This pretty town on the Saronic Gulf in the eastern Peloponnese was the first capital of the modern state of Greece 1823-1834.
It’s on many lists of the most romantic places in Greece and is a favorite getaway destination for Athenians. It’s a lesser known destination for foreign tourists but certainly not for lack of historical depth, scenery and charm.
The 18th-century Venetian Palamidi Castle guards the town from 216m above the sea, with the remains of a much older fort, the Acronauplia Fortress, Bronze Age gates and Cyclopean walls around the base of the same hill.
The small, 15th-century Venetian Bourtzi Castle keeps watch from another angle on an island in the harbor. Probably the town’s most recognizable site, Bourtzi Castle is now used for concerts, festivals and other events.
The lovely medieval old town is a maze of bougainvillea draped lanes graced with Venetian, Ottoman and neoclassical architecture, as well as plenty of good restaurants, tavernas and boutique shops. In the heart of the old town, the city’s main square is Syntagma Square, surrounded by historical buildings, including Ottoman mosques and a fine archaeological museum with artifacts dating back to prehistoric and Mycenean times.
About 2 hours by car from Athens (94km), this mystery city makes a fine day trip or a good base from which to visit Epidaurus, Mycenae, Corinth and Tyrins, some of Greece’s best archaeological sites.
Can you name that city?
No? OK, we’ll tell you… It’s Nafplion (also spelled Nafplio, or sometimes Nauplio).
Several of our Greece tours (Scholar’s Classical, Scirocco, Aegean Highlights, Aeolos) include a short stop in Nafplion as part of a longer Classical tour and our Ultimate Greece tour spends an afternoon and overnight there. For more time in Nafplion, ask us to design a custom program.
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