Nafplio (or Navplion, Nauplia or Navplio, depending on what you read; but, definitely, it is Ναύπλιο) is on the eastern shores of the Peloponnese. The first capital city of independent Greece in 1823, Nafplio is today a very attractive town of 12,000. The narrow streets of the old town are lined with Venetian, neo-classical and Ottoman buildings, and dramatically overlooking it all is the towering but graceful Palamidi Fortress perched on a 216 metre outcrop to the northwest.
Do take time to visit the Akronafplia Fortress, where the town was located up to the arrival of the Venetians. It has views down onto the red-tile roofs of the old town, and up to its awe-inspiring neighbour, the Palamidi. Three separate fortresses are located in Palamidi, built between 1711 and 1714, and the whole complex cascades powerfully, yet elegantly, from the pinnacle of its hilltop down towards the town below. It is one of the most interesting and fascinating fortresses you will ever visit, and its beauty is enhanced in spring time by the wild flowers decking its interior and clinging to its cliff sides amongst the rocks and the huge cacti.
Back at sea level, wander the lanes of the old town around Syntagma Square and stop in at the Archaeological Museum to see the Mycenaean armour, the former Ottoman Vouleftikon where the first Greek parliament met, and the small Church of Agios Spyridon where the country's first head of state was assassinated. Enjoy a leisurely mezze lunch and a carafe of local white wine down on the quay, walk the Arvanitia promenade around the cliffs at sunset, or have a drink on the waterfront looking out at the little Bourtzi islet-fortress as the sun sinks over the bay.
Nafplio also makes the best base in the Argolid: Mycenae, Epidaurus and the beach town of Tolo are all within half an hour by car.