Patras
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Patras is a city in Greece.
Information about the city
You can find info online at the site of the city Information Center.
If you are in the city and visit the Infocenter building (across the harbor), you'll find people there to give you a map and leaflets on what to see and probably a bicycle to tour the city as well. Most of the times they'll also let you leave your stuff there if you're staying only for a few hours.
Also check the site of Patras Carnival, the biggest in Greece! Actually this is what the city is known for. Planning a trip here during carnival is an experience never to forget.
Spiliot 20:59, 6 February 2007 (EST)
How to get to (or leave from) the city
1. By plane Only a few charter flights arrive at the military/civilian airport of Araxos around 25km away from the city. No direct connection with buses. Normally if you come or go on a charter, your company would have arranged for transportation. If not you should find a way to get to Kato Achaya village first and from there take the bus or train (worse) to Patras (or the opposite).
2. By boat Most people either arrive or leave the city this way. Patras is the 3rd biggest harbor in Greece and has frequent connections to Italy (Brindisi, Bary, Ancona, Venice, etc) usually with a stop or two on the way there to Kefallonia or Korfu island and/or Igoumenitsa port. The port is (on the day of writing of this article-2007) in the center of the city and is pretty much near the bus and train stations (depending on where the boat drops you off, but maximum walk is 20-30').
3. By train Patras train station is in the center of the city across the harbor. It connects the city to Athens and Pyrgos - Kiparissia (the latter route near Olympia - the birth place of Olympic games). Unfortunately the railway tracks are old and are undergoing severe works at the time of writing of this article (2007). This means that there are frequent delays, the trains are old, dirty and crowdy and it takes 4-5 hours (about double the time the bus does) to get to Athens, making a stop on the way and switching trains (fortunately to the new and fast ones). It is not much cheaper than the bus so it should be a solution only for those with a railcard of some kind that don't have to pay a ticket.
4. By bus The bus station is 1' away from the train station again at the very center of the city and across the harbor. There are very frequent routes to Athens (usually no later than every 30', from 5:30AM to 10PM and one night service at 2:30am). Also several other locations around Greece are being serviced. It is fast and relatively cheap (about 16 Euros to Athens) and the buses are new and luxurious. The trip to Athens is 3 hours for the normal bus (makes stops on the way) and 2:30 for the "express" bus that stops only at the final destination. At Athens they drop you off at Kifissos station (noisy and old) and you need to take the 051 bus from there to the center. From Athens you need to find the 051 stop near Omonia square (its beside the church of Aghios Konstantinos down Aghiou Konstantinou street) and get off at the final stop which is inside the bus terminal.
Where to stay if you have no Couchsurfing host
Hostels Only one hostel is available, across the small boat marina and close to the harbor checkin (5' away) and about 15-20' from the center (all times are for walking). It's not very clean but it's definitely not the worse place you've probably seen/been. Usually it doesn't have a lot of people so at least it should be quite. The prices are at about 12 Euros per person per night. The address is 68 Heroon Politechniou Street and the contact phone is +30 2610427278.
Hotels Better check greekhotels as it covers everything.
