Best Things To Do In Piraeus
Introduction
Piraeus is the entryway to Greece for many travelers who cruise into Athens. If cruise passengers do not decide to take an excursion to the city center of Athens, Piraeus is what they’ll see in the capital. Piraeus is a quick metro ride from the city center of Athens for non-cruise travelers. It is also the hub for ferries that depart for the Greek islands. If you have time before or after you sail off, you’ll find Piraeus a very authentic place in Greece to explore. You need to know where to go.
In ancient times, Piraeus was the naval port of Athens, and the modern city lies in the same conurbation, only a Metro ride away from the capital. Piraeus has two circular natural harbors on the water with narrow openings and bowls of modern buildings. At the Bay of Zea, the ruins of ancient shipyards rest next to the luxury yachts in the water. If you want to know more, the Archaeological Museum is as good as it comes. It has the ruins of an ancient theatre and dazzling bronze statues recovered from the water off Piraeus in 1959. Piraeus has always been the main port for the Aegean Islands, and if you’re up for a day trip, you can set sail on a high-speed hydrofoil for close-range destinations like Aphaia, Hydra, and Seriphos.
The thing about Piraeus is that if you turn the wrong corner, you’ll find that many sidewalks and buildings are unkempt, and the modern buildings don’t look so modern anymore. On the bright side, I feel Piraeus has much potential. The views can be beautiful. Its historic neighborhoods have their authentic feel. Its population is proud. Today, it is the business district of choice for many Greek and international shipping companies.
Let’s explore the best things to do in Piraeus:
Archaeological Museum
From the western shore of the Bay of Zea, Piraeus’ Archaeological Museum has artifacts from Mycenaean times to the Roman period, retrieved from across the city and along the coastline of Attica. The Hellenistic Theatre of Zea ruins are beside the museum, built in the 2nd century B.C. and excavated in the 1880s. The galleries dip into topics like the commercial and military port, domestic life in the Mycenaean and Hellenistic years, religious life, the development of funerary carvings, and painted art in the Roman period. The marquee exhibition is in rooms three and four, where you’ll face bronze statues recovered from near Piraeus’ harbor in 1959. These are the Piraeus Athena and Piraeus Artemis, cast in the 4th century B.C., and the much older High Archaic Piraeus Apollo, cast in the 6th century B.C.
Bay of Zea (Paşalimanı)
This bay and natural harbor is the second largest of Piraeus’ three ports. If you have time to spare, you could walk from one side of the harbor entrance to the other, under swaying palm fronds and with many interesting little things to look out for. At the narrow gate, you can spot the remains of Piraeus’ ancient walls and the foundations of shipyards where Athens’ triremes ships would have been assembled. Continue up towards the inner part of the harbor. You can take in Piraeus’ modern cityscape and see the expensive yachts on the water. In Ottoman times, the Bay of Zea was where Athens’ pashas would come to bathe with their harems, which is the origin of the name Paşalimanı.
Mikrolimano
The harbor at Mikrolimano is an almost perfect oval, with just a tiny opening on its east side. In ancient times, Mikrolimano was Athens’ main naval port, dedicated to the goddess Artemis (Mounichia), and it has more than 80 ship sheds where posh fish restaurants sit today. Later, in Byzantine times, it was known as Fanari for a lighthouse (fanos) at the harbor mouth, and that name has stuck to the 21st century. Over the water, like tiers of an amphitheater, are rows of houses climbing up the hill in Kastella, while down below, luxury yachts bob in the water. Mikrolimano is an upscale seafood destination for tourists and affluent Athens residents. They’ll dine on the wooden quays with views of those luxury yachts and the bowl of houses up the hillside.
Electric Railway Museum of Piraeus
Opened in 2005, this museum was the labor of love of Manolis Fotopoulos, a former Athens–Piraeus Electric Railways employee. From his retirement in 1995, he spent a decade trawling through antique shops, warehouses, and even in rubbish tips for memorabilia relating to the brand. He assembled uniforms, photographs, newspaper cuttings, and books, and the railway company soon caught on, contributing wagons, other rolling stock, and control and signaling equipment for the museum. The attraction soon found a home in Piraeus Station with more than 2,000 objects to examine, accompanied by 3,000 books, posters, and photographs.
