Welcome to Nafplio
Greece • June 12, 2026 • Day 2 of 16
What a fantastic day! The boutique hotel we are staying started us off with a homemade breakfast, complete with cappucinos and americanos.
Palamidi Fortress (our morning experience)
(Greek: Παλαμήδι) is a fortress just to the east of the downtown area and sits atop the crest of a 216-metre-high (709 ft) hill. The fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area (1686–1715). It fell to the Ottoman empire and the bastions were given Turkish names. Following the liberation by Greece from the Turks, the fortress was a prison for those condemned to life sentences and death (1840-1920).
"Do we want to hike this from the downtown or drive up?"
Bourtzi Castle
The answer to the above question was "no". We still ended up walking 7 miles today. Since we got rolling so early, we were able to park up at the fortress, and hike up to the top, seeing multiple bastions along the way. After we brought the car back to the port, we took a 7€ ride across the harbor to the castle and ended up sitting on the seaward side looking further out into the harbor, seeing a number of boats moored for the day. The castle was built in 1493 and in 1502. The Venetians changed the fortifications on the southwest side into a rampart securing a mound of boulders vis-a-vis a large chian to the rest of the city to keep hostile ships from entering the harbor.
We did some shopping in the city, picking up some Orange Honey, which is famous in this part of the country. We had a delicious lunch, and then took a short rest. In the late afternoon, we walked along the Arvaitia Promenade (to a nearby beach inside a cove) and took a bunch of sunset shots along the way. The cats kept us company all throughout the day.
Dinner is late here, and we didn't start until around 9PM. Nafplio is known for its fish, and we had a delicious seabass that we shared, alongside stuffed vine leaves.
Overall a great day 2 and tomorrow, we are looking forward to exploring the surrounding area of Nemea.
What's Next
Tomorrow we hope to do some wine tasting and archeological visits. Kalinikta | Good Night!
— David