Experience the best of Patras

Patras stands on the Gulf of Patras in the north-west of the Peloponnese, facing the Ionian Islands, and has long been a harbour for ferries to Italy. Its centre is built in a grid of neoclassical buildings, arcaded streets and squares, among them the Apollon Theatre, designed by Ernst Ziller in 1872, and the Church of St Andrew, one of the biggest in Greece, which holds relics of the apostle who is said to have been martyred here.

A medieval castle looks down from the hill above the old town, and a Roman odeon below it is used for summer performances. The Rio-Antirrio bridge, a cable-stayed bridge nearly three kilometres long that opened in 2004, crosses the gulf. The Achaia Clauss winery in the hills makes Mavrodaphne wine, and the rack railway through the Vouraikos Gorge to Kalavryta and the site of ancient Olympia can be reached from the city.

The carnival of Patras, the biggest in Greece, runs from January to the start of Lent with parades and masked balls. The city's wines include sweet Mavrodaphne and Muscat of Patras, and seafood tavernas line the harbour. Winters are mild and rainy, and summers are dry and hot.