Things to do in Nafplio
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Nafplio
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months ranked: late May, June, September and early October, warm sea into mid October and crowds thin after mid September.
Spring sightseeing with wildflowers and orange blossom, Orthodox Easter processions and the 25 March parade, sea still cool.
Festival and swimming season at 32 to 36 degrees with heatwaves over 40, mid August is peak crowds and prices.
Winter is quiet, cheap and genuinely Greek with tavernas and museums open, December is wettest and January coldest and sea swimming is out.
What's on
- Greek Orthodox Easter Holy Week, dates vary in spring
Good Friday Epitaphios processions through the old town, the biggest domestic moment, book Holy Week very early.
- Independence Day Parade 25 March
Parade fills Syntagma Square for Greek Independence Day.
- Nafplion Festival usually June, about 10 days
Classical music since 1991 in venues including Palamidi, squares and Bourtzi, June accommodation tightens.
- Athens-Epidaurus Festival at Epidaurus mainly July and August, Friday and Saturday
Ancient drama and comedy in the Epidaurus theatre under stars, performances usually in Greek with English surtitles.
- Assumption 15 August
Peak domestic holiday with maximum crowds and prices, book everything.
- Great Days of Nemea September
Nemea grape harvest and wine festival period in Greece largest PDO wine region.
- Ohi Day 28 October
Parades and a long weekend surge, book it.
- Anapliotiko Karnavali February to early March, before Clean Monday
Winter carnival with Venetian costume traditions, the winter event worth timing a trip around.
Best things to do in Nafplio
Palamidi Fortress
Venetian fortress above the old town with eight bastions and the defining view over the gulf and Argos plain.
Syntagma Square
Marble piazza at the heart of the old town lanes, best for the evening volta under the plane trees.
Bourtzi Castle
Small Venetian water castle on a harbour islet, reached by boat for views back to Palamidi and the old town.
Akronafplia Castle
Free acropolis peninsula with walls from Bronze Age to Ottoman rebuilds and views over town and gulf.
Arvanitia Promenade
Paved coastal path under the cliffs from the old town to Arvanitia Beach, the town swim and stroll route.
Archaeological Museum of Nafplio
Venetian warehouse museum with the Dendra bronze panoply, the best preparation for Mycenae and Tiryns.
Archaeological Site of Tiryns
Quiet UNESCO Mycenaean citadel with Cyclopean walls and corbelled galleries, four kilometres from town.
Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation - Basil Papantoniou Museum
Beautifully curated museum of Greek costume, weaving and jewellery, the human counterweight to ancient stones.
Where to stay in Nafplio
Old Town lanes
first-timers and couples, best for almost everyone
Pedestrian grid centred on Syntagma and the harbour, walk to dinner, Bourtzi boats, the museum and the Palamidi stair.
Old Town edge, waterfront and Akronafplia slope
views, romance and easier access
Bouboulinas waterfront and the slope under Akronafplia keep old town walkability and add Bourtzi and gulf views and balconies.
Pronia and New Town
value, families, drivers and longer stays
East of Andrea Syggrou around 25 Martiou, larger and cheaper rooms with parking, a flat 10 to 15 minute walk to Syntagma.
Tolo
beach-first family holidays only
Separate resort village 9 km south with a long sandy beach, wrong for culture first trips because every dinner needs a drive.
Aria and outskirts countryside
villas, pools and retreat stays
Country hotels among orange groves toward Assini and Aria offer pools, gardens and silence the old town cannot, a car is essential.
Think twice about
- Argos as a base
A working commercial town with none of Nafplio evening, harbour or old town life, you will commute to everything you came for.
- Main-road strip between Nafplio and Argos and Tiryns
Scattered roadside hotels on a busy road, noisy, car dependent and unwalkable, fine for a one night road stop only.
- Densest central beach strip in Tolo in peak August
Bars and traffic run late and the beach is at its most crowded and litter prone, stay a street or two back for sleep.
- Rooms directly over Syntagma Square cafes or the harbour bar row
Not a safety issue, a sleep issue, evening noise from cafes and bars reaches rooms directly above them.
Best restaurants in Nafplio
Pidalio Restaurant
Modern Greek benchmark using local produce, order the chalked fish special, veal cheeks and a Nemea red.
Pergamonto
Dessert institution for loukoumades in honey and modern versions, plus orange pie and galaktoboureko.
Wild Duck Eat & Drink
Best special occasion waterfront dinner, sous vide duck, catch of the day and crayfish orzo with serious wines.
Kastro Karima
Value taverna famous for whole sea bass at taverna prices, generous mezze, souvlaki and fresh salads.
Savouras Fish Tavern
Classic family fish taverna run since 1841, ask what came in that morning and price fish by the kilo first.
To Omorfo Tavernaki
Traditional taverna a few lanes from Syntagma for moussaka, oven lamb, soutzoukakia and gogges pasta.
