We first go to the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow piece of land connecting mainland Greece and the Peloponnese. There we will see the manmade canal which connects the Corinthian and the Saronic Gulfs. The canal was finished in 1893, but its history dates to as early as 602 BC. It has a length of over 6km, and its sides are 78m tall at the highest point. There are bridges across the canal for cars and people to pass, and which sink up to 12m underwater to let boats through. See and learn the history of the Corinth Canal.

The ancient city-state of Corinth was located on the narrow strip of land connecting the Peloponnese to mainland Greece, known as the Isthmus of Corinth. It is a site of extraordinary history, being inhabited for the first time in the Neolithic Period. In ancient times the city grew wealthy due to this strategic location and its control of the transportation of ships from the Corinthian to the Saronic Gulfs and vice versa. It became one of the most important trade powers in ancient Greece, rivalling Athens and Thebes, and had an extensive network of colonies. In 400 BC it had a population of 90,000 people. It was also the location of countless ancient myths, such as the myth of Sisyphus. The city was destroyed by the Romans, who re-built a new city in its place. With a professional guide, we see extensive ruins of the Temple of Apollo that testify to Corinth’s great prosperity. It is also one of the places that Saint Paul visited and wrote letters to.

Epidaurus, the famous theater. Built in the 4th century BC, it is famous for its acoustics - they are so perfect that words spoken on stage can be heard perfectly wherever you are in the audience.

The kingdom of Mycenae was one of the first great centres of the Greek culture; settlement on this site dates back to the second millennium BC. According to Homer, Mycenae was the seat of Agamemnon, who led the Greeks against the Trojans to take back Helen, the wife of his brother Menelaus. The ruins of the ancient city are famous for the amazing “Cyclopean walls” - so named because the later Greeks thought that only a Cyclops could move such huge rocks into place. You will see the Lion Gate, which formed the entrance to the royal court and palace. Nearby there are the tombs of legendary figures such as Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.

Stepping forward in history, we see the Palamidi Castle in Nafplio (the first Capital of modern Greece), built by the Venetians and famous for supposedly having 999 steps. According to legend, there were once 1000 steps leading to the castle, but one of them was crushed by Theodoros Kolokotronis, a leader of the Greek war of independence, during celebrations for a victory against the Ottomans.