The other day I was contacted by an Israeli photographer and was asked whether I could plan and guide him on a day trip outside of Athens in hunt for some good shots. After pondering all the many different options this beautiful country has to offer, we decided to head to the city of Nafplio and Argolis prefecture. If there was any area in this country that could boast of being the Greek culture’s cradle, Argolis would be it. Many of the country’s most renowned ancient sites are located there, and the abundance of picturesque towns and villages, epic mountainous landscapes, and heavenly beaches makes the possibilities of places of interest to visit virtually unlimited. Being confined to a day, we had to choose just a few. The date was set. At 8 am I picked up my new friend Sam from his place in downtown Athens and we set off on our trip. This is what our itinerary looked like…
Nafplio
After about an hour-and-a-half’s drive, we reached our first and principal destination. Nafplio is the capital city of Argolis and arguably one of the country’s most beautiful cities, visited by large numbers of tourists all year round. It was founded at a time very ancient on top of a large rock projecting into the sea, known as Acroanuplia. It has ever since played a constant and very prominent role in the events of Greek history. Throughout history, it has been ruled by Greeks, Franks, Venetians, and Turks the traces of whom all are still visible in the city. Nafplio also served as the first capital city of the modern Greek state and was the place where the young country’s first governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias was murdered. We spent a good 2-3 hours wandering around the city’s centuries-old neighborhoods looking for nice images waiting to be captured.
Palamidi Castle of Nafplio
Known as Palamidi is a large fortress located on the top of the 216-meter hill east of Acronauplia and south of the city of Nafplio. It was constructed by the Venetians during the period of their second occupation of the city and was completed in the year 1714. There is a staircase leading up to the castle from the city which according to the local popular belief has 999 steps, but in reality, they’re 913. We rather drove up by the road around the rock. We paid €8 each and entered the premises of the fortress. We spent some walking around the old stone paths and marveling at the splendid views of the Argolic Gulf and Nafplio off the fort’s massive walls.
Kondyli/Agios Nikolaos Beach
By noon, the temperature had risen to nearly unbearable levels. It was the right time to head to a beach. Some 10 km east of Naflio, between Vivari and Kantia villages, lies a known-to-few, gorgeous beach. This beach is referred to as ‘Kondyli’ on the signs but the locals prefer to call it ‘Agios Nikolaos’ due to the little church dedicated to Saint Nikolaos built on the promontory by its southern edge. The church is accessible only by boat or wading through the sea by the cliff’s face. That’s how we reached it after having had a refreshing swim.
Arachnaion Mountain
Arachnaion is an 1199-meter-tall mountain occupying the central part of Argolis Prefecture. That’s where we headed by late afternoon, driving through the small roads by its southern foot, checking out some of the cute villages located there, and looking for nice landscapes to photograph.
Palaia Epidauros
Heading back towards Athens, we took the road along the northern coast of Argolis. There, in a narrow bay, lies the town of Palaia (old) Epidauros, built in the location of the honored ancient city of Epidauros. We made a short detour off the main road to drive down to the town and enjoy some nice views from its port.
Isthmus of Corinth
Leaving Peloponnese and getting back on mainland Greece, at about sunset time, we made a brief stop to wonder at the deep canal separating the two Greek regions and connecting the Saronic to the Corinthian Gulf.
Agii Theodoroi Village
After a long day exploring the beauties of Greece, we were in urgent need of a good dinner. We found that in a little, traditional tavern named ‘Kalafatis’ in the village of Agii Theodori. Its affable owner welcomed us warm-heartedly and prepared for us some really delicious food accompanied by some nice white wine of his own production.
Accommodation and Activities in Greece
Stay22 is a handy tool that lets you search for and compare stays and experiences across multiple platforms on the same neat, interactive map. Hover over the listings to see the details. Click on the top-right settings icon to adjust your preferences; switch between hotels, experiences, or restaurants; and activate clever map overlays displaying information like transit lines or concentrations of sights. Click on the Show List button for the listings to appear in a list format. Booking via this map, I will be earning a small cut of the platform's profit without you being charged any extra penny. You will be thus greatly helping me to maintain and keep enriching this website. Thanks!
