Greece Trip Part 3: Nafplio with Kids

The journey continues! Our third stop in Greece was to the coastal town of Nafplio - a neat town with a very Venetian feel. It really is beautiful. The kids loved it and so did we.


We stayed in an amazing three story Airbnb that was right above a pharmacy (the family who rents out the Airbnb also owns the pharmacy.) The first floor was the living space - kitchen, dining room, and family room. The second floor was two bedrooms and a bathroom - where the kids and Jonny and I stayed. The third floor was a bedroom with a bathroom and a little kitchenette - where my parents stayed. It really was perfect for all of us.


The red door and the green pharmacy cross also made it really easy to remember where we were staying. I think the kids could have found it by themselves.


The balcony that overlooked the street was a great place for people watching in the evening. The kids loved to sit up there in their pajamas and watch the crowds. I just can't emphasize enough how much I loved this Airbnb.

Ok, now on to what to do.


The most well-known place to visit in Nafplio is Palamidi a fortress castle that sits on a hill above the town. We took the hop-on-hop-off tour Bus up and back -- but if you've got older kids you can try the 800+ steps to walk it. Inside you can visit the prison cell of the famous freedom fighter Kolokotronis and get a really amazing view of Nafplio.


We also visited a much smaller Venetian castle out in the harbor - the Bourtzi Castle. Because you get to take a short boat ride back and forth - we actually did this several times at the request of the kids.


Right across from the Airbnb was the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation that had a really interesting museum that I explored with my parents one afternoon. I think it would have been a little much for the kids - but they did enjoy the canons at the War Museum down the street.

The beach right in Nafplio is pretty rocky -- although we did wander down to Blublanc one day and the kids didn't seem to mind the rocky beach at all.


We took a quick and easy bus ride to the town of Tolo to get some really good sandy beach time in (pictured above.) We also had an amazing lunch at Maria's Restaurant - easily my favorite restaurant on this portion of the trip.


Speaking of food we spent most of our time eating at restaurants that were just okay - because they were around the square where all the kids would be playing in the evening. Which meant our kids would go play and we could sit and eat and drink in a little more peace than normal. I'd say we traded the chance for really good food - for some time to let the kids run around a bit. Which was fine. Mentor Bar & Grill was probably the best of the restaurants in the square.

We did eat lunch at a small Taverna right down the alley from our apartment - called Taverna Paleo Arhontiko. It was great and the staff was so friendly to the kids. Which is really a theme throughout all of Greece.


There were some great little playgrounds that were easy to walk to down the main street into the city in the first few parks. We also did the little mini blue train that takes you throughout the old town of Nafplio. It's an easy thing to keep the kids occupied in the evening after dinner.

Ok, just one more stop left to talk about -- so stay tuned to hear about Stoupa in the Mani Peninsula. And go read about our stops in Spetses and Athens too.

I'm probably linking up at some link parties -- you can check out all my favorite link parties here!

1 comment:

  1. That sounds wonderful! We have started using Airbnb or Homeaway for all our family vacations and so far we have stayed in some really great places!

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