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
The Athens National Historical Museum is in the former Greek Parliament building and houses an archive of historical artefacts and documents.
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.
There's all kinds of entertainment in Athens whether you're interested in theatre, dance, classical music, jazz, Greek music, rock music, disco, opera or movies.
Greekality is a Greek company offering food tours in Athens including street food tours, wine and nightlife tours, vegan tours and cooking classes.
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.
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 extract of Artistic Athens in the Lonely Planet book Culture Trails takes visitors on a journey through the artistic side of Athens..
There are lots of flights from Athens to Santorini as well as a ferry service from Piraeus, with flights to Santorini leaving from Athens International Airport.
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 Athens Agora or ancient market is a must-see site and one of the best things to do in Athens with its restored arcade building, the Stoa, and its museum.
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.
The Athens Acropolis has the city's most iconic building, the Parthenon, along with other historic buildings and is where the Elgin Marbles were taken from.
The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.
In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!
This Athens dining guide doesn't list restaurants but gives practical advice on types of eating places, tipping, hotel breakfasts and picnics.
Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Monastiraki Flea Market, followed by Sunday lunch at Sigalas on Monastiraki Square
Athens culinary tours are among the food walking tours offered by an unusual company, Culinary Backstreets.
Athens walking tours and other experiences like cookery lessons, ceramics workshops, dining with a family, and street art are available from Alternative Athens
Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.
Mount Lykabettos is the highest hill in Athens and provides some of the best views of the city, with a funicular cable car the easiest way to get to the top.
Greece Travel Secrets chooses its top ten Athens restaurants with Acropolis views, perfect for dining by day or by night, including places with Michelin stars.
Easter in Athens is, like everywhere in Greece, the biggest religious celebration of the year and this page tells you what to expect over the Easter weekend.
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.
Athens Airport car rentals include Alamo/National Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt, all with offices at the airport.
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