Epidaurus: Theater and Sea

The archaeological site of Epidaurus is a must. The theater and the remains of the Sanctuary of Asklepios are at least impressive. The maximum being to be able to attend to a performance of a Greek tragedy in the theater, which is possible and not too expensive during the summer festival.

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Epidaurus’ theater, about 70 km south of Corinth, is one of the best preserved ancient theaters in the world and it is still in use for several performances. World Heritage of Unesco, it is particularly famous for its amazing acoustics. The classic demonstration that tourist guides use to do, is to drop a coin in the center of the scene, thus proving that the metallic sound is heard clearly up to the higher rows of the tiers.
The site is open from 8am to 7pm during summer and in winter from 8 am to 5pm. Entry costs 6 € for adults, free for children up to 18 years old.
For more information have a look at the official site of the festival where you can also find the programme of the performances.

Note that ticket prices start at 10/15 € which I would say is more than affordable. The plays are in greek, but the show is impressive even you you don’t understand a word. It’s a real journey through time. Be careful, however, to the type of performance, some tragedies are represented in a modern key that combined with not understanding anything, could transform the tragedy into a torture.

Sanctuary of Asklepios

Stadium

Archaeologists at work

The parking lot of the archaeological site is just huge and the trees provide shade for many lucky drivers. There are a lot of signs scattered here and there to prohibit camping, but there is no problem to stop, even to have lunch during opening hours. After that I do not know, did someone try?

We preferred to get down to Palea Epidavros, located 20 km east on the sea, nothing special as a town, but the sea is clean, as evidenced by the myriad of sea urchins which one must be careful not to step on entering it.

It is known that various international celebrities of the showbiz have highly exclusive houses in this area and it is a fact that much of the coastline is not easily accessible because of the fences of the houses built along the sea.

The rest area we found turning to the right at the port and continuing until the end of the road was just perfect and it was already spotted by a couple of French with a big motor home, who had opened their tent and were eating out enjoying the beach.

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