How many steps does Palamidi fortress have?

The main staircase from Nafplio's old town to the Palamidi fortress has 999 steps, rising approximately 216 metres. The climb takes 20–30 minutes at a moderate pace. An alternative is the road up to the fortress (accessible by car or taxi), which deposits you at the main gate. The stairs are the traditional approach but the road is a practical option in the midday summer heat.

Is Nafplio worth visiting for more than one day?

Two nights is the ideal stay in Nafplio itself. Day one covers the Old Town, Bourtzi, and Palamidi. Day two is best spent on day trips — Epidaurus or Mycenae are both within 45 minutes. The town is small enough to walk thoroughly in one full day, but the surrounding area justifies a longer stay.

What is the best beach near Nafplio?

Arvanitia is the closest — a small pebble beach below the Palamidi fortress walls, 10 minutes' walk from the old town, with clear water and a good summer beach bar. Karathona beach (2km south by road or footpath) is longer, sandier, and calmer in the summer wind. For the best beaches in the area, Tolo (12km south) is a proper sandy beach with shallow water — best by car or taxi.

Can you walk from Nafplio to the Bourtzi island fortress?

No — there is no footbridge. The Bourtzi is an island fortress in the middle of the Nafplio harbour, approximately 500 metres from the town quay. Boats run from the main waterfront promenade (Bouboulinas Street) throughout the day in summer, cost approximately EUR 5 return as of 2026.

Things to Do in Nafplio | The Greece Guides

Nafplio was the first capital of modern Greece — a brief but consequential distinction that left the town with an Italian-designed old quarter, two imposing Venetian fortresses, and a neoclassical dignity that the subsequent capital Athens never quite matched in terms of human scale. Today it is one of the most satisfying small towns in Greece: compact enough to walk everywhere, serious enough historically to reward proper attention, and close enough to the major sites of the Peloponnese to work as a base for several days of archaeology.

Here is what to do in Nafplio and its immediate surroundings. All prices are approximate as of 2026.

Palamidi Fortress

The Palamidi is the dominant feature of Nafplio’s skyline — a Venetian fortification built between 1711 and 1714 on a rocky hill 216 metres above sea level. It is large, well-preserved, and the views from the ramparts across the Argolic Gulf and the Peloponnese interior are among the best from any fortress in Greece.

The fortification is not a single castle but a cluster of eight semi-independent bastions connected by internal walls and passages. The most significant are the Miltiades bastion (with the main fortification museum) and the Andreas bastion, which was used as the prison of Kolokotronis — the commander of the Greek War of Independence — from 1833–1834.

Access: 999 steps from the old town (the most dramatic approach), or by road from the back of the hill (signposted from the Nafplio ring road). By car, there is a small car park near the main entrance.

Entry: Approximately EUR 8 as of 2026.

Opening hours: Daily 8:30am–7:30pm (summer), 8:30am–3pm (winter). Confirm hours before visiting.

Tip: Climb the steps in the morning or late afternoon — midday in summer at these heights and sun exposure is uncomfortable.

Bourtzi Island Fortress

The Bourtzi is a small fortress sitting on a rocky islet in the middle of Nafplio harbour, 500 metres offshore. It was built by the Venetians in the 15th century to control the harbour entrance. For much of the 19th and early 20th century it served as the residence of the public executioner — who was required to live on the island, separate from the town.

The island is accessible by small boat from the main waterfront promenade (Bouboulinas Street). Boats run throughout the day in summer, approximately every 30 minutes.

Cost: Approximately EUR 5 return boat trip as of 2026. Entry to the fortress itself is included.

Opening hours: Subject to weather and season — check with the boat operators on the quayside.

Nafplio Old Town

Nafplio’s old town — the area below the Palamidi and Acronafplia rocks, bounded by the sea on two sides — was substantially redesigned during the Venetian and Ottoman periods and then remodelled again under Bavarian rule when Nafplio was the Greek capital (1823–1834). The result is an unusually coherent townscape of Venetian townhouses, neoclassical civic buildings, and Ottoman fountains, all at a scale that remains walkable and human.

Syntagma Square: The main square of Nafplio, at the heart of the old town. The Venetian warehouse on the north side is now the Archaeological Museum; the old parliament building (where the Greek constitution was first drafted) is on the south side; and a second Venetian building houses the Bank of Greece. The mosque in the square — one of two surviving Ottoman mosques in Nafplio — was used as a parliamentary cinema during the capital years.

Staikopoulou Street: The main pedestrian shopping street of the old town, lined with neoclassical buildings. This is where most of the cafes, shops, and tourist restaurants concentrate.

Acronafplia: The older fortification hill above the old town (lower than Palamidi) accessible by a lift from Polyzoidou Street or by steps from the old town. The fortress itself is now partially a hotel, but the paths and ramparts above are walkable and offer close-up views of the Bourtzi and the harbour without the full Palamidi climb.

Nafplio Archaeological Museum

Located in the Venetian warehouse on Syntagma Square, the Archaeological Museum holds artefacts from the wider Argolid region — Mycenae, Tiryns, Argos, and Nafplio itself. The collection includes full Mycenaean bronze armour (the Dendra armour, dating to approximately 1400 BCE) and a well-presented Linear B tablet collection.

Entry: Approximately EUR 6 as of 2026.

Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 8:30am–4pm (summer hours may extend). Closed Monday.

Arvanitia Beach and Waterfront Walk

Arvanitia is a small pebble beach tucked below the Palamidi fortification walls, a 10-minute walk from the old town along the coastal path. The water is clear, the setting is excellent (the fortress walls rise directly above), and a beach bar operates through the summer with sunbeds at approximately EUR 8–12 per pair as of 2026.

Beyond Arvanitia, the coastal path continues south around the headland towards Karathona beach (approximately 35 minutes on foot) — a longer, sandier stretch with good swimming and beach tavernas.

Komboloi Museum

A small private museum on Staikopoulou Street dedicated to the Greek worry bead (komboloi) — an object with roots in Ottoman prayer beads that became a secular object of contemplation and habit in 20th-century Greek culture. The collection covers worry bead history across the Mediterranean and the Levant. Entry approximately EUR 4 as of 2026.

For where to eat in Nafplio, see our Nafplio restaurants guide. For day trips to Epidaurus, Mycenae, and Tolo, see our Nafplio day trips guide. For the full Peloponnese context, see our Peloponnese road trip itinerary.

Things to Do in Nafplio: Castles, Beaches, and Old Town Walks

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