Nafplion ( population 15,000), called by the Venetians Napoli di Romania, is the capital of the Argolid. Its situation near the head of the Argolic Gulf made it a strategic fortress for the Byzantines, Franks, Venetians and Turks. It is also one of the most attractive towns in Greece. At the end of the Greek War of Independence, Nafplion was briefly capital of the country (1828-34), a status which has left it with a number of handsome Neoclassical buildings. New development is confined to the outskirts of the old town, and spreads (undistinguished at best, often genuinely hideous) along the coast towards Nea Chios and inland along the roads to Argos and Epidavros.

Exploring Nafplion
Much of Nafplion's distinction and charm stems from the buildings built here when this was the capital of Greece from 1828-34, before the government was moved to Athens. The Bavarian princelet Otho was accompanied here by a retinue of advisors, including architects, who attempted to turn a provincial hamlet into a national capital. The results may be seen in the Lower Town, where three successive parks at the east end of the old city are punctuated with monuments commemorating revolutionary war heroes. A bronze equestrian statue shows Theodoros Kolokotronis, the general known as the `Old Man of the Morea', pointing the way forward to victory The Turks surrendered the city to Kolokotronis in 1822 in 1833, he found himself a prisoner in the Palamidi, suspected of plotting against the young king, who ultimately freed him 22 months later. A less obtrusive marble statue of loannis Capodistrias, Greece's first governor, wearing western garb, stands near the courthouse. Capodistrias is credited with founding Nafplion's eastern extension, Pronia, for those left homeless after the War of Independence. A marble relief commemorates the victory of Nikitas over the Turkish general Dramali at Dervenakia; in the poem inscribed on the relief, Palamas, who wrote the Greek National Anthem, calls Nikitas `the Turk-eater.

The adjacent park of Staikopoulos has a statue of the general after whom it is named, in starched foustanella, with his sword sheathed. Staikopoulos captured the fortress of the Palamidi from the Turks in 1822. Slightly to the north is the restored Land Gate of the massive Venetian fortifications and Plateia Trion Navarchon (of the Three Admirals), which commemorates the Battle of Navarino (1827). The square has monuments commemorating the revolutionary war hero Dimitris Ypsilantis, and is flanked by Neoclassical buildings, some with shops, others with offices. The threestorey pedimented building was one of the first high schools in Greece, opened in 1833. Under the Turkish occupation, education was minimal, and there was a rush to build schools after independence.

Acronafplia Pension
Papanikolaou 8 Str., Nafplio (Argolis)
'Hotel Acronafplia' (3 different locations) is the ideal choice for the visitor of the town of Nafplio. More…

Panorama Tolo Studios
Tolo, Nafplio (Peleponnese)
Our hotel is in one of the most beautiful villages, built on the foot of a hill, 250 meters away from the sea, in one of the cleanest coasts of Argolikos gulf, a few km away from Nafplio, Argos... More…

Excursions from Nafplio
Although Nafplion has its own small municipal beach, there are larger beaches 10km away at Tolo and on the Kastraki headland, near the site of ancient Asine. Both Tolo and Kastraki are very crowded in season; most of the cheek-by-jowl local hotels are booked by groups, many from Britain.
Tolo (ToXo) is served by a frequent bus service from Nafplion. To get there by car, head out of Nafplion on the road signposted for Epidavros. After 250m a sign points (right) to the `Bavarian Lion'. This was carved in the rock by order of Ludwig I of Bavaria to commemorate his soldiers who died in an epidemic at Tiryns in 1833-34. It was in this suburb of Pronia, in 1832, that the National Assembly ratified the election of Prince Otho, Ludwig's son, to the throne of Greece.
Beyond the village of Asini, the road continues to Kastraki, the small, rocky headland with the ruins of ancient Asine. A path leads past a chapel. Asine was occupied from the Early Helladic period; later by migrants from northern Greece, Dryopians according to Strabo. The inhabitants sided with the Spartans in their invasion of Argos after the First Messenian War, and afterwards fled to Messenia, settling at Koroni. Asine was deserted until the 2nd century BC, when it again became a fortified town-ship. The Swedish excavations of 1922-30 were the idea of Crown Prince (later King) Gustav Adolf, who himself took part. Excavations were resumed in 1970; in 1989, the known-habitation period was pushed back to the Neolithic era with the discovery of a grave from that period with drinking cups and a jug. More recently, in the 1990s and early 2000s, the excavators announced that the acropolis had early been extended by a`huge' terrace to extend the cultivation and habitation area and that the site was `densely' populated in the Mycenaean period.
The lower town has imposing sections of Hellenistic ramparts on the north side, with a gate and piece of paved road. Within were found widespread traces of Early Helladic occupation, foundations of many houses of the Middle and Late Helladic periods, and of Roman baths, as well as Venetian additions to the fortifications (Morosini landed at Tolo in 1686). Geometric and Hellenistic remains survive on the acropolis. A Middle Helladic and Mycenaean necropolis and Protogeometric settlement has been explored on Mt Barbouna. Protogeometric and Geometric (including fortifications) finds were also made. Swimming is possible on Kastraki beach, although development has made this considerably less pleasant than formerly In spring, the wild flowers are varied.