Acrocorinth, the Fortress Above Corinth

What it is

Acrocorinth is the 575-metre rock that dominates Ancient Corinth and was its acropolis for more than two thousand years. Its walls, about 3,000 metres long, enclose 240,000 square metres in three successive enclosures, with a deep moat on the west side. The first are from the archaic period, from the tyrant Cypselus; later the Byzantines, Franks, Venetians and Ottomans extended them, and the Ottomans surrendered it to Kolokotronis and the Greek revolutionaries on 26 October 1823. Inside remain gates, towers, a mosque, cisterns and, at the top, the remains of the Temple of Aphrodite.

The climb

You park next to the first gate, where there are toilets. From there you walk up a paved path that passes the three gates; the ground is uneven and slippery. What pays for the climb is the view: the two gulfs, the canal, Parnassus and the plain of Corinth at your feet. From Ancient Corinth you can walk up in about 45 minutes, uphill and in the sun.

Admission and opening hours

€5 (reduced, €3). Open from 8:30 to 15:30 all year, including winter Tuesdays; last entry 20 minutes before. Free on the same days as the other state-run sites and on the first and third Sunday from November to March.