As soon as we left the provincial road network and re-entered onto the National Road on our way back to Athens, all we could talk about was how we would be repeating this exact road trip in summer, but this time combining it with a visit to some wonderful beach in Argolida.
But let’s start at the very beginning. Specifically from the moment we decided to rent a car from Avis.
We wanted to take a relatively short trip, as we only had 2-3 days to get away. Argolida, with its amazing archaeological sites like Mycenae and the quaint city of Nafplio, was the final destination. The cultural character of the excursion was ignited by the fact that two of the four of us were friends visiting Greece from abroad. They were here for the umpteenth time, but they had never been anywhere on the mainland, having in the past chosen to visit the islands instead.
Finding a car that could comfortably carry the four of us wasn’t at all difficult when discovering the great selection provided by Avis. Taking a look on their website we quickly found the car we were looking for: one that was sturdy, spacious, comfortable and robust enough to travel four people with luggage, while also being economical in consumption.
They were here for the umpteenth time, but they had never been anywhere on the mainland, having in the past chosen to visit the islands instead. Finding a car that could comfortably carry the four of us wasn’t at all difficult when discovering the great selection provided by Avis. Taking a look on their website we quickly found the car we were looking for: one that was sturdy, spacious, comfortable and robust enough to travel four people with luggage, while also being economical in consumption.
The rental process was simple, so we picked up the car at a determined time and from a place that suited us. Within an hour and a half and after a 120 km drive we reached Mycenae. Before visiting the main archaeological site we enjoyed the view from the hill, where the fortification is located. Although it was winter, the sky was clear of clouds and we could see one of our next stops of the tour in the distance, the fortress of Palamidi in Nafplio. To our left was the Argolic Gulf, surrounded by fields filled with Argolida’s famous citrus fruits.
We proceeded to the entrance of the archaeological site. The fire that had hit the area several years ago has left a few scars, but the landscape has regenerated considerably. A short while later we stood facing the famous Lion’s Gate and the Cyclopean walls, an awe-inspiring sight, especially to our foreign companions who had never been here before. The walls, made of huge boulders and about 5.50 meters thick, made us wonder what had been there since ancient times, and whether they were built by humans or by some mythical Cyclops. Shortly after the gate we visited the famous pit tombs, which were unearthed in an archaeological excavation led by Henry Schliemann many decades ago. One of the most famous archaeological finds in Greece was found there, the golden mask which Schliemann attested once belonged to Agamemnon. Recent research has shown that it was made around 1500 BC. It is now housed in the National Archaeological Museum.
Outside the main archaeological site is one of the most impressive archaeological sites in Greece. This is the famous vaulted tomb, known as the “Tomb of Agamemnon” or “Treasure of Atreus“. It extraordinary, with a large circular chamber covered by a dome, and upon regarding it one realizes the mythical dimensions that this place had. Our visit to Mycenae ended with a visit to the site’s museum.
At Epidaurus
The next stop of our tour was Epidaurus, with its stately ancient theatre and the beautiful little harbour of Nea Epidaurus, where we stopped for a bite of fish and seafood.
But just as important as the destination on any road trip is the journey itself. Not once, but many times our Northern European guests asked us to stop along the approximately 50 km route connecting Mycenae with Epidaurus to get an up- close view of and take photos of the magnificent Peloponnesian landscapes, with fruit trees, olive trees and bushes that are so familiar to us that we often overlook
them. We needed, as was the case with Mycenae, to see them with fresh eyes accompanied by friends from abroad who were seeing them for the first time in order to truly appreciate them again.
Nafplio, a city for all seasons
We continued on to our final destination, Nafplio, where we spent the night. As night slowly fell, the colours of the sky blended harmoniously with the Palamidi Fortress crowning the city. This was the first stop of our second day in Argolida. We walked between the walls and admired the ramparts, the chapel of Agios Andreas but most of all the views of the land and sea. Our walk continued in the old town of the first capital of the Greek state, a place where elegance coexists with history.
From Syntagma Square, in the place where Ioannis Kapodistrias was assassinated, to the “Vouleftiko”, the old mosque which was the seat of the Greek Parliament in 1825-1826, to the building of the Archaeological Museum, to the historic church of St. George with the copy of the Last Supper by Leonardo Davinci, to Psaromachala, with its impressive neoclassical buildings and the buildings of the Ottoman era. We and especially our friends admired the beauty of this city and of course few things compare to the coffee we relished on the beach of Nafplio with a view of Bourtzi across the street.
On the third and final day of our tour we took a drive around the wider Nafplio area, such as Tolo, making a stop at the archaeological site of Tiryns before heading back to Athens. The road trip, thanks to the excellent car we rented from Avis, proved to be a complete success. We were not the only ones to say so, so did our guests, who are eagerly looking forward to returning to Greece in the summer to discover other parts of the multifaceted mainland, some perhaps less famous than the Cycladic islands, but unequivocally and equally charming.
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