Safe by the Sea in Nafplio

Gazing at the Argolic Gulf from up at the Palamidi Fortress

Continued from
Dreaming of the Peloponnese

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Nafplio (also called Nafplios or Nafplion), on the Argolic Gulf along the northeastern coast of Greece’s Peloponnese mainland, is where Athenians go for a weekend by the sea.

Now that we’ve been there, too, we believe that people who live in Athens are very, very clever.

Back in 2005, the most helpful resource I could find on traveling in the Peloponnese was Greece Travel, a website compiled by expatriate American Matt Barrett; if we were headed there again today, I’d still use it as my guide.  His section on Nafplio convinced us to go that September, and it was one of the greatest highlights of our 5-day Peloponnese adventure.

View of Nafplio from the Palamidi Fortress

Nafplio, now a pretty little resort town, reflects the complex history of the Peloponnese itself. From the 6th century AD on, its port was a strategic and commercial stronghold for the Byzantines, then the Franks, then the Venetians, then the Turks for 100 years.  The Venetians, with help from Poles and Germans, won it back, but soon the Turks had Nafplio in their grip again.

In 1821, Greek general Theodoros Kolokotronis and army wrestled Nafplio from Turkish rule, and named it the first capital of the modern Greek state.  By 1834, though, Kolokotronis had soured on newly crowned King Otto; the king had him jailed for a year in the Palamidi, and re-named Athens as the Greek capital.

Nafplio is only a two-hour drive from Athens; we rented a Swift Rental Car through our Athens hotel, the Electra Palace, and took our time past the turquoise canal at Corinth and up through the ancient ruins at Acrocorinth, arriving in Nafplio late in the afternoon.

Please don’t make our mistake, though:  Stay in Old Town Nafplio.

The Bourtzi from the terrace at the Nafplia Palace

We took one of Matt’s suggestions and booked the well-priced, on-the-outskirts Amalia Hotel...which felt like a place where The Sopranos might have held a wedding.

This is ground zero for Greek bus tours, where many women – in gold lamé and heavy makeup – put American gangster molls to shame.  Also, while the Amalia’s sprawling grounds were dotted with waving palms and the marble public terrace was just fine for an afternoon drink, its rooms were spare, bordering on squalid.  The hotel has since gotten a makeover, but we still found its location, ten minutes outside the city and down a long road, too remote.

We would now drive straight into the old town, park at the gorgeous Nafplia Palace, and not move the car again until it was time to leave.  Instead, we had to settle for a late-night cocktail on the Palace’s long, stylish terrace, overlooking the fairy-lit Bourtzi glittering out in the harbor.

An Argolic Gulf cove, seen from the Palamidi

While you can see Turkish mosques and baths all over town, the Venetians built Nafplio’s two greatest landmarks:  In the 1470s, the Bourtzi, a small, utterly romantic island fort just off the coast, and in the 1680s, the imposing Palamidi Fortress above town.

Prowling Palamidi all by ourselves in the heat of the afternoon was simply stunning, bordering on surreal.  All angles and arches of ancient stone, the fortress soars high above the Argolic, its cerulean, bathtub-warm water fringed by powder-white sand.  Looking out over the edge, the horizon faded into the gulf in a dreamy haze; the view was so endless, we imagined 17th century soldiers spotting invaders from miles out to sea.

Nafplio these days is a much gentler place.  We loved wandering the worn cobblestone streets of the old town, where, without speaking, we would smile at the sight of flowering vines tangling over balconies and the twang of bouzouki music drifting out from narrow alleyways.  Strolling beside the water on the busy promenade, we watched fishing and ferry boats bob and float far offshore.

Syntagma Square in Old Town Nafplio

We spent three blissful evening hours parked at a cafe table in Syntagma Square, Nafplio’s largest, sipping Nescafé frappes beside European tourists in espadrilles, watching Greek families spill out of their homes and into the fray.  Old men sat in a circle smoking in their fisherman’s caps and faded khakis, playing something that looked like backgammon.  Two little kids waged a bicycle war with each other, while a smaller one between them staunchly defended his stuffed bear.  Fathers wandered from table to table greeting neighbors with hugs and kisses, ambassadors for their families.

When we finally dragged our feet away from the scene, we turned a dark corner away from the crowd just in time to see a bride and groom pause outside a dimly-lit church.  The groom bent his head to his brand new wife, she leaned up to meet his kiss, and we fell in love…with Nafplio.

*To see more of our photos from Nafplio, click here.

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More posts on Greece
Strange Shrines of the Peloponnese
Dreaming of the Peloponnese
It’s Always the Quiet Ones
Turkeys…in Greece
8 Surprises in Athens
TWT Travel Binder: Greece