7 Best Sights in Patras, The Peloponnese

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. It's a good 40-minute walk from the town center; take the train to Panachaika and walk from there to avoid a sweaty arrival.

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. It's around 40 km (25 miles) west of the city. 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.

Just west of Patras lies the periphery of what was once the Mycenean world. There was a settlement on Bourtzi hill for around 500 years, with some 78 carved tombs dating back to 1500 BC since found in the area. Many of the finds made here are now on view in the Archaeological Museum in Patras, which is certainly easier to reach; visitors will need a car to get Voudeni. But it's worth the effort to get here, and the site is surrounded by a well-kept garden that makes for a relaxed stroll.

The city's castle was built out of the ruins of the area's ancient acropolis in the 6th century, though it was shaped by countless invaders, with Frankish, Venetian, and Ottoman invaders having the most influence. It became the administrative center for the city from the medieval era onwards, and was in use right up until the end of World War II. A long flight of stone steps ascends toward the Kastro from the southern edge of the Old Town, and views from its ramparts of the shimmering ships negotiating the harbor stirs even the most travel-weary.

According to the Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias, the most ravishing odeon in Greece, second only to the Herodeion of Athens, is that of Patras. Having been rediscovered in the late-19th century, it was restored in the 1960s and, until recently, remained in use as a venue for productions of the Summer Arts Festival (mid-June–mid-September), which were still staged in its well-preserved theater until recently. You can still admire this building from the street, but ongoing renovations mean it was closed at the time of writing and will be for the foreseeable future.

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.