A 19th-century thermal spa town on the Gulf of Corinth with a long seafront promenade, working hot springs, the Geraneia hills behind, and the Heraion of Perachora on the cape just west.
Loutraki is a 19th-century thermal spa town at the eastern end of the Gulf of Corinth — the closest ‘real’ Peloponnesian destination to Athens, popular as a weekend break for Athenians and as a launchpad for Corinthia.
The town is built around its thermal springs, which surface at 30–32°C; the town’s mineral water is still bottled here. The working thermal baths are the large Hydroterapeutirio (built 1934, renovated in 2010 as the Loutraki Thermal Spa), with heated pools and a long treatment menu; several hotels add spas of their own. The promenade is the social centre — three kilometres of beach, palm trees, café tables, the volta in the early evening. The town is bracketed by two appealing day-trip destinations: the Geraneia hills immediately behind (forested mountain, 1,300 m, walking trails, the Heraion of Perachora 30 minutes west) and the Corinthia archaeology south (Ancient Corinth and Acrocorinth, 25–30 minutes). Eat seafood at Thalassa, an ouzeri on the promenade, or at O Giannis; drink at one of the promenade bars. The town has a casino (the largest in Greece), which divides opinion. Stay 2–3 nights as a Corinthia base; longer stays prefer Nafplio. Avoid mid-summer weekends (busy with Athens day-trippers); shoulder seasons are at their best.
A two-night Loutraki stay.
Check in at a promenade hotel.
Two hours at the Loutraki Thermal Spa, 24 G. Lekka street — pools open from 11:00.
Café table, then dinner at Thalassa, an ouzeri on the promenade.
Twenty-five minutes; site, museum, Acrocorinth.
On the promenade.
Thirty minutes west; swim, sanctuary, sunset, dinner at the lake.
Within thirty minutes.
Ten minutes south. Detail on the Corinth Canal page.
Twenty-five minutes south. Detail on the Ancient Corinth page.
Thirty minutes south. Detail on the Acrocorinth page.
Thirty minutes west — the Heraion on the sunset cape. Detail on the Perachora 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.
