The historic ruin of Ancient Corinth is one of the best and easiest day trips you can take from Athens.
We actually enjoyed this more than the Acropolis, which is extremely crowded with tourists. Corinth is a lesser known place to see some amazing ruins and artifacts, and it used to be one of the major cities of classical Greece.
For Christians, Corinth is especially interesting because you can walk in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, who spent 18 months there as a missionary, and famously wrote the letters of First and Second Corinthians.
Where Is Corinth?
Corinth is located at the entrance to the Peloponnese peninsula, about 80 kilometers west of Athens.
However, the ruins of Ancient Corinth are located outside of modern Corinth town, so they’re about 8 kilometers further southwest.
How To Get To Ancient Corinth
• By Tour
The quickest and easiest way to get to Corinth is with a tour.
GetYourGuide has half day guided tours from Athens to Corinth by bus, or they have full day tours that include a visit to the picturesque city of Nafplio.
We’ve used GetYourGuide for lots of tours and activities around the world, and they’re great. Highly recommended!
• By Car
If you rent a car in Athens (or elsewhere), you can drive to Corinth yourself. This is the most flexible way to visit the Corinth area.
The highway is in good condition, and it takes about 1 hour to drive to either Corinth town or the ruins if you’re starting from Athens.
There are many companies offering car rentals in Greece, but we recommend DiscoverCars! We used them for our Santorini trip.
• By Train
There’s a train route directly from Athens to Corinth, with departures every 2 hours at Larissa station (map here).
When we traveled to Corinth by train, it was easy to buy our tickets at the station in Athens. The ride is comfortable and takes about 1 hour.
Once you arrive at Corinth train station (map here), you’ll need to take a taxi to the ruins.
Taxis are easy to find at the train station, and there are also plenty of them at the ruins for your return trip. It’s a 10 minute drive from the station to the ruins.
• By Bus
The KTEL company operates an hourly bus from Athens to Corinth that leaves from the Kifisou station (map here) and arrives at Isthmus bus station, near the canal (map here). The ride takes about 1 hour.
You can check the bus schedule and buy tickets on the KTEL website here. The bus also goes to Corinth town, but that’s not any closer to the ruins than Isthmus station, so it’s generally quicker and better to get off at Isthmus station.
Another advantage of doing it like this is that you can easily walk to the Corinth canal if you want, since it’s only 100 meters from the Isthmus station.
What To See At Ancient Corinth
• Temple Of Apollo
The first thing to see at Corinth is the Temple of Apollo, with its iconic Greek columns. It was built around 560 BC, and even though only a handful of its columns are standing, it’s still impressive.
This spot is especially nice when it’s framed by the mountain of Acrocorinth in the background, and it feels a little bit like being at the Acropolis of Athens, except without the crowds.
No offense to the Acropolis of Athens, but it can be extremely crowded, and half of the Parthenon was covered in scaffolding when we visited. There were so many people we could barely walk.
In contrast, we never saw too many people at Corinth and we were able to enjoy the ruins in peace.
