GREEK NATIONAL ROAD 8

'Greek National Road 8' is an old highway linking the cities of Patras, Corinth and Athens. Until the 1960s when the toll road named GR-8A opened, it was the major and the only route for Athens and the Peloponnese as well as Corinth and Patras. An even newer freeway replaced both of these in the 1990s in the section between Athens and Corinth. The highway passes at the northern part of the Saronic Gulf, through the Isthmus of Corinth and further, in the southern part of the Gulf of Corinth and ends in downtown Patras. It runs through three prefectures: Achaea, Corinth and Attica. After passing through the Isthmus of Corinth it reaches Patras after going through numerous little towns and villages as opposed to the newer GR-8A which bypasses them. It is mainly a coastal road and nowadays it is used mostly by the residents and tourists of these towns, since using this route from Athens to Patras takes approximately 4 hours, while using the newer highway it takes only 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Contents

History

Places

History

Several movies, one in Kakia Skala and one treacherous curve west of Derveni near the railway crossing were filmed in the 1950s. In 1991 and 1993, the freeway was closed and was detoured to this highway for detour and was used again several times during construction over the superhighway. The high-speed railway from Corinth to Athens runs close to the highway.

Places

Here are places where the highway runs through and bypasses:
I - Old Athens-Corinth Highway:

★ Athens

★ "Sacred Way" or Iera Odos

★ Eleusis

★ junction with GR-3

★ Eleusis Refinery

★ Nea Peramos

★ Megara, bypasses next to the freeway to the south

★ Kineta

★ Agioi Theodoroi

★ Corinth Refinery along with the branch of what it used to be a toll highway

★ Kalamaki

★ Isthmia, town near the Isthmus of Corinth

★ Corinth Canal (two branches)

★ Corinth

★ junction of GR-7, old highway
II - Old Corinth-Patras Highway

★ junction of GR-7 (western branch)

★ Lechaio

★ Perigialo

★ Assos

★ Vrachati

★ north of Velo

★ Kiato

★ Kato Domini

★ Melissi

★ Sykia

★ Xylokastro

★ Kamari

★ Kato Loutro

★ Lykkoporeia

★ Stomi

★ Lygia

★ Derveni

★ Aigeira

★ Eliki

★ river

★ Aigio, junction with GR-31

★ Rododafni

★ Longos

★ Kamares

★ south of Psathopyrgos

★ Arachovitika

★ Agios Vasileios

★ junction with GR-5 and GR-8A (eastbound lanes)

★ Agios Georgios

★ south of the University of Patras

★ Junction with the Patras Bypass

★ Panepistemiou Avenue

★ downtown Patras (western terminus)