Nafplio's parking answer is free: the council lists five free car parks, and the big one is the port lot on the waterfront north-west of the old town. Inside the walls, the painted bays are for residents with a permit.
I'd drive straight to the port, leave the car there and walk in. A local guide puts the walk at seven to eight minutes.
Parking in Nafplio: Five free car parks and an old town that isn't yours
1. Drive to the port, not into town
The municipality lists five free parking areas: the port, Akti Miaouli (also on the port), Pente Adelfia, Arvanitia Square and Psaromachala Square. The port car park is the large one, along the water north-west of the old town. The city gives no capacity and no time limit.
2. Leave the Π opposite Bourtzi empty
The marked area facing Bourtzi often looks free. A local guide says it's for tour buses loading and unloading and for organised tours, not private cars. Don't take it because it's close.
3. Leave the old-town bays to residents
Since 2024 permanent residents of the old town's controlled zone can get an annual parking badge from the council. In May 2025 the council repainted bays in five spots, Pente Adelfia and Psaromachala among them. A local guide describes the residents' bays as green-outlined and says blue lines are paid, but the city publishes no paid zone, no price and no visitor rule. If a sign mentions permits, the bay isn't yours.
4. Treat Pente Adelfia and Psaromachala as maybes
Both are on the council's free list. A 2022 column in the local paper Anagnostis said Pente Adelfia was by then for permanent residents only, and both squares were repainted in 2025. I'd only park there if the lines and signs agree on the day.
5. Unload at the door, then drive back out
Shop deliveries in the historic centre run 07:00–11:00 and 17:00–18:00 under council decision 101/2015. That window is for supply vans, not visitors. If your hotel is inside the walls, drop the bags and take the car back to the port. From June to September and at weekends, the spaces nearest the road go first.
There's no low-emission zone, no camera gate and no paid car park with a published price. The free port lot is my pick every time.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Port car park (municipal list)On the waterfront north-west of the old town; a local guide puts the walk to the centre at 7–8 minutes | Free, per the council. Capacity and time limit not published; unguarded. | Not published. |
| Akti Miaouli (port)The harbour front facing Bourtzi. The marked Π area opposite Bourtzi is for tour buses, not cars | Free, per the council. Capacity not published. | Not published. |
| Arvanitia SquarePlateia Arvanitias, on the Arvanitia side of the peninsula | Free, per the council. Capacity not published. | Not published. |
| Pente Adelfia and Psaromachala SquareTwo spots in the old town, both repainted in May 2025 | Listed as free by the council, but a 2022 local column said Pente Adelfia was residents only. Read the lines and signs on the day. | Not published. |
| Palamidi fortress car parkAt the main entrance, at the end of the paved road up the hill | Parking is there, per the Ephorate of Antiquities; whether it costs anything is not published. | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Port car park (municipal list) | Free | Free on the council's list; no time limit published |
| A full day (10 h) | Port car park (municipal list) | Free | Free on the council's list; no time limit published |
| 24 hours | Port car park (municipal list) | Free | Free on the council's list; no time limit published |
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Towed in Nafplio: One police building on Eleftherias, no published pound
1. Ring the Traffic Police duty officer
Nafplio's Traffic Police share a building with the police station and the Tourist Police at Eleftherias 1-2. The traffic duty officer is on 27520 98722. The Tourist Police duty line is 27520 98728, or ring 1571 from anywhere in Greece.
2. Don't expect a pound address
The police and the council publish no pound address, collection hours or tow fee for Nafplio. Greek law says the owner pays transport and storage costs set by ministerial decision, before the car is released. Bring your passport, licence, rental papers and a card.
3. Fear losing the plates more than the truck
Under the road code in force since 13 September 2025, an illegally parked car gets a fresh ticket every three hours and is towed after the second. Some offences also carry a licence suspension, and if you aren't there the police take the number plates. A residents' bay is €30 and 10 days; a pavement €150 and 20 days; a disabled bay €150, 60 days and an immediate tow.
On a hire car, ten days without plates is ten days of rental you can't drive. That's the number I'd keep in mind.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Traffic Police (Τροχαία). Under the road code in force since 13 September 2025 an illegally parked car gets a new ticket every three hours and is towed after the second; a disabled bay means immediate removal. Offences that carry a licence suspension can also cost you the number plates
- Phone
- Nafplio Traffic Police, duty officer: 27520 98722
Nafplio Traffic Police, inquiries: 27520 98725
Nafplio Tourist Police, duty officer: 27520 98728
Tourist Police, national line — Greek, English, French, German: 1571
Emergency: 100 - Collect it at
- No pound address is published. The Traffic Police, the police station and the Tourist Police share Eleftherias 1-2; ask the duty officer where the car went.
