  | Other car rental locations in Patra (Per day) | |
|
 | Patra Downtown car rental - Travel Guide |  |
PÁTRA (Patras) is the largest town in the Peloponnese and, after Pireás, the major port of Greece; from here you can go to Italy as well as to certain Ionian islands. The city is also a hub of the Greek-mainland transport network, with connections throughout the Peloponnese and, via the ferry at Río, across the straits to Delphi or western Greece.
Unless you arrive late in the day from Italy, you shouldn't need to spend more than a few hours in the city. A conurbation of close to a quarter of a million souls, it's not the ideal holiday retreat: there are no beaches and no particular sights. Traffic noise goes on well into the night and starts earlier than you'd want to get up. Nor has there been much effort to make the place attractive to visitors, save for a summer festival which sponsors events from late June to mid-September. These include Classical plays and the occasional rock concert in the Roman odeion and art and photographic exhibitions that bring a bit of life to the warehouses by the harbor (details from the EOT, the tourist police or the theatre on Platía Yeoryíou). The three-week carnival (ending on the Sun before Lent Mon - Kathará Dheftéra) is one of the biggest in the country, with a grand parade through the city centre on the final day.
The Town
For relaxation, the best places to make for are the café-table-studded Platía Psilá Alónia with its monument to Bishop Yermanos, or the Kástro (daily 8am-7pm; free), mainly Frankish-Byzantine citadels a fifteen-minute walk up from the water. This partly restored fortress is not particularly exciting, but it is away from the city bustle, surrounded by a park and with woodland beyond. Nearby, at Boukaoúri 29, is the Hamam (Turkish bath), still functioning after 600 years, while the Roman odeion (Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm; free) is on Sotiriádhou, near the castle. Like many a Greek metropolis in summer, Pátra is perhaps at its best after dark, when the heat is not so oppressive, the concrete structures less overpowering, and the city life and lights rather brighter; a stroll down to the huge jetty at the foot of Ayíou Nikoláou can bring you to cool sea breezes - and some of the cheapest coffee around, at the port kiosk just over the railway lines. Join the evening vólta here, or watch the sunset and departing ferries, with the spectacular mountains of Étolo-Akarnanía to the northwest and the 1924-metre backdrop of Mount Panahaïkó to the east. The recently pedestrianized bottom end of Ayíou Nikoláou is now a lively area at night, with cafés spread across the street and a couple of popular cinemas. At the southwest end of the waterfront itself is the huge neo-Byzantine church of Áyios Andhréas, which opened in 1979 and houses relics of St Andrew, said to have been martyred on this spot. The church is a massive confection of yellow-and-cream walls, blue-tiled domes and marmoreal excess that takes in the pillars and arches. A small archeological museum (Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm; free) on the corner of Mézonos and Arátou contains a number of exquisite objects from the province of Ahaïa dating from the Mycenaean to the Roman eras.
Swimming near Pátra isn't really advisable with the sea polluted for some kilometres to the southwest. Locals go to the beaches around Río (7km northeast; bus #6 goes frequently from the stop on Yerokostópoulou, near Zákynthos bus station) or to Kalogriá (40km southwest; 3 daily buses in season from the KTEL station). |
|
|
|
|
