Canal of Corinth

Canal of Corinth

The canal of Corinth is a spectacular sight. It connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf, thus saving the ships a trip of several days around the Peloponnese. It is more than 6km long but very narrow (21 meters at the bottom) and deep (79 meters).

The Corinth Canal, though only completed in the late 19th century, was an idea and dream that dates back over 2000 thousand years. One of the first serious attempts at the canal’s construction was by Emperor Nero, who in 67AD, who brought 6000 Jewish slaves to work on the canal. The plan finally never materialized, for several reasons, including financial ones.

Eventually the canal was completed after 10 years of construction in 1893, and you can now admire ships going through the steep walls of the canal, watch the bungee jumpers or jump yourself, and even take a cruise along the canal.

Seeing the site itself will not take you more than 10 minutes so it’s a good idea to combine it with other sites in Corinth such as the Temple of Apollo , climbing the fortress of Acrocorinth , and/or other sites in the Peloponnese such as Epidavros, Mycenae and Nafplio.

Practical info:

Address: tourist site of Isthmus

How to get there?

The easiest is to get there with a rented car or taxi with the highway E94 (tolls) in direction of Patras, you exit at Loutraki and continue to the canal about 300 meters. The ride is about an hour.

The intercity bus KTEL from Athens in direction of Isthmios goes out from Kifissou Station (100 Kifissou Blvd), from central Athens. To get there, take a taxi (see taxi tips) or take the metro until the station Metaxourgheio (red line) and from there the bus 051 in direction of Kiffissos Station (make sure you are in the right direction). The station is the last one, about 20 minutes ride.

Information about times and ticketing here.

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