipal Odeon
The monument to the Philhellenes in Philellinon Square. The Venetian bastion of Santa Teresa occupied the site until its demolition in 1866.
Syndagma Square is lined with cafes and tavernas and is a popular gathering place for locals and visitors alike. The building at the far end of the square is the Nafplio Archaeological Museum.
The Nafplio town hall at Three Admirals Square (Trion Navarchon Square)
A narrow street in the Old Town
The Church of Agios Nikolaos
The Nafplio courthouse building
A mansion on the hillside
Rooftops in the Old Town
A canopy of bougainvillea arcs above a lane in the Old Town
One of many colourful buildings in the Old Town
Palamidi castle looms high in the background in this view from the square at the Metropolitan Church of Agios Georgios
The old customs house near the Nafplio waterfront
Trees laden with ripe oranges line the side of a Nafplio street
A view of the Old Town from the Nafplio port
Shops, balconies and bougainvilleas along a narrow lane
A house on the hillside above the commercial district
Evening sunshine illuminates a street lined with cafe and restaurant tables
Houses in one of the hillside areas of the Old Town
Buildings along a stepped lane on the hillside
Cannons at the Bastion of Pende Adelphia (Bastion of the Five Brothers)
A curiously-shaped building on the hillside below Acronauplia fortress
A rustic building beside a long flight of steep stairs
Shops along a lane at Three Admirals Square
The OSE Park at the former Nafplio train station
Agii Apostolis church
A street in the commercial district
Design details on a building near Agios Georgios church
Residential buildings glow in the evening sunshine
A lane of steps on the steep hillside below Acronauplia fortress
Festive flags in the square next to Agios Georgios church
The scenery and views
The Old Town (foreground), the New Town, and hills and mountains beyond, seen from the Acronauplia fortress
An Acronauplia fortress view of the Bourtzi sea castle, the Banieres swimming area, and the Nafplio waterfront park called The Shore.
A view of the Argolic Gulf from the footpath to Karathona beach
Larissa Castle and the town of Argos across the bay from Nafplio
A view toward the Acronauplia peninsula (upper left) from the coast south of Karathona
From many places in Nafplio you will see the massive Palamidi castle, which crowns the steep rocky peak behind the town.
A pre-sunset evening view from the Acronauplia fortress
Looking toward the Nafplio port and New Town, and the hills and mountains beyond, from inside the Acronauplia fortress
A view of the Argolic Gulf from the coastal path to Karathona
A Palamidi castle view of the Acronauplia peninsula and Argolic Gulf
Eastern Peloponnese mountains along the far side of the Argolic Gulf
Mountain, sea and coastline scenery, seen from the path to Karathona
A view of the north side of the bay, across from Nafplio
An Acronauplia fortress view of the Argolic Gulf
Rooftops in the Nafplio Old Town, the Bourtzi sea castle, and Eastern Peloponnese mountains across the bay
Mountains beyond the Nafplio New Town area
A sea view from the Arvanitia promenade at sunset
Watching a sunset from the Nafplio port
The waterfront
Rows of palm trees line Nafplio’s wide waterfront walkway
This particular part of the waterfront is known locally as The Shore, and has terrific views of the Bourtzi sea castle. It’s a great spot for sunset watching, too.
Another view of The Shore
Palm tree shadows on the waterfront walkway in early morning
Looking down the palm tree-lined waterfront toward the Nafplio port
Part of the wide walkway at the Nafplio waterfront
Fishing lines, boats and the Bourtzi castle
Waterfront view of fortification walls at the top and bottom of the Acronauplia peninsula
Sailboats and yachts docked along the waterfront
A sunset view of the harbour, and mountains across the bay
The Arvanitia Promenade
The Arvanitia promenade snakes along the seaside beneath the steep rocky cliffs of the Acronauplia peninsula
The promenade starts near The Shore area of the Nafplio waterfront, and ends at Arvanitia beach
The stone-paved promenade extends for about 1 kilometer
The promenade bends around the bottom of the Acronauplia peninsula
An evening view of Bourtzi sea castle from the promenade
A passageway twists through the soaring cliff face
An aerial view of the passageway on the promenade
The steep cliffs above the promenade are covered with immense thickets of prickly pear and other cactus plants
Path view of Palamidi castle on the peak above Arvanitia beach
A park bench and memorial shrine on the promenade
The promenade ends at Arvanitia beach, a small stone and pebble strand
The coastal path to Karathona
You can’t see it, but there’s a wide path beneath those trees, and it winds more than 2 kilometers along the coast from Arvanitia Square to Karathona beach
A tree-lined section of the path offers welcome shade to walkers as they stroll above the gorgeous blue water
The path is popular with joggers and people heading to Neraki beach or one of several quiet coves between Neraki and Karathona.
