PATRAS BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 SURVIVAL GUIDE BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS Contents: Welcome to Greece 2 City of Patras 3 How to get here 4 Meeting Point 10 General Information 11 Greek Lesson 12 What to Bring! 14 Contact 15 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS Welcome to Greece Let’s talk about some basics ! • Greece is a country in Southern Europe, located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. More specifically it is situated on the southern tip of the Bal- kan peninsula. • The country is also known for its history, beautiful is- lands and Mediterranean cuisine. It is considered as the birthplace of democracy, Olympic Games, western philosophy, major scientific and mathematical princi- ples. • Athens is the nation’s capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras. GREECE Now let’s zoom in, shall we? 2 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS The City of Patras XANTHI THESSALONIKI PATRAS ATHENS This is us! CHANIA • Patras is located in the northern Peloponnese and it’s the regional cap- ital of Western Greece. According to mythology, its name comes from Patreus, who was the founder of the city. • It has a big port which is a nodal point for trade and communication with Italy and the rest of Western Europe. • There are two public universities and one Technological Institute, host- ing a large student population. • Every year, in February the city hosts the largest greek carnival, which is We’d like to tell you about city’s social life, but we’d one of Europe’s greatest carnivals. spoil the surprise! 3 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS How to get here • The easiest way to get to Greece is by plane. • Your destintion is Athens International Airport (ATH), “El. Venizelos”. 4 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS From the airport directly to Patras BY TRAIN BY BUS STEP 1 • Suburban Railway [Airport -> Kato Achar- STEP 1 nai] (Train Change) • Bus X93 [Airport -> Intercity Coach Station] • NOTE: Your train must declare “Piraeus” as (“KTEL KIFISSOS”) its final stop. • Duration: 1h approx. STEP 2 • Info: http://www.oasa.gr • Suburban Railway [Kato Acharnai -> Kiato] (Bus Change) STEP 2 STEP 3 • Intercity Bus [Athens -> Patras] • TrainOSE Bus [Kiato ->Patras] • Duration: 2.5 hrs approx. • Total Duration: 3.5 hrs approx. • Info: http://www.ktelachaias.gr • Info: http://www.trainose.gr/en/ • NOTE: You can get a 25% discount only if • NOTE: The whole trip requires one single you have a valid Academic ID. ticket to Patras. The last connection to Patras form Kiato is at 21:05. 5 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS From the Airport to Athens and then to Patras • If you want to spend time in Athens, you may use the metro (10€) or the • You should avoid using taxis, because of the high cost, especially X95 bus line (6€) to get from the airport to the city centre. A single ticket the ones you will find at the airport, the intercity coach station or at the for all public transport (metro, bus etc.) in the city costs 1.40 € and lasts railway stations. If it is absolutely necessary to use a one, we suggest 90 minutes. calling 0030-18288. 6 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS From the Airport to Athens and then to Patras BY TRAIN BY BUS STEP 1 STEP 1 • Suburban Railway [Athens Railway Station • Bus 051 [Omonoia -> Intercity Coach Sta- “Athens” -> Kiato] (Bus Change) tion] (“KTEL KIFISSOS”) • Duration: 1.30 hrs approx. • Duration: 20 min approx. • NOTE: “Athens” is indicated on the metro • Info: http://www.oasa.gr map. STEP 2 STEP 2 • TrainOSE Bus [Kiato ->Patras] • Intercity Bus [Athens -> Patras] • Total Duration: 3.5 hrs approx. • Duration: 2.5 hrs approx. • Info: http://www.trainose.gr/en/ • Info: http://www.ktelachaias.gr • NOTE: The whole trip requires one single • NOTE: You can get a 25% discount only if ticket to Patras. The last connection to you have a valid Academic ID. Patras form Kiato is at 21:05. 7 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS From Thessaloniki to Patras BY TRAIN BY BUS STEP 1 • Intercity Train [Thessaloniki National • You can use an intercity bus if you want Railway Station -> Athens Railway Station to go directly to Patras from Thessaloniki. “Athens”] You can see the scheduled departures from • Duration: 5 hrs approx. the Intercity Bus Station, “Macedonia” in Thessaloniki and the trip’s duration below. STEP 2 • NOTE: You can get a 25% discount only if • Suburban Railway [Athens Railway Station you have a valid Academic ID. “Athens” -> Kiato] (Bus Change) • Duration: 1.30 hrs approx. STEP 3 • TrainOSE Coach [Kiato -> Patras] • Duration: 1.30 hrs approx. • NOTE: You can get a 25% discount on all TRAINOSE routes only if you have a val- id Academic ID. If you buy your tickets through the “TRAINOSE” app, you can get an additional 10% discount. 8 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS Alternative ways of arrival FERRY TO PATRAS Throughout the whole year, the port of Patras offers connections to the ports of Brindisi, Bari, Ancona and Venice in Italy. Should it be easy for you to get to one of these ports and you like travelling by boat, you should take this into consideration. Once you arrive at the port of Patras, you will use Bus 118 to get to the city centre. 9 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS Meeting Point • Our beautiful organisers will be waiting for you at the bus or train station, depending on the means of transportation you’ve chosen. Let us know how you will get here and we’ll pick you up! 10 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS General Information PRICES KIOSKS Espresso 2.00€ Cappuccino 2.20€ You can get most of Water (500mL bottle) 0.50€ these stuff in kiosks Beer (bar) 3.50€ which are small shops Beer (supermarket) 1.50€ that you can find all Soft Drinks 1.50€ around Patras! Cigarettes 4.00€ Pita gyros 2.50€ Souvlaki 1.60€ Bus ticket 1.60€ ELECTRICITY IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS The electrical voltage in Greece 220V/ 50 AMBULANCE 166 Hz, and the sockets are type F. To avoid POLICE 100 the possibility of a short circuit, make FIRE SERVICE 199 sure to have adapters with you. TAXI (Patras) 18300 11 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS Greek Lesson • The greek alphabet has 24 characters. Αα alpha Ιι iota Ρρ rho Bβ beta Κκ kappa Σσ sigma Γγ gamma Λλ lambda Ττ tau Δδ delta Μμ mu Υυ upsilon Εε epsilon Νν nu Φφ phi Ζζ zeta Ξξ xi Χχ chi Ηη eta Οο omicron Ψψ psi Θθ theta Ππ pi Ωω omega BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS Greek Lesson 13 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS What to bring! • Passport (if required) • VISA (if required) • Music, flags, traditional outfit, etc. from your country also for • Health & Travel insurance international evening • Student Card • This survival guide (highly recommended as a hardcopy) • Anything reusable would be appreciated! Cups, straws etc. • Yourself, all-included (smile, sex-appeal, body, etc.) (We love the Earth!) • Sleeping Bag • Towels • Sunglasses, swimsuit, hat and sunscreen • Personal hygiene items (soap, toothbrush etc) • Camera • Any medicine you might need • Some typical Food & Drinks from your country , for in- ternational evening 14 BEST Courses in Summer, Patras 2020 PATRAS Contact Meet some people from the core team! Main Organizer Main Organizer Antigoni Mamaloukou Natalia Stathopoulou [email protected] [email protected] +30 6943770761 +30 6980097512 Pax Responsible President Elena Matzavela Nikos Kazamias [email protected] [email protected] +30 6978557392 +30 6973875521 We can’t wait to meet you ! 15.