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Piraeus City

Visit Piraeus Municipal Theatre of Piraeus with Hop In Sightseeing Tours

Piraeus is a city in the periphery of Attica located 12 km southwest of its center and upon the Saronic Gulf. Piraeus is the port of Athens, the capital of Greece.

Visit this place by join one of these tours

  • The largest passenger port of Europe and the third largest in the world
  • Mikrolimano
  • Pasalimani (Marina Zeas)
  • Kastella
  • Peace and Friendship Stadium
  • Karaiskaki Stadium
  • Municipal Theater

“Piraeus was selected to serve as the port city of classical Athens in the early 5th century BC and nowadays is the largest passenger port in Europe and the third largest in the world”

Piraeus is a city in the periphery of Attica located 12 km southwest of its center and upon the Saronic Gulf. Piraeus has a long history, which dates back to ancient Greece. The effects of its natural space and geographical place have been critical factors for the configuration of the historical fate of Piraeus. The development of the harbour has been always combined with periods of proportional acme and progress of the city, while in the periods of the harbour’s decay the city languished.

The Piraeus city was largely developed in the early 5th century BC, when it was selected to serve as the port city of classical Athens and was transformed into a prototype harbour, concentrating all the import and transit trade of Athens. Consequently, it became the chief harbour of ancient Greece but declined gradually after the 4th century AD, and began to grow again in the 19th century, especially after the declaration of Athens as the capital of Greece.

In modern era, Piraeus City is a big city bustling with life and an integral part of Athens, having the biggest harbour in the country and all the typical characteristics of a huge marine and commercial-industrial center. The city is the seat of the Piraeus Prefecture, while the port of Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe and the third largest in the world, servicing about 20 million passengers annually. Piraeus is placed among the first ten ports in container traffic in Europe and the top container port in Eastern Mediterranean. The Piraeus city hosted events in both the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens.

The city of Piraeus is stamped by the diversity of culture among its neighborhoods. The hill of Kastella is one of the most prosperous and attractive neighborhoods of the city, with a panoramic view over Athens and the Saronic Gulf. It is characteristically elegant due to the numerous neo-classical mansions and luxurious houses, while the Veakeio Theater and a church dedicated to the Prophet Elijah are the most popular buildings.

The coastal area of Neo Faliro has been upgraded and is also prominent with the Peace and Friendship Stadium and the Karaiskaki Stadium, an indoor arena and a football ground respectively lying opposite one another, predominating. Mikrolimano and Pasalimani (Marina Zeas), the smaller harbors of the city, attract large numbers of visitors because of their picturesqueness and vigorous nightlife, hosting fishing boats as well as yachts and cruise ships.

On the other hand, Kaminia is a working class neighborhood which still preserves the traditional look of past ages. The Municipal Theater in downtown Piraeus City was built in 1885 and today is an impressive neo-classical building. Located across the Neo-Byzantine Piraeus Cathedral, it constitutes one of the most renowned landmarks of the city and a popular meeting place.

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