A view of the coast from a lookout point near Neraki beach
Imposing rust-coloured cliffs tower above a stretch of the path near Neraki beach
The path turns a corner along the coast
Palm trees and azalea bushes along the path
More twists and turns along the path
One of the coves past Neraki beach
Walking the path toward Naplio
Beautiful shades of turquoise in Karathona bay
The path ends at Karathona bay, where you’ll find fishing boats tethered to a row of rickety wooden docks at the north end of Karathona beach
The three castles
Houses and hotels cling to the steep hill below the Acronauplia fortress
The Grimani Bastion of the Acronauplia fortress
The enormous bastion wall is constructed of huge blocks of stone
An entrance portal to the Acronauplia fortress at the top of the Old Town
Inside a long, tall crenellated wall at Acronauplia
Acronauplia fortifications on the cliffs high above the Arvanitia promenade
Vast thickets of prickly pear cactus cover many of the slopes of the peninsula below the Acronauplia fortress. We had never seen such extensive, wide swaths of cactus before.
The derelict Modernist-style Xenia Hotel building on Acronauplia is a relic of a Greek government program that sought to improve the country’s tourist infrastructure and accommodations more than 50 years ago
A view of the abandoned Xenia Hotel and the Palamidi castle high above it
Agii Anargyroi church in the Acronauplia fortress
Tourists stroll past the Acronauplia clock tower
Gulf and coastal view from a fortification wall at the Acronauplia fortress
A mountain and countryside view from atop the Grimani bastion
The Bourtzi sea castle is a conspicuous site in most views of the bay
The castle was undergoing renovations while we were in Nafplio
A closer view of one side of the castle …
… and a closer peek at the other end of the fortress
Tourists can visit the Bourtzi castle by taking a shuttle boat from the waterfront (the fare cost about €5 per person). We were never around in time to catch one of the boats, so we don’t have any close-up photos to show what it’s like on the islet or inside Bourtzi. But this drone video, by YouTube contributor haanity, gives some interesting aerial views of Bourtzi, as well as the Palamidi and Acronauplia castles.
Looking up at the massive Palamidi castle on the peak behind Nafplio
Inside one of the castle structures
A massive stone wall towers above the courtyard
Two of the huge buildings inside the castle
Side view of one of the castle buildings
Tourists explore the castle interior
A Palamidi fortification wall high above Bourtzi sea castle
Walking along a path in one of the castle structures
Stairs and walls at one of the fortress bastions
The castle belltower and a view of the surrounding ountryside
A castle wall and a view of mountains in the Peloponnese across the bay
A vertigo-inducing castle walkway on the edge of a cliff
That’s me checking out the spectacular sea and coastal views
A view of one of the castle’s wings and the town far below
There are fantastic views all the way down the castle steps
The beaches and swimming spots
The Arvanitia promenade passes alongside the Banieres swimming area
Handrails and steps provide easy access to the open swimming area
A swimming “pool” at the seaside
A view of Bourtzi castle from the Banieres swimming area
A swimmer ventures into deeper water beyond the rock enclosure
We saw local kids diving into the sea from a rock ledge beside the Arvanitia promenade
At numerous spots along the Arvanitia promenade, steps lead down to the rocky shore where some people can sunbathe, fish or enter the water for a swim
Arvanitia beach
View of the Argolic Gulf from the middle of Arvanitia beach
A view of Arvanitia beach from Palamidi castle
Neraki beach is a 15 to 20-minute walk from Arvanitia Square
The view from Neraki beach
Neraki actually has two sections — there’s a second cove close by
Sunbathers on the narrow strip of sand in the second cove
Further down the coastal path are several more coves, like this one, where we occasionally saw people sunbathing and wading in the water
Karathona beach curves along almost the entire coast of a large bay
Steep hills rise behind the tree-lined beach
Karathona beach is not only long, it’s also very wide in many places
Some of the palm trees on Karathona beach
A panoramic view of the beach and bay
One of the organized sections of Karathona beach
Palm trees on Karathona beach
One of the tavernas at Karathona beach
Another panoramic view of the beach and bay
A small section of lounge chairs and umbrellas
View from one of the wider sections of the beach
View from the southern end of Karathona bay
A trail at the southern end of Karathona bay leads to little Agios Nikolaos church on the coast
The food and wine
We ate very, very well in Nafplio, and we enjoyed the local wines we sampled in restaurants and cafe-bars. This is one of the wonderful Greek salads we enjoyed with meals at Aiolos Taverna
The mixed appetizer dish at Aiolos Taverna included roasted eggplant, giant beans, roasted peppers, fava and stuffed wine leaves
Our delicious lunch mezes at Kakanarakis 1986 restaurant included grilled bread, gigantes (giant beans), oven roasted aubergines, zucchini fritters, beetroot salad and white wine.
