Excursions from Loutraki:
The City of Loutraki
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The location of Loutraki allows for easy day outings to all the major
archaeological sites of southern Greece, including the Acropolis of
Athens, Olympia, Delphi, Epidaurus and numerous others. In addition,
there is a wealth of Byzantine and later medieval treasures to be
discovered throughout the region, plus two extraordinary
hundred-year-old engineering feats, the Corinth Canal and the Kalavryta
Rack Railway. Some of the top picks: |
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The Acropolis of
Athens |
 The
rocky hill on which the Acropolis stands today was inhabited as early as
the Neolithic times. Reduced to rubble by the Persians on the eve of the
Battle of Salamis in 480 bc,
it was rebuilt to sumptuous splendour by Pericles in the 5th Century
bc. In addition to its
most famous Parthenon, special mention must be made of two other
surviving temples, of Athena Nike and the Erectheion, as well as the
Propylaea, the entryway to the Acropolis.
PHOTO: The Parthenon on the Acropolis. |
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Olympia |
 Olympia
is the birthplace and home of the ancient Olympic Games, established in
the 13th Century bc and revived in the 19th Century ad. Olympia was also
the site of a massive statue of Zeus, ranked as one of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World. At 260 kilometres from Loutraki, the ancient site,
in an idyllic spot at the confluence of the Alpheus and Cladeus rivers,
features the stadium and other ruins, as well as an excellent museum.
PHOTO: Entrance to the ancient Stadium. |
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Mycenae |
 Founded,
according to Homer's 9th-Century Iliad and Odyssey, by Perseus, son of
Danae and Zeus, Mycenae has been inhabited, according to historians,
since Neolithic times. The surviving ruins of Agamemnon's Palace
(entered through the Lion Gates) is believed to date to the 14th Century
bc. The archaeological
site, some 60 kilometres from Loutraki, was excavated in the 1870s by
German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann.
PHOTO: The Treasury of Atreus. |
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Epidaurus |
 Epidaurus
emerged in Ancient Greece as a sanctuary first to god Apollo and then to
his son, Asclepius. Nowadays it is better known for its ancient theatre,
one of the best-preserved archaeological marvels of Ancient Greece. The
theatre, some 65 kilometres from Loutraki, is renowned for its acoustics
and is still the site of performances of ancient drama during the annual
Athens Festival, every July and August.
PHOTO: The Theatre of Epidaurus. |
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Ancient Corinth |
 One
of the greatest cities of Classical Greece, Corinth reached its peak in
the 6th Century bc.
Straddling the Isthmus, it had two ports, one each on the Aegean and
Ionian Seas and excelled in commerce, before being destroyed in 146
bc by the Romans. Rebuilt
in 44 bc by Julius Cesar,
Corinth fell to new moral lows, despite Saint Paul's fruitless attempts
to bring its citizens back on the straight road in mid-1st Century
ad.
PHOTO: Ruins of Ancient Corinth. |
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Delphi |
 Site
of the most important Greek temple and the famous oracle of Apollo,
Delphi (207 kilometres from Loutraki) is situated on the slopes of Mount
Parnassus, with breathtaking views over the plain of Amphissa with its
sea of olive trees and the Gulf of Corinth beyond. Delphi was considered
by the ancient Greeks as the centre of the world, as marked by the
Omphalos (navel), a stone now housed in the Delphi Archeological Museum.
PHOTO: Cyclopean walls at Delphi. |
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Nauplion |
 Nauplion,
76 kilometres from Loutraki, was the first capital of the modern Greek
state, from 1829 to 1834. The old town is a maze of narrow streets,
flanked by Venetian and neoclassical buildings and shadowed by the
fortress of Palamidi that towers above. Two other forts dominate
Nauplion: The Acronauplia, on the waterfront, is the oldest of the
three, dating as far back as the Bronze Age; the small island fortress
of Bourtzi guards the entrance to the harbour.
PHOTO: The island fortress of Bourtzi. |
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Acrocorinth |
 Less
than a 30-minute drive from Loutraki, Acrocorinth is the rocky outcrop
that towers above ancient Corinth and used to serve as its acropolis. It
has since been rebuilt and expanded during Roman, Byzantine, Venetian
and Ottoman periods, with traces of all these (including ancient Greek
temples, Byzantine churches and Turkish mosques) still very much in
evidence today. Visitors are rewarded for the hard climb to the top by
exceptional views.
PHOTO: The citadel of Acrocorinth. |
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Vouliagmeni lagoon |
 Just
16 kilometres north of Loutraki, lake Vouliagmeni (submerged, in Greek)
is a peaceful gataway from the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan
spa. Two kilometres long by one kilometre wide and with an estimated
deapth of 40 metres, the lagoon was formed by the submersion of the land
(hence the name). A 6-metre channel, cut in about 1880, now connects the
lagoon with the sea. Various ancient settlemets have been excavated
around the lake.
PHOTO: Aerial view of the Vouliagmeni lagoon. |
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The Heraion |
 One
kilometre beyond Lake Vouliagmeni lies the ancient sanctuary of Hera,
the Heraion, founded in the early 8th Century
bc. Two shrines to the
goddess Hera were constructed, that of Hera Akraia (of the cape) and
that of Hera Limenia (of the harbour). The sanctuary began to decline
after Corinth was sacked by the Romans in 146 bc. The site was excavated
in the early 1930s by the Athens British School of Archaeology.
PHOTO: The Sanctuary of Hera. |
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Corinth Canal |
 Excavations to
built a canal that would connect the Aegean and the Ionian Seas date as
far back as the Roman age, with emperor Nero actually striking a first
blow in ad 67. The
project, however, was only completed in the 19th Century. Cut through
solid rock, the canal is 23 metres wide and 6 kilometres long. Its
opening in 1893 gave a new breath of life to the city of Athens, through
its port of Piraeus. The canal is just a few minutes from Loutraki.
PHOTO: The Corinth Canal. |
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Kalavryta Rack
Railway |
 The
75cm-gauge Kalavryta Rack Railway begins its 22-kilometre ascent up the
Vouraikos Gorge from the seaside village of Diakopton, 91 kilometres
from Loutraki on the road to Patras. During its 70-minute ride the train
gains almost 800 metres in altitude, crossing more than 20 bridges and
running through 13. tunnels. The line was built in 1895 to give access
to the village of Kalavryta to the sea.
PHOTO: The railway line disappears into the Vouraikos Gorge. |
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The City of Loutraki
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