Never enough Nafplio in my humble opinion. (Written February 26th, 2022)
If you are heading to Greece for vacation and you have the time, do yourself a favour, rent a car and drive to Nafplio.
A little history lesson for you; Nafplio was the first capital of the newly born Greek state in 1823. But that’s not the reason you go to visit. You go to visit because its beautiful and amazing and awesome and fantastic.
Nafplio is about an hour and 40 minutes from Athens and it’s well worth it. It’s small enough that you can do a quick weekend trip and see it all. Plus it’s a popular area so there are lots of hotels and airbnb options to choose from. Not to mention the drive there alone is beautiful! I should mention you will have to pay multiple tolls to get there all varying in price from 1 euro to 5 euros at the most. It’s an easy highway drive until you get close to the little city and then you have the pleasure of driving through orange tree fields and beautiful farm land. If you are in a small Fiat, trust me, you will feel like you are in an old greek movie.
You Made It! Now What?
What do you do when you get there? Park your car and walk! Or rent a bike! The old town is stunning and full of adorable shops and restaurants. Walk everywhere! Just stroll around! Get a freddo cappuccino and be greek!
Walk the winding sidewalks through all the beautifully colored buildings until you find yourself at Syntagma Square. Grab your breakfast in the square and sit in the sun. Most of the restaurants give you sooo much breakfast food for a great price. I ordered bacon and eggs and got that plus tomatoes, a croissant, jam, cake, my choice of tea or coffee, plus fresh orange juice for 6 euros. The town square is the best place for people watching. One thing about Nafplio is it's very family friendly. It feels very safe day or night. The square is always full of kids playing together, riding bikes, and running round. Keep your head on a swivel because there is a chance you will get smoked in the head with a soccer ball or get taken out at the knees by a tricycle. The parents will be sitting at some restaurant chain smoking and yelling at them from a far to behave themselves. Also in the square is the Archaeological Museum of Nafplio. I've never been in it because I rather spend my time outside exploring the city, but there is that option for you as well! Once your have your fill of the square keep walking until you find yourself at the port. Then keep walking… Walk the the long side walk by the water and take in the view of the insanely blue water and the Bourtzi fortress. This is a known landmark of the area. There is a boat that will take you our to the fortress if you are interested in that. I have never done that because...again...to me once you've seen five rundown old stone buildings you’ve seen them all lol.
Stop for a quick swim at the small public beach area if you want. Who cares! You’re in Nafplio! Your care free attitude will take over your entire body trust me. Arvanitia beach sits right behind the city center so its a very close pit stop on your walking tour and a great place to cool off!
The best part is you can’t get lost….literally I don’t think its possible and I am the most directionally challenge individual you will ever meet. It feels like the old town is just one big loop. So just keep on going you will get yourself back to where you came from eventually.
If you are there on a Saturday odds are there will be a huge outdoor market taking place in the morning to afternoon. Grab some fresh fruit or veggies to snack on for your day. Honestly, there is not THAT much to do as far as activities go, but for some reason it draws me back every time. The atmosphere and environment alone is enough for you to want to be there. It is a much needed break from Athens if you can’t get yourself to an island for the weekend.
Nafplio is just cute. It’s the adorable cousin that always looks put together and is just happy to be at family gatherings. She’s got nothing really going on so she’s not stressed out and she’s always welcoming. Thats Nafplio.
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