Palamidi Fortress

Steps or drive: how to get up

The image everyone has of Palamidi is the staircase — a steep zig-zag of stone steps climbing straight up the 216-metre hill from the edge of Nafplio’s old town. Locals and the souvenir mugs call it 999 steps; the honest count is nearer 857, and either way it’s a real haul that takes a fit walker 20-30 minutes with almost no shade. Do it in the cool of early morning, carry water, and you’ll be glad of the sea breeze and the views opening up behind you on the way.

If the heat, the knees or small children make the climb a bad idea, there’s a quiet alternative most people miss: a surfaced road off 25 Martiou street loops roughly 3.5km round the back of the hill to a car park right by the main gate. A car or a short taxi from town gets you to the same ticket booth without a single step — and you’ll still walk plenty once you’re inside the eight bastions. There’s no shame in driving up and saving your legs for the fortress itself.

The ticket, the timing and the verdict

Be ready for the price. Entry is now €20 (reduced €10), roughly £17 / £8.50, a sharp jump from the €8 it was a few years ago — EU under-25s go free, EU over-65s pay €10, and the first and third Sundays from November to March are free for everyone. Opening hours stretch to about 08:00-20:00 in high summer and shrink to 08:30-15:30 in winter, with last entry around half an hour before closing, so check your date before you set off. Allow an hour and a half to two hours to walk the ramparts.

It’s worth it, mainly for the setting. This is a near-complete Venetian fortress finished in 1714, eight linked bastions strung along the ridge, the command bastion of Agios Andreas with its little chapel, and the Miltiades bastion that later served as a prison — the Greek War of Independence hero Theodoros Kolokotronis was held in its cells. The drop over the Argolic Gulf and the rooftops of Nafplio is the real prize. The €20 stings, but it’s the standout paid sight in town. Pair it with a slow wander round Nafplio’s old streets afterwards rather than rushing on.