6 Best Sights in The Peloponnese, Greece

Stunning galleries are laden with Mycenaean-through-Roman-period finds, including tools, cups, and jewelry reflecting everyday life in the Peloponnese. More than 15 mosaics from Roman villas around Patras have been reassembled, and many items are from the ancient Roman odeon in town. A large collection of burial items includes several reconstructed tombs.

The oldest winery in Greece was founded by the Bavarian Gustav Clauss in 1861 and continues to produce a distinctive line of wines. Mavrodaphne, a rich dessert wine, is the house specialty, and oak barrels still store vintages from Gustav's day. The winery is set on a hilltop amid fragrant pines in the village of Petroto.

This long, sandy stretch backed by a pine forest and a grassy plain where cattle graze is much favored by Patras residents on weekends and in August. Bracing winds that can whip up a wild surf don't seem to deter beachgoers and are a boon for windsurfers. A river behind the beach forms estuaries that are great for bird-watching. People swim in them as well, but you may feel like Hercules if you are joined by yard-long snakes (they are nonvenomous). Amenities: food and drink; parking (free); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking; windsurfing.

In the evening the Frankish and Venetian citadel atop a bluff overlooking Patras draws many Greek couples seeking a spectacular view; a long flight of stone steps ascends toward the Kastro from the southern edge of the Old Town. The sight of the shimmering ships negotiating the harbor stirs even the most travel-weary.

A Roman odeon remains in use in Patras, almost 2,000 years after it was built. Today the productions of Summer Arts Festival (mid-Jun.–mid-Sept.) are staged in the well-preserved theater, which was discovered in 1889 and heavily restored in 1960.

This is one of the largest churches in Greece, and dates from the early 20th century. It is built next to a spring that's been used for thousands of years, and during antiquity its waters were thought to have prophetic powers. St. Andrews is an important pilgrimage sight—the cavernous interior houses the head of the namesake saint, who spread Christianity throughout Greece and was crucified in Patras in AD 60.