Few Greek towns take such care with their first impression. The tender crosses the Argolic Gulf, passes a small fort set on its islet, and drops its passengers a few metres from an old town of flower-filled balconies, squeezed between the sea and a cliff crowned with ramparts. Nafplio, the first capital of modern Greece, reveals itself all at once: three fortresses, an elegant waterfront and the ancient Peloponnese as a backdrop.

Landing in the Centre of Everything

The tender pier practically touches the old town. In a few steps, you reach Syntagma Square, paved with polished marble and bordered by the former Venetian mosque that became the country's first parliament and by the archaeological museum, housed in a Venetian barracks from 1713. It was here that independent Greece took its first steps: the town remained the seat of government until 1834, before Athens took the title. Cafés set out their tables from the morning on; this is the town's living room, where everything happens and from which everything radiates.

Palamidi, the Citadel of 999 Steps

Above the rooftops, the Palamidi fortress crowns a 216-metre rock. The Venetians completed it in the early 18th century, just before losing the town. You can go up by taxi along the road, or on foot by the legendary staircase carved into the stone, which tradition says has 999 steps. The effort is paid in sweat and repaid in panorama: the entire gulf, the tiled rooftops, the mountains of Arcadia. Within the bastions, you can find the cell where Kolokotronis, hero of independence, was imprisoned.

Bourtzi, Sentinel of the Waters

Facing the quays, the small Bourtzi fort has floated on its islet since the 15th century. Boats shuttle there in fifteen minutes from the waterfront; the trip offers the most beautiful reverse view of the old town and its cliff. Over the ages, the structure served as a garrison, the executioner's residence and then a hotel; it remains the town's emblem. Between the two, the Akronafplia hill holds the oldest fortifications on the peninsula, reached by a shaded walk.

Simply Strolling

Nafplio lends itself to aimless walking: arcaded lanes, ochre and almond neoclassical façades, shops selling komboloi, the secular worry beads whose history a local museum tells. The Arvanitia promenade circles the peninsula at water level, in the shade of the pines, in a peaceful half hour. Italian-style gelato shops on the waterfront and fish tavernas in the upper streets complete the picture. Citrus fruit from the Argolid, harvested in the nearby plain, flavours ice creams, jams and liqueurs here.

Mycenae and Epidaurus Within Driving Distance

These excursions each take half a day. Mycenae, citadel of the Atreides excavated by Schliemann, alone justifies the mention that often accompanies the name of this port of call.

Back on Board

In the evening, the streetlights come on along the waterfront and Bourtzi stands out in silhouette against the gulf. From the ship's deck, you can still make out the Palamidi staircase zigzagging up the cliff. Nafplio brings together in a single day what Greece usually spreads over hundreds of kilometres: the ancient, the Venetian, the neoclassical and the art of living. You rarely see it all; that is an excellent reason to come back by road one day from Athens.