Top Things to Do Nafplio Greece, a Travel Guide

Nafplio – Should I or should I not include Nafplio in my Greece itinerary?

My mind was in some bit of turmoil. Nafplio is not a UNESCO world heritage site of Greece and my road trip through mainland of Greece was dotted with UNESCO WH sites of Greece.

Currently there are 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Greece. I managed to fit in 8 of them in my 12 days itinerary of Greece.

Well, even if you don’t consider the UNESCO factor, Nafplio still has a significant place in Greek history because Nafplio was the capital of Greece long before Athens took over. Yes! Nafplio was the first capital of Greece from 1823 to 1834.

Travel Guide for Day Trip to Nafplio Greece

With so much of historic importance Nafplio can’t be ignored. Strolling in the lanes of Nafplio I felt glad that I included the cute little town Nafplio in my Greece Itinerary. The real challenge however was to decide on things to do in Nafplio.

I have often found one day tours to be hectic and a battle against time. It is how much you can see in within the limited time period. Nevertheless with a little bit of planning you can cover a lot by foot in this small town. Here is a travel guide for day trip to Nafplio in Greece.

View of Nafplio town from Palmidi Fort

Interesting Things to do in Nafplio

This adorable little port town of Greece has lots to offer and keep you busy on your toes whole day long. Nafplio offers a good mix of sights for nature lovers, shoppers, history buffs and for foodies.

For a day trip you can include a fort/castle, a museum, strolls along any of the several beaches, churches for the spiritually inclined, short and long walking tours along the cobblestone streets of the Old Town, shop or just relax in the cafes lining the streets.

Several cruises halt at Nafplio port

Nafplio Forts and Castles

I have included the 3 forts  in the travel guide for day trip to Nafplio. You can include any one of these castle/fort in your day trip itinerary.

Palmidi Fort – As soon as you enter the town of Nafplio you are greeted by the sight of mighty Palmidi Fort on hill top. For the fort conquerors this is ideal way to start the day tour early in the morning when sun isn’t too harsh.  Take the 900+ steps to Fortress of Palamidi for stunning views all around, lots of photo opportunities and chance to imagine how the Greeks would have defended their country against the Ottoman Empire from here!

Venetians built this mighty fort in 1681, it was so well designed by them that none of the invaders could conquer it. There is one windowless prison inside the fort which can dampen your spirits. Larger part of the interiors is rough mountainous terrain. So watch your steps while you go selfie spot hunting.

Opens at 8AM. You can complete the tour before hordes of tourists start arriving at 10.30AM.

Bourtzi Castle – Bourtzi Fort and Castle at the entrance of Nafplio port is worth a visit, but it will take more than couple of hours. Not advisable for a day tour but definitely worth a visit if you plan a night halt in Nafplio. You have to take taxi boat and sail to the islet. The other alternative is stand in the shore and take pictures, you get truly beautiful frames of it whatever the season or time. It seemed to me as if the castle was floating on water.

It is open on all days: 8AM to 8PM.

Bourtzi Castle

Acronafplia Castle – Acronafplia, Nafplio’s oldest castle, was once a thriving city of Ancient Greece. It is believed parts of the castle were built in Bronze Age! You get stunning views of the city around and the beautiful Arvanitia Beach.

Walking Tour of Nafplio Town

Set off on walking tour along the lanes of Nafplio. Start at Land Gate and walk in towards the old town. The old town was built at the beginning of the 19th century and that is quite recent in terms of Greek history and the age of some of the archaeological sites there. Most buildings still exist from the Venetian time and I didn’t see any modern sky rise buildings there.

Nafplio is a port town and several cruises make a halt here. Chances are that you will suddenly see several tourists walking into the town from the port.

Cafes dotting the lanes of Nafplio

Shopping in Nafplio

The lanes are lined with cute little shops and restaurants on either side. Nafplio lanes too are filled with several souvenir shops like other towns of Greece but note that this town has many more upscale shops that sell quality souvenirs, original art and folk artifacts. Interesting souvenir to pick up for m here would be Komboloi – the worry beads.

You can plan to have lunch at one of these places after a 2 hour walking tour. Ideal locations to grab a bite before you set off on the next part of your tour. Have traditional Greek food in one of the taverns by the sea side.

