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Achaia

With the decline of the Mycenaean centers, Achaeans from Argolis came and settled here, founding important cities. The region is named Achaia after them. Though politically insignificant through most of antiquity, it started having a more dynamic role in 280 BC. when the Achaean Confederacy was created.

In 146 BC the area fell to the Romans. It embraced Christianity earlier than the rest of Greece (St Andrew the Apostle preached in Patras and has martyred there). In 1205 it occupied centre stage with the founding of the Principality of Achaia by the Franks. Before too long it passed to the hands of the Byzantine emperor Paleologos who ruled the Peloponnesus from Mistras. Achaia was succeeded by the Turks in 1460.

For a short period (1687-1715), the area was a Venetian colony. It was liberated in 1828.

Patras is the capital of Achaia. It owes its name to Patreas, chief of the Achaeans. The city is among the most important in Greece , and the largest in the Peloponnesus . It is also a major transportation centre, linking the country with Italy and the Peloponnesus with the Ionian Islands .

The city extends from the shore up to the Castle. The old city, at the foot of the castle, still has quite a number of attractive neoclassical houses, while the lower city has many mansions, such as those housing the Municipal Theatre, the Odeon, etc.

The Cathedral of St Andrew, the city's patron, rises majestically above the lower city. Patras possesses a fine archaeological museum, an art gallery and a printing museum. Patras' famous Carnival -a festive sampling of its citizens' imagination, humor and high spirits- attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Finally, the city's innumerable pastry shops, its cafes, its wide range of taverns. Its lively streets bustling with locals, foreigners and transient travelers complete the picture of Patras.

The coasts of Achaia are a delightful concoction of picturesque villages, indented shores, gardens and shady trees. While the heart of Achaia may be its mountains, one cannot fail to hear its soul in the murmur of the sea.

Leaving Corinth , you take the coast road all the way to Patras. It's more scenic than the National Road , since it's right on the water's edge.

You reach Aegira a beautiful village with its Golden Beaches; an ideal place to spend your holidays. The visitor can go to see the ruins of the old town and he will remain astounded of this panoramic place with its magnificent view all over the Gulf of Corinth . Wandering around the hill of the Acropolis to the highest point south of the town, one can see the groundwork of the old palace, and just 40m. away there is an old Amphitheatre with its seats carved into the rocks of the hill, and seen from above it looks like an unfolded fan opened up to the north, which is very impressive indeed. Next is Akrata, also a coastal village, set in lush surroundings on a crystal clear sea. In the hinterland, a sight worth seeing is the post-Byzantine monastery of Aghia Triad (1715), which has well-preserved mosaics.

Next come Platanos, Trapeza, verdant hamlets, and Diakofto. This is where the funicular railway leaves for Kalavryta.

Continuing along the coast road, you see the roofs of one village after another poking through the unbroken green of the hillsides. Stop for a while at Aegion. In this town, which is divided into an upper and a lower section, the old district near the shore is interesting. The church of the Virgin Faneromeni, built according to designs by Schiller, lies.

A closer look

Municipality of Larissos