- Hours
- Collection hours are not published. The police list duty-officer lines; 1571 and 100 work around the clock.
- What it costs
- Not published for Nafplio. Greek law sets transport and storage costs by ministerial decision, paid before release. Plus the fine: residents' bay €30 and 10 days, pavement €150 and 20 days, disabled bay €150 and 60 days.
- Bring
- Passport, driving licence (it is what gets removed plates back), the registration or rental papers and a card. For a hire car, ring the rental company too.
EV charging in Nafplio: Six chargers on the council's list, no prices
1. Start from the council's list
The municipality names six charging points: the Argolida regional unit station, Fougaro Art Center, My Market, EKO at Argous 56, Sklavenitis at Aria and Alevri & Zachari at Argous 81. It gives no operator, power or price for any of them.
2. Try Fougaro for a fast top-up
In 2020 Porsche and ABB installed high-power chargers at Fougaro, the town's arts centre. How many, and at what price, isn't published. The regional government's 2020 contract for Nafplio was a fast charger for two cars at a time.
3. Check the ministry register first
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport keeps a national register of public chargers with a map. It lists operators and hours, not prices, so read the screen before you plug in.
I'd charge at a supermarket stop while shopping, and arrive with enough range to reach Mycenae and back.
Where to charge
- Fougaro Art Center — Fougaro Art Center, on the council's list. High-power chargers installed by Porsche and ABB in 2020, per autonomous.gr. Number and price not published
- EKO, Argous 56 — EKO, Argous 56, on the road towards Argos. On the council's list; operator, power and price not published
- Alevri & Zachari, Argous 81 — Alevri & Zachari. On the council's list; operator, power and price not published
- Also listed: Argolida regional unit station, My Market, Sklavenitis (Aria) — Three more points on the council's list; check them on the ministry's national register. The register lists operators and hours, not prices. The region's 2020 contract for Nafplio was a fast charger for two cars
Free parking in Nafplio: The port lot overnight, Arvanitia and a free car park at Epidaurus
1. Sleep the car at the port
The council lists the port lot as free and publishes no overnight limit. A 2022 Anagnostis column complained that the waterfront spaces are unguarded, so leave nothing on show.
2. Use Arvanitia Square on the south side
Arvanitia Square is on the council's free list too. It suits a walk along the Arvanitia side of the peninsula.
3. Drive up to Palamidi
The Ephorate of Antiquities says a paved road runs to the fortress's main entrance, with parking there. It doesn't say whether that parking costs anything.
4. Park free at Epidaurus
The Ephorate says the theatre site has a large organised car park by the entrance, free of charge. I found no hotel whose own site I could confirm offers free parking, so ask before you book inside the walls.
If you remember one thing: free port lot, then walk. Every rule above was checked on 3 October 2026; where only a local guide says it, I've said so.
Free or nearly-free spots
The port lot, day or night
Free on the council's list, with no overnight limit published. Unguarded, so leave nothing on show. Port car park.
Arvanitia Square
Also on the council's free list, on the Arvanitia side of the peninsula.
Epidaurus: free car park at the theatre
The Ephorate of Antiquities says there is a large organised car park by the entrance, free of charge, usually with room even in high season.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Nafplio has no low-emission zone, no camera gate and no plate-number ring; the alternate-plate Daktylios applies only in central Athens. A foreign car has nothing to register.
- Old-town bays are for permanent residents with the council's annual badge (scheme approved in 2024). A local guide says residents' bays are green-outlined and blue lines are paid; the council publishes no paid zone or price.
- The council lists Pente Adelfia and Psaromachala Square as free, but a 2022 Anagnostis column said Pente Adelfia was residents only, and both were repainted in May 2025. The signs on the day win.
- Shop deliveries in the historic centre run 07:00–11:00 and 17:00–18:00 (council decision 101/2015). In September 2026 the local council discussed bars on pedestrian streets to stop parking on the marble.
- If you're absent when an offence with a licence suspension is recorded, the police take the number plates and return them when you show your licence.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.