Komboloi – worry beads

Nafplio Churches

We walked into churches of Nafplio belonging to medieval times. I have mentioned the several churches that you may wish to visit in this travel guide for day trip to Nafplio.

Church of Agios (Saint) Spiridion – It was built in 1702 and the bell tower in 1853. The interiors have Byzantine icons and bright paintings around the walls. The church was a scene of gruesome murder of the first governor of the newly-established Greek State, Ioannis Kapodistrias on September 27th, 1831.

Some men from the Mavrokordatos family, a wealthy and strong family at that time in Greece who had contributed a lot in the Greek War of Independence did the assassination. Some of these bullets still have their prints against the wall of the church. These prints have been framed in a glass case.

Church of Panaghia – This church was built in 15^th century with modest grey-white exteriors surprised us with its golden grand interiors. It is a small one but not one bit of wall is exposed. It seemed as if the entire surface area had a golden sheet and with lighting inside everything seemed to glitter.

Church of Aghios Nikolaos – In the Filellinon Square we walked into church of Aghios Nikolaos. It is just beside the port. Nikolaos is the patron saint of sailors and the church is dedicated to sailors. Interiors has the carved wooden chancel with its pulpit, large despotic icons dating from 1848 to 1849, and the central chandelier from Odessa and the bishop’s throne. An inscription there mentions:

The church of Aghios Nikolaos was moved from inside the walled city to the shore on the wishes of the Venetian superintendent of the fleet Agostino Sagredo, in 1713.

They are small and it took less than half hour to tour the churches.

Interiors of Church of Agios Nicolaos Nafplio Greece

Trianon – The Old Mosque Nafplio

Visit Syntagma Square and the Museums

Syntagma Square of Nafplio is lively and bursting with life especially in the evenings. I have mentioned the museums located around this square in travel guide for day trip to Nafplio Greece. You may want to include one or all of them in your Nafplio visit.

Athens too has a Syntagma Square. You may be interested to see the change of guard at Syntagma Square in Athens – A Change of Guards Athens, Syntagma Square.

The War Museum is housed in a 2 storey stone building near the Square since 1988. This building had previously housed the first Cadet school in 1828 and later the first Department of Defense. Exhibits inside are themed on the school and the wars in which Greece had been involved, from the Greek Revolution to the end of WW-II.

It is closed on Mondays, open on other days from 9AM to 5PM.

Archaeological Museum – This museum is housed in stone-built Venetian structure located to the west of Syntagma Square. Reputed to be one of the finest preserved Venetian structures, since 1713, it was first used as the navy’s depository.

The exhibits here include objects from Prehistoric period onwards and from every civilization that existed thereafter. This can easily take an hour to tour. If you are in serious crunch of time you may want to rethink whether to include in your itinerary. Since I had seen the Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus, I skipped this.

Closed on Tuesday, open on other days 8.30AM to 3.30PM.

Komboloi Museum – it has a stunning collection of worry beads from Turkey, Greece, Syria, Egypt, which date from 1700 to 1950. All are made of various precious and rare materials.

Interested in Museums of Greece? Check this: Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus

Stroll along Nafplio Beaches

Take a walk along Nafplio beaches, feel the sand between your toes. Karathona beach is just 10 minutes away from the base of Palamidi Fortress. The beach line is dotted with cafes and traditional taverns. Walk some more to get to Avanita and Neraki Beach. Go for a swim or envy the people swimming in the clearest bluest waters there.

No wonder why the town is famous as most romantic seaside towns in the Peloponnese!

Tips to Tour Nafplio

• Remember your sunblock and a bottle of water.
• Plan ahead, note the timings and schedule your visits.
• Wear good walking shoes for the cobbled streets and for the rugged parts of the forts.
• There are plenty of buses to and from Kifissos Bus Station in Nafplio. You can arrive early and leave late.
• Weekends it is generally crowded, a weekday visit would be better.
• Make day trip to Argos. Know more: Argos, Ancient Landmark of Greece

How to reach Nafplio

By Bus: There are daily buses that connect Nafplio with Athens. Travel time is 2 hours and costs € 20-25 with return. Nafplio is well connected to Thessaloniki and other Peloponnese cities.

By Boat/Cruise: There are several cruises with halts in Nafplio.  You can hire taxi boat or yacht too. Nafplio port has good facilities and can host several yachts.

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