Streetside tables at Es Aei Enoteca and Tapas Bar, where we celebrated my birthday with delicious food and wine
The menu board at Es Aei the evening of my birthday dinner. We ordered the sausage, hummus, gruyere cheese and cake, and all were delicious. The wine was excellent, too.
We had one lunch and one dinner at Kakanarakis 1986, see here. Both meals were excellent.
Aiolos Taverna
Evening sunshine illuminates the tables outside Mitato grillhouse. You just can’t beat this place for tasty Greek “fast food” fare like gyros and souvlaki. We liked the Mitato gyros so much we went back for more a second time.
Le Bistro Grec was our favourite spot to have a glass of wine and watch people pass by in the street
Toasting Nafplio with a big glass of red wine during one of our evening visits to Le Bistro Grec
There are plenty of coffee shops in Nafplio, but we kept going back to Skantzochoiros for an afternoon java jolt
Our accommodations
Porto Bello Design Hotel was our home-away-from-home during our week in Nafplio
Street view of the hotel reception and suite entrances
We stayed in the hotel’s Paris suite, which was spacious, bright and comfortable
Bedroom section of the Paris suite. You can view more photos of the room interior on the Porto Bello Design Hotel website.
The Paris suite has two balconies. This one was next to the room’s main space.
The balcony offered a panoramic view of the Nafplio Old and New Towns, the bay, and the nearby mountains
This was our balcony view of the lane below the hotel
The other balcony was accessed from the bedroom area. It wrapped around the corner of the building, and was furnished with a bistro table and two chairs
Street view of the corner balcony for the Paris suite
Balcony view of the Old and New Town areas and surrounding mountains
More of the town view from the corner balcony
The corner balcony also offered a view of Palamidi castle…
… as well as houses, hotels and some of the Acronauplia fortress walls
Besides the terrific views and comfortable accommodations, the Porto Bello served a bountiful breakfast that included spinach pies and other pastries, Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, toast, coffee and fresh orange juice. Breakfast was delivered to our room for us to enjoy either on the balcony or inside.
Although the breakfasts were enormous, climbing all the steep steps to and from the hotel easily burned off the calories!
Nafplio’s convenient location for daytrips
We got a look at the Corinth Canal during our drive from Athens International Airport to Nafplio, but it’s an easy daytrip to see the canal and the Ancient Corinth historic sites. Naplio is conveniently placed for visits to the Nemea wine region, too
We visited the ancient theater at Epidaurus on our first full day in Nafplio
Besides the famous theater, the Epidaurus site includes a museum, extensive ruins and monuments …
… as well as an athletics area. We could have taken daytrips to other historic archaeological sites nearby, including Mycenae and Tiryns, but we have left those for our next trip to Nafplio.
After visiting Epidaurus , we drove to Arcaia Epidaurus to have a nice long lunch break by the seaside at Mouria Taverna . This was the panoramic view from our table.
Seaside tables at Mouria Taverna
Mouria Taverna has a lovely tree-shaded terrace — it’s a perfect spot to escape the sun while enjoying excellent food and views
The beachfront at Mouria Taverna. Accommodations are available both at Mouria and close by. It’s a beautiful and peaceful seaside area.
One daytrip we particularly enjoyed was to the picturesque town and beach resort of Tolo, which is connected to Nafplio by regular daily bus trips
A view of the Tolo seafront from one end of Psili Ammos beach
Tolo boasts a gorgeous golden sand beach with shallow turquoise water. Several more beaches are within walking distance of this one.
There are dozens of tavernas and beach bars along the narrower strip of beach where most of the hotels and studio accommodations are located
A view toward Romvi island from the wide segment of Tolo beach
The eastern end of Tolo beach. We liked the look and feel of Tolo so much, we booked a 4-night stay at a beachfront hotel for the end of our holiday
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