Home Destinations Europe Greece Peloponnese Sights Acronafplia

Acronafplia Review

Read our Peloponnese sights reviews. Or post your own.

Acronafplia

Category: Castles/Palaces
Location: Nafplion

Fodor's Review:

Potamianou street, actually a flight of stone steps, ascends from St. Spyridon Square toward this imposing hilltop of ruined fortifications, which the Turks once called Its Kalé (Three Castles). Until the Venetian occupation, it had two castles: a Frankish one on the eastern end and a Byzantine one on the west. The Venetians added the massive Castello del Torrione (or Toro for short) at the eastern end around 1480. (If you have trouble locating the Toro, look under the now-deserted Xenia Hotel, which was built on part of it.) During the second Venetian occupation, the gates were strengthened and the huge Grimani bastion was added (1706) below the Toro. The Acronafplia is accessible from the elevator on the west side or by the road from the east side, near the Nafplia Palace hotel, which sits on the ruins of the Frankish fort. Most of the remains of fortifications can be explored free of charge on overgrown paths that provide stupendous views over Nafplion and the sea.

Find more sights in Peloponnese »