Corinth

We will be visiting Corinth as a port of call this August.

We have never visited before and would like any information on what we can see while we are there.

The ship (Thomson Spirit) docks at 08:00 and departs at 18:00, so there is plenty of time to visit a few things.

Not really interested in visiting Athens from Corinth, as we where in Athens just a few months ago.

Would like info on places near by, like beaches, nice villages and may be a nice place to do lunch.

How far away is the canal ?

Is it worth a visit, and can it be easily reached by public transport ?

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

We will be visiting Corinth as a port of call this August.

We have never visited before and would like any information on what we can see while we are there. The ship (Thomson Spirit) docks at 08:00 and departs at 18:00, so there is plenty of time to visit a few things. Would like info on places near by, like beaches, nice villages and may be a nice place to do lunch. How far away is the canal ? Is it worth a visit, and can it be easily reached by public transport ? Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Appreciate these good questions. Yes, lots of great options nearby. Not sure that this is a wonderful beach area. BUT, if you like history, character, culture, scenic sights, etc., you find much to enjoy. To maximize your efforts, you might need to consider your logistics for getting there and/or around in this region. Below are some of my visuals as examples for what you can see and do.

We had a wonderful lunch in the historic and scenic square in nearby Nafplion. Need more ideas? Added questions?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 219,956 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

The Corinth Canal is right on the route as we were circling the Peloponnesian Peninsula and nearby to the famed, ancient, historic city of Corinth. This canal is a unique engineering job carved through about 260' of rock. The canal is four miles in length, 75' wide and was built between 1881 and 1893:

Historic Roman ruins are in Ancient Corinth, including this portion of the Temple of Apollo and the mountains over this site. This historic area is 48 miles southwest of Athens. It was a city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth that joins the Peloponnesus to mainland Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. In classical times, Corinth rivaled Athens and Thebes in wealth, based on the Isthmian traffic and trade. Apostle Paul first visited the city around AD 51-52. He lived here for eighteen months, including writing two of his epistles on the difficulties of maintaining a Christian community in such a cosmopolitan city with so much sin and corruption existing in this city.:

These Mycene ruins go back 2700 years from a spectacular empire. As a major center of Greek civilization, this military stronghold dominated much of southern Greece. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae's power during this "bronze age". Much of the Mycenaean religion survived into classical Greece in their pantheon of Greek deities. Lots of "real" history here!!:

Example of Mycene gold in the museum at this historic site:

Looking down upon Nafplion from the historic Palamidi military fortress that overlooks the town and its harbor. This fortress is on the crest of a 216-metre high hill. It was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area (1686-1715).:

Epidaurus is the famed outdoor theater with super great acoustics on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Their local prosperity enabled Epidaurus to construct civic monuments including this huge theater that had dramatic performances, ceremonial programs, etc. It was designed in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows. As with many Greek theaters (and as opposed to Roman ones), the view on a lush landscape behind the performing areas was an integral part of the design. It seats up to 15,000 people. The acoustics permit almost perfect intelligibility of un-amplified spoken word from the proscenium. A 2007 study by Georgia Tech scholars indicates that the amazing acoustic properties are either the result of an accident or the product of advanced design . . . rows of limestone seats filtering out low-frequency sounds and amplify/reflect high-frequency sounds from the stage.:

Exactly what TLCOHIO said. Ancient Corinth is a great site to see. We were a party of 7. ( 4 adults and 3 teenagers) We all enjoyed this excursion. We were actually staying in Athens and hired a driver for the day. I also agree with Napflion. That is an adorable town that I could have easily spent an afternoon exploring. (We only got to walk around the water front and then had to leave)