Corinth Things to Do Tips by Pieter11 Top 5 Page for this destination

Acros Corinth

The high fortress of Acros Corinth absolutely is a must to visit when you come to Corinth. It's a 575 metres high hill, overlooking the wide surroundings of the city.

The oldest parts of the walls of the Fortress come from the 2nd century B.C. and parts were added all the time untill the Venetian Period. Inside the walls a famous temple, dedicated to Aphrodite, was built, just as later there were built churches and even a mosque.

In total three rings of wall surround the enormous inside. The walls were partly rebuilt during large renovations that started in 1930, and go on untill now. But fortunately the nature still has an imported role inside the fortress, because it makes a magnificent and photogenic mix between nature and culture.

Acros Corinth is free to visit, and is very quiet. It's a great place to relax, especially at the end of the day, when the most of the tourists are gone already.

Address: Korinthos

Directions: First follow directions towards Archaia Korinthos, and then towards Akros Korinthos

Ancient Corinth

In Ancient times, Corinth was one of the most important cities of Greece. It ruled because it had a very important position at two gulfs, at both sides of the Peloponesos. It was right in between Athens and Sparta, for example. It became a seperate state and expanded towards the islands in the Mediterrean, like to Syracuse at Sicily (Italy).

In 146 B.C. the Romans came and destroyed the wealth of Corinth. It wasn't until 44 B.C. before the city was rebuilt by Julius Ceasar. He made Corinth into an important city for the south of Greece and it even became the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. In this period the city became famous because of the Isthmic Games, that were the biggest of Greece after the Olympics.

After the fall of the Roman empire, the Ancient city of Corinth was abandoned and not much is left of it today. Especially the Temple of Apollo is still impressive, but the most of the buildings are destroyed during the ages. Still, using some imagination, the greatness of the city is still visible. For example the central Agora (market-square) still is beautiful.

At the same area as the Ancient City, you'll also find a small museum, mostly showing the famous Corinthic Pillars. Just outside of the area you can also see two small theatres, but not much is left of these buildings.

Address: Korinthos, direction Archaia Korinthos

The Canal of Corinth

The ideas of making this famous canal are very old. The first digging started by the Roman emperor Nero in the year 66. He started with a golden spade. After him, 6.000 jewish labours were forced to continue this work. But for some reason they didn´t finish the work in this period. Of the total of 6343 metres, only 3500 metres was dug out.

In 1893, after 11 years of digging, the canal was finished. It connects the harbour of Piraeus witht the Adriatic sea, and shortens the route with 350 km´s.

The canal is 23 metres wide and 8 metres deep. This is too shallow for the biggest ship of today and it´s too dangerous for the smallest boats. So there are very few ships that actually use this canal. If there is a boat that wants to cross the canal it take about half an hour and a lot of care to cross it.

Address: Corinth, Peloponnesos, Greece

Directions: The first exit of the highway before or after the canal. Drive to the north and you can never miss it.