GREECE - Nafpaktos

15:34 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Nafpaktos is a small and lovely town situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. It has a relaxing atmosphere. Historically, it is famous for the Battle of Lepanto that took place here in 1571. The port and castle are the main attraction of the town.

From Olympia, I continue on to the town of Nafpaktos.

Linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to the mainland of Greece by road, the 2,880m long bridge greatly improves access to and from the Peloponnese.

Apparently, there is also an exhibition center and souvenir shop about the bridge. Since it’s only a brief stop for photo and toilet break, I didn’t have time to explore.

The Rio-Antirrio Bridge or officially called Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge is named after Greece’s 19th century prime minister who first suggested the idea of building a bridge to cross the Gulf of Corinth.

The construction of the bridge started in 1998 and completed in 2004, more than a hundred years after Charilaos Trikoupis’ idea to build the bridge.

This photo was taken from the roof of the toll stations.

After about 20 minutes drive from the bridge, I arrived at this town, Nafpaktos.

The port of Nafpaktos. It’s probably the smallest port at Mediterranean sea.

The weather was a little gloomy that day. I bet Nafpaktos looks even more charming with sunny weather.

Standing at the entrance of the port is a statue of Captain Giorgos Anemogiannis. A national hero who fought and died during the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

The statue of Cervantes stands near the port. It was built to commemorate the brave fighting of this European novelist into the battle of Lepanto in 1571. During the fight, he got three gunshot wounds and lost his left hand.

The ancient Venetian city walls of Nafpaktos.

Fortification along the sea wall.

The remains of this ancient wall is just located beside the beach.

The port of Nafpaktos divides the beachfront into two beaches: the beach of Psani in the Western area and the beach of Gribovo in the eastern.

It’s a pebble beach.

The Venetian castle is located on the hill above the town.

Built in the early 15th century, the Venetian Castle of Nafpaktos is a popular tourist attraction. Unfortunately, I don’t have that much time to climb all the way up the hill to the castle.