Piraeus
Piraeus is the port of Athens from where many ferries to the Greek islands depart, and it also has an Archaeological Museum and the Hellenic Maritime Museum.
Piraeus Sunrise
For some visitors, Piraeus is all that they see of Athens.
They fly into the airport, take a bus or taxi direct to Piraeus, and board a
ferry straight to one of the islands. Yet Piraeus has a cosmopolitan character
and rough charm of its own, typical of ports around the world. Alongside the
traffic and general chaos there are some handsome buildings, good fish
restaurants, and two enjoyable museums. It has been a major port since about
500BC, and is still one of the largest in the Mediterranean.
Piraeus Metro Station
Getting to Piraeus
Piraeus is the last stop at the southern end of the Green Line, Line One, on the Athens Metro. If you're going to or from central Athens then the line connects with major stations including Monastiraki and Omonia. It's by far the best way to get to and from Piraeus, as buses and taxis can get bogged down in traffic.
If you have heavy luggage then a taxi may be your only option but allow plenty of time. The harbour at Piraeus is huge and if you're catching a ferry then you have to know beforehand where the departure point is, no matter how you get there.
Piraeus
Piraeus Port Map
For example, here's a link
to a map of Piraeus port from Blue Star Ferries, who have eight different
departure points, depending on the destination. If you're departing from Gate
E1, for instance, where Blue Star's boats to the Cyclades and Dodecanese
currently leave from, then it's over a mile from the metro station, with lots
of busy streets to walk along and cross over.
Piraeus
Piraeus Port Layout
The layout of Piraeus can be confusing, partly because of how busy it is and also because of the indentations made by the various harbours, and it's easy to become disorientated. Kentriko Limani is the name of the main harbour with upscale shops and restaurants close by. There are also twelve gates, numbered E1-E12, and this number is what you need to know in order to find your ferry. Even then, once you get to the gate, it could still take you a while to find your particular ferry's departure point.
Piraeus at Night
Piraeus to Athens and the Airport
If you're returning from the islands and would prefer to take a taxi rather than the metro, there are taxi ranks close to most of the gates. It should take about 20-30 minutes into the city centre, which will be metered, or 45 minutes to the airport, where fixed rates apply, with a more expensive rate at night.
Our Pick of the Athens Guides
You can get from Piraeus to Athens Airport on the metro, with one change at Monastiraki. There is also a direct overground train service, which goes straight to Athens Airport in about an hour. The train station is next to the metro station.
The X96 bus links Piraeus with the airport, and is a 24-hour service. It's the cheapest way at just a few euros, but also the slowest at about 90 minutes. It can also be tiring if you're unlucky and have to stand all the way.
Piraeus
Never on Sunday
The bustle of life in Piraeus was well illustrated in the
1959 movie, Never on Sunday, which
featured Melina Mercouri (later to become Greek Minister of Culture) as a
Piraeus prostitute. This side of Piraeus life is also described in some of the
rembetika songs, which originated here and can still be heard in the late-night
clubs that flourish in the back streets, a world away from the tourist areas of
central Athens.
Piraeus Museums
Piraeus has its cultural highlights too, with a small but rewarding Archaeological Museum and the Hellenic Maritime Museum.
Piraeus Archaeological Museum
The prize exhibits in the Archaeological Museum were all found in the harbours around here. In 1930, a collection of stone statues was discovered in a sunken ship that was being used to transport the pieces from a Greek workshop to Italy. In 1939 the harbour also yielded up huge, magnificent bronze statues of Artemis, Athena, and Apollo.
Hellenic Maritime Museum
The Hellenic Maritime Museum, previously known as the Greek Naval Museum, overlooks the Zea Marina Harbour and is easily recognised because of the old submarine that stands in front of it.
Greece has an illustrious maritime history, of course, and this collection of over 2,000 items covers a great deal of it, from the early days of the elegant triremes with their three levels of rowers, to the lone fisherman with his little caique, to the vast luxury liners and yachts of the immensely wealthy shipping dynasties.
How a Trireme Works
The whole story is told in a rich mix of paintings, photographs, maps, flags, uniforms, artifacts, and fascinating scale models of ships and boats.
Part of the museum is made from remains of the so-called Long Walls, or Long Legs, which were barriers built between 493 and 456BC to fortify the harbours at Piraeus, but which were largely destroyed in 86BC. The walls, which also connected Piraeus with Athens, were begun by the Athenian statesman and soldier Themistocles (circa 523-468BC) and were enhanced by Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens, when Piraeus was already a major port.
The Quiet Side of Piraeus
Piraeus Restaurants
Piraeus has a number of upscale restaurants, especially around the smaller harbour of Mikrolimano, where luxurious yachts tie up alongside fishing caiques. Fresh fish is the dish to have, but it won't be cheap. The harbour makes a great place for an al fresco lunch, and those are especially popular on Sundays, or for a romantic evening meal any time, with a view of the bobbing yachts, twinkling lights, and the blue Aegean Sea beyond. For a few recommendations, see our page on Where to Eat in Athens and Piraeus.
Piraeus
Beyond Piraeus
There's much more to Piraeus than just the port and museums. Read this and you'll find out: A Delicious Walk along Piraeus's Coastline.
Other Athens pages
This beginner's guide to Greek architecture explains how to tell your Ionic from your Doric columns, and what to look for in temples and Byzantine churches.
Athens car rental options include almost all of the major international car hire firms such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Europcar.
The Athens War Museum is a fascinating look at Greek history through the lens of warfare from ancient battles to the Greek War of Independence and World War II.
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Athens is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets Athens guide has information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.
This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
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The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place outside the Parliament building at the top of Syntagma Square and is a must-see for visitors.
Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.
If visiting Athens it helps to know when major events and public holidays take place, as some shops and attractions may be closed, but to be there at times like Easter can make for a magical trip.
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
Greece Travel Secrets picks the best time to visit Athens with a month-by-month account of the weather, hotel prices and any special events that are happening.
The Greece Travel Secrets website looks at the Athens weather, the chance of rain, the climate in summer and winter and the best time to visit Athens.
Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.
This extract of Artistic Athens in the Lonely Planet book Culture Trails takes visitors on a journey through the artistic side of Athens..
In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!
A History of Athens from the first people to live on the Acropolis through the Golden Age of Pericles and Alexander the Great to the military junta.
This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.
The Athens Museum of Cycladic Art houses a remarkable collection of Cycladic figurines and other items and is one of the best museums in Athens.
The best views in Athens include views from the Acropolis and of the Acropolis from the top of some of the city’s several hills and from hotels and restaurants.
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