The
historic city of Nafplion (population 25,000) with its medieval old town and
picturesque parks, alleys and squares is easy to reach (5 km). After enjoying
the sunset on the board walk, Nafpliots spend the night in numerous cafés, bars,
restaurants and discotheques. The city is dominated by three fortresses, the
illuminated Venetian “Palamidi” (which can also been seen from the house), the
Hellenic “Akronafplia” and the former hangman island “Bourtzi”. The city offers
great shopping, museums, art galleries, beaches and all medical care facilities.
Every June, international orchestras and soloists perform at the annual music
festival that takes place in the squares of the old town. At the Villa Arkadia, Classical Greece is within your grasp: legendary Mycene with its famous Lions Gate (pictured here), from where Agamemnon led the Greeks into the Trojan war, and ancient Epidavros can be reached in 30 minutes. At Epidavros you can visit the sanctuary of Asklepios (the cradle of modern medicine) and the best conserved amphitheatre of the Hellenistic era, where the classic Greek plays of Sophokles, Aristophanes, Euripides and other Greek authors are given during the theatre festival in July and August. Ancient Tiryns with its impressive cyclopean walls (5 min), Sparta (90 min), Olympia (3 hours) and Delphi (3 hours) are equally easy to visit. Other popular excursions lead to the picturesque islands of Spetsä (famous for its sandy beaches and nightlife) and Hydra, where many artists, intellectuals and some tourists, too enjoy the seclusion of life on an island without motorcars.
Sizzling
beach life can be found in Nafplion (5 kilometres) with its famous sandy
Karathona Beach stretching over 1.5 kilometres and the city beach “Arvanitsia”
underneath the Palamidi fortress (pebble/rocky beach with sun beds and
restaurant). Other popular beaches are the picturesque bay of Tolo, which is
widely known for its white sandy beach (10 kilometres from the house). In
addition, it is still possible to find deserted beaches along the coastline of
the Argolic Peninsula. And then there is still your private pool at the Villa
Arkadia …