Agia Triada (Church of the Holy Trinity)
Piraeus’ first Church of the Holy Trinity was founded in 1839 but was completely wiped out in the bombing in 1944. After the war, its successor was built on V. Georgios and Ethnikis Antistaseos streets and would eventually be consecrated in the mid-1960s. Although the Agia Triada is modern, it still warrants your time because of its immense size. Using concrete, the architects made it possible to see the dome and its image of Christ Pantocrator from any part of the church floor. The 12 apostles ring this mosaic, while bright icons, ornamentation, and episodes from the bible are rendered in other mosaics that cover the walls.
Hellenic Maritime Museum
Zea Harbour is the largest maritime museum in Greece. The Hellenic Maritime Museum was established in 1949 by the city’s preeminent citizens and naval officers. The exhibition gives an account of marine activity in Greece going back to prehistory and brings you up to the Balkan Wars and the Second World War in the 20th century. Among the exciting discoveries to be made are big chunks of the sea wall erected by the Athenian commander Conon at the end of the 5th century B.C. There are also relics of the Neosokoi, ancient ship sheds in which the mighty triremes were constructed and repaired. One of the museum’s ten rooms is also set aside for seascapes from the 19th and 20th centuries, and you can view genuine maps of Greek waters and all over the world from the 1500s to the 1800s.
General Market
With the sea breezes blowing over the morning hustle and bustle, the Piraeus market is an excellent slice of life. There’s a broad range of food, bric-a-brac, and cheap bars and cafes around the periphery, especially in the back alley behind. Standing in weird contrast behind the market is a derelict 25-story office tower, the tallest building for kilometers around. It’s a failed junta project (1967–74) that was never completed above the 3rd floor. No one can agree on whether to pull it down or revamp it. Now, it’s an accidental monument to that military era.
Olympiacos F.C.
Piraeus has the most successful football club in Greek history. Since the “Thrylos” (Legend) was founded in 1925, Olympiacos have won 44 league titles, 27 Greek Cups, and four Greek Super Cups. To summarize this team’s dominance, all other clubs in the country have managed 37 league titles. Olympiacos play at the 32,115-seater Karaiskakis Stadium, built as the velodrome for the 1896 Olympics and last refurbished in 2004 when it also started hosting home matches for the Greek national team. If you’re in town in summer and can’t get to a game, you can take a peek inside the museum, which is filled with memorabilia. You can catch up on the team’s history and get to know some accomplished players who have worn the red and white, like Rivaldo, Giovanni, and Darko Kovačević.
Museum Battleship Averof
If you can beat the traffic, you won’t need more than 15 minutes to reach this museum ship moored around the harbor in Faliro. The Georgios Averof is an armored cruiser, the last of its kind still afloat. The vessel was launched in 1910 and became the flagship of Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis and the Greek Navy in the First Balkan War from 1912 to 1913. At this time, the ship helped establish Greek naval supremacy over the Ottoman Empire in the Aegean. It was involved in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, then again in the Second World War when it escaped with the Greek fleet to Egypt after the German invasion. Four decks are open, and you’ll duck through the engine room, officers’ quarters, crew quarters, mess, kitchen, and chapel, with weapons, charts, uniforms, medals, and archive photography to check out.
Fish and Seafood
When Athenians get hungry for fish and seafood, Piraeus is usually the first thing that springs to mind, even if it isn’t cheap. The daily catch from all over Greece is landed at the port and doesn’t have to travel far to the many eateries in the city. The prime destination is Mikrolimano, where restaurants are packed into continuous lines and where touts vie for your attention. Prices can be exorbitant here, and if you need your Euros to stretch further, try Chatzikiriakio, a small quarter to the southeast of the port by the naval academy, or Kastella on the hill over the harbor. Some dishes to keep in mind are fried red mullet (barbounia), fried anchovies (gavros tiganitos), sardines on grilled Greek sourdough (as an appetiser)or grilled whole bass (lavraki) marinated in lemon.
Votsalakia
Between Zea and Mikrolimano is the largest beach in Piraeus. Votsalakia is a little jagged as a place to bathe, but you can stroll beside the water and look west towards Athens’ southern suburbs backed by mountains. The rock and gravel shore is cleaned regularly in summer and fills up quickly as it’s right in front of Kastella. A few meters out in the sea is a small island with five-a-side football and beach volleyball courts behind chain-link fences next to the water. Votsalakia is also within walking distance from a clutch of bars and restaurants.
