The 575-metre rock above Ancient Corinth, fortified from antiquity to the Ottomans — the largest medieval castle in the Peloponnese, with one of the great views in Greece.
Acrocorinth is the most spectacularly sited fortress in Greece — a sheer limestone rock 575 metres above the isthmus, with three concentric circuits of walls and a summit you climb on foot. The view runs from the Saronic to the Corinthian Gulf.
Every power that wanted to control the Greek mainland held this rock. Ancient Corinth walled the summit — the oldest stretches still standing are 4th century BC; the Romans, the Byzantines, the Franks, the Catalans, the Venetians and the Ottomans each added or rebuilt circuits, with the bulk of the surviving walls Byzantine and Frankish (12th–13th c.) reinforced by Venetian and Ottoman additions. There is a small Frankish keep on the summit, three Ottoman cisterns, the foundations of the famous Temple of Aphrodite (a thousand temple-prostitutes, according to Strabo, possibly with exaggeration), and the Pirene upper spring (the source of the lower Pirene fountain on the agora). The site is fenced (€5) and walking-only — the path from the lower car park to the summit is 30 minutes up, 25 minutes down, on rough stone steps. Take water, take sun protection. The full circuit takes 2–3 hours. Combine with the lower Ancient Corinth site for a full archaeological day. Go in the cool of the morning — the gates close at 15:30 all year — with the Saronic and the Corinthian Gulf both in view.
A half-day at Acrocorinth.
Five minutes from the lower site; park at the lower gate. The fortress opens at 08:30 and closes at 15:30 all year, last entry 15:10.
Thirty minutes up rough stone steps.
The Aphrodite sanctuary, the Frankish tower, the Upper Peirene spring, the cisterns. An hour.
With water and a hat — the Saronic, the Geraneia, the isthmus.
Twenty-five minutes back to the gate.
Five minutes down. Marinos, by the site, is the standard stop.
Within forty minutes.
Five minutes below. Detail on the Ancient Corinth page.
Twenty-five minutes east. Detail on the Corinth Canal page.
Thirty minutes north — spa coast. Detail on the Loutraki page.
Forty minutes west — wine country. Detail on the Nemea page.
Tell us a little about the trip you want — pace, who's coming, how you'd like to spend your mornings. We'll build the days.