Aiolos Tavern
More local feeling taverna for moussaka, octopus and retsina, and whatever came out of the oven that day.
Vasilis Taverna
Santorini Dave equivalent pick for home cooked oven dishes in the traditional taverna register.
Best bars in Nafplio
Allotino
All day harbour bar that runs late, part of a cafe bar late night rather than a clubbing scene.
Best coffee in Nafplio
Kentrikon Cafe
Cafe by the museum under the Syntagma plane tree, for nursing a coffee and watching the town.
Outdoor things to do in Nafplio
PanExpeditions
Guided Medieval Castles kayak tour under Akronafplia and Palamidi toward Bourtzi, with swim and snorkel stops.
Sailing Nafplio
All inclusive half day small group sail to quiet coves near Tolo with swimming, snorkelling and Greek snacks.
Nafplio Sun Sail Cruises
Semi private sailing with a full meal cooked on board while you swim near Romvi and Daskaleio islets.
Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus
Best preserved ancient theatre in Greece beside the Asklepios sanctuary, still used for summer festival drama.
Archaeological Site of Mycenae
Bronze Age citadel through the Lion Gate to the palace summit, best at opening before buses and heat.
Treasury of Atreus
Vast beehive tholos tomb with a 120 ton lintel, included with Mycenae and not to be skipped.
Karathona Beach
Long sandy crescent with shallow calm water, reached by the flat coastal walk or cycle path from Arvanitia.
Arvanitia Beach
Pebbly dramatic beach ten minutes from the old town, the quick dip at the end of the promenade.
Best hotels in Nafplio
Nafplia Palace Hotel & Villas
Landmark hotel on Akronafplia with villas, terraces and the best hotel views over Bourtzi and the gulf.
Amphitryon Hotel
Smaller contemporary boutique below Akronafplia with Bourtzi view rooms, luxury without a resort feel.
Grand Sarai Nafplio
Converted 17th century building with courtyard and large rooms, top suite balcony over town to sea.
Hotel Ippoliti
Nineteenth century mansion on pedestrian lanes with marble floors and a rare old town courtyard pool.
3Sixty Hotel & Suites
Neoclassical suites on a small square, junior suites have large balconies with both fortresses in view.
Aetoma Hotel
Five room mansion in the same family for 200 years, personal hosting and a large balcony breakfast, book early.
Marianna Pension
Family pension with a terrace breakfast of farm products and views over old town, Bourtzi and Palamidi.
999 Luxury Hotel
Small boutique in a historic building, well located rooms often priced below true luxury despite the name.
Is Nafplio expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €45 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €85 a person |
| Splurge | €200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- PanExpeditions: a few days ahead
- Sailing Nafplio: a few days ahead
- Nafplio Sun Sail Cruises: a few days ahead
- Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus: weeks ahead
- Domaine Skouras: a few days ahead
- Palivou Estate: a few days ahead
- Gaia Wines: a few days ahead
- Semeli Estate: a few days ahead
- Old town luxury hotels and five room Aetoma sell out weeks ahead for Greek holiday weekends, Easter and July to August weekends.
- Epidaurus Festival tickets go as soon as the programme drops in spring for headline shows, book accommodation with them.
- Kayak, small group sailing and Nemea wine tours need booking days ahead in season, they run at small capacity.
- Book weekend dinners at Pidalio, Wild Duck, 3Sixty Grill Dining and Menta, and expect June to tighten for the Nafplion Festival.
Is Nafplio safe?
- Low crime family late town, keep pickpocket awareness in festival crowds and at the market.
- Leave nothing visible in a rental car at archaeological site car parks at Mycenae and Epidaurus.
- Heat discipline matters, fortresses have almost no shade and the Palamidi stair in a 40 degree afternoon is a medical risk.
- Use water shoes on rocky beach edges for sea urchins, tap water is drinkable, and carry cash for market, buses, boats and rural tavernas.
Nafplio travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Bourtzi as a museum, it is boat plus view plus 30 minutes, and boat and entry are charged separately at about 10 to 12 euros total.
- Palamidi at about 20 euros feels steep for an open air site, free Akronafplia gives most of the view on a tight budget.
- Harbourfront tout row and Syntagma cafes for dinner, view premium and weaker food, walk one street back or out to Pronia.
- Tiryns without preparation disappoints as just walls, do the town museum first or take a map and guide.
- Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nafplio as an Athens day tour means 8 to 10 hours on a bus, stay the night instead.
Getting around Nafplio: public transport and more
- About two hours by car from Athens via Corinth and Argos, a car pays for itself for Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nemea.
- KTEL Argolida buses run from Kifissos Bus Station in about two to two and a half hours, there is no train and no ferry to Nafplio.
- Walk the pedestrian old town, taxis from Philellinon Square cost about 6 to 8 euros to Karathona, bikes suit the Karathona path and Tiryns.
- Use the large port car park for the old town and confirm current charging on arrival, do not drive into pedestrian lanes.
Who Nafplio suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Nafplio your trip
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