Piraeus & Surroundings

Piraeus & Surroundings

The beloved Hellenic composer Manos Hatjidakis, with the voice of the unforgettable Melina Mercouri, talked about "The Children of Piraeus" in the Oscar winning film "Never on Sunday", by director Jules Sassin.

That is because there is something about this beautiful city/suburb of nearly 500,000 people that forms a main attraction for every visitor who is hungry for something different. This includes Piraeus and the most densely popultated suburbs of Athens - each with over 100,000 inhabitants - Peristeri and Acharnes. These are followed by their sister western neighborhoods of Keratsini, Korydallos, Nikaia, Perama and many more!

Refer to this area with a cunning desirability, a tough-guy way of facing life or perhaps with a love for its straightforward citizens and the unending sea. What is definite is that the history of this Athenian seaport, usually interwoven with the history of Athens, but occasionally separated, forms a puzzle that gives us the picture of modern-day Piraeus.

It is full of archaeological places, beautiful neoclassical buildings, colorful markets and museums (archaeological, marine and others).

 

All of these harmonically bonded with its character as the chief port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe and the third largest in the world. Thus, Piraeus has managed to service about 17 million passengers annually!

A stroll will take you from Korai Square to Moutsopoulou Coast and Pasalimani, a colorful harbor with speedboats, yachts and sailboats in an enclosed bay. The other port of Piraeus, the main passenger port, is located diametrically opposite in relation to the central square, in the area of Kondyli Coast, Kallimasioti, Poseidonos Avenue and Miauli Coast.

If, in conclusion, you move along the length of the coast eastwards, toward Faliro, you will cross one of the most beautiful areas Piraeus, Kastella, full of bars and cafeterias, while a little further down, in Koumoundourou Beach, there is Mikrolimano or Tourkolimano, the ancient port of Mounihias.

Here, the area is famous for its fish taverns and the lined cafe-bars as well, that attract the Athenian youth on Saturday nights and on holiday mornings.