The Patras Carnival is the largest event of its kind in Greece.
Held in the western Greek city of Patras, the festival is a broad Carnival season rather than a single parade. Its program includes masquerade balls, concerts, theatrical events, children’s celebrations, large float parades, and the famous Hidden Treasure Hunt, in which organized groups compete through puzzles and creative challenges.
The modern carnival began in the 19th century. The first Patras Carnival was held in 1829, and the city’s links with Italy helped shape its early masquerade-ball culture. Festivities traditionally begin on January 17, the feast day of Saint Anthony, and continue until Clean Monday, the start of Great Lent in the Greek Orthodox calendar.
The grand finale features a huge Sunday parade followed by the ceremonial burning of the Carnival King’s float at the harbor. “Largest” here means the largest carnival event in Greece, not necessarily the world’s largest carnival. Xanthi, Corfu, and Rethymno also host prominent Greek carnival celebrations, but Patras is the country’s best-known national-scale event.