Piraeus, Greece

Location

It's no wonder that all roads lead to the fascinating and maddening metropolis of Athens. Lift your eyes 200 feet above the city to the Parthenon, its honey-color marble columns rising from a massive limestone base, and you behold architectural perfection that has not been surpassed in 2,500 years. But, today, this shrine of classical form dominates a 21st-century boomtown. To experience Athens—Athína in Greek—fully is to understand the essence of Greece: ancient monuments surviving in a sea of cement, startling beauty amid the squalor, tradition juxtaposed with modernity. Locals depend on humor and flexibility to deal with the chaos; you should do the same. The rewards are immense. Although Athens covers a huge area, the major landmarks of the ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods are close to the modern city center. You can easily walk from the Acropolis to many other key sites, taking time to browse in shops and relax in cafés and tavernas along the way. From many quarters of the city you can glimpse "the glory that was Greece" in the form of the Acropolis looming above the horizon, but only by actually climbing that rocky precipice can you feel the impact of the ancient settlement. The Acropolis and Filopappou, two craggy hills sitting side by side; the ancient Agora (marketplace); and Kerameikos, the first cemetery, form the core of ancient and Roman Athens. Along the Unification of Archaeological Sites promenade, you can follow stone-paved, tree-lined walkways from site to site, undisturbed by traffic. Cars have also been banned or reduced in other streets in the historical center. In the National Archaeological Museum, vast numbers of artifacts illustrate the many millennia of Greek civilization; smaller museums such as the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art Museum and the Byzantine and Christian Museum illuminate the history of particular regions or periods. Athens may seem like one huge city, but it is really a conglomeration of neighborhoods with distinctive characters. The Eastern influences that prevailed during the 400-year rule of the Ottoman Empire are still evident in Monastiraki, the bazaar area near the foot of the Acropolis. On the northern slope of the Acropolis, stroll through Plaka (if possible by moonlight), an area of tranquil streets lined with renovated mansions, to get the flavor of the 19th-century's gracious lifestyle. The narrow lanes of Anafiotika, a section of Plaka, thread past tiny churches and small, color-washed houses with wooden upper stories, recalling a Cycladic island village. In this maze of winding streets, vestiges of the older city are everywhere: crumbling stairways lined with festive tavernas; dank cellars filled with wine vats; occasionally a court or diminutive garden, enclosed within high walls and filled with magnolia trees and the flaming trumpet-shaped flowers of hibiscus bushes. Formerly run-down old quarters, such as Thission, Gazi and Psirri, popular nightlife areas filled with bars and mezedopoleia (similar to tapas bars), are now in the process of gentrification, although they still retain much of their original charm, as does the colorful produce and meat market on Athinas. The area around Syntagma Square, the tourist hub, and Omonia Square, the commercial heart of the city about 1 km (½ mi) northwest, is distinctly European, having been designed by the court architects of King Otho, a Bavarian, in the 19th century. The chic shops and bistros of ritzy Kolonaki nestle at the foot of Mt. Lycabettus, Athens's highest hill (909 feet). Each of Athens's outlying suburbs has a distinctive character: in the north is wealthy, tree-lined Kifissia, once a summer resort for aristocratic Athenians, and in the south and southeast lie Glyfada, Voula, and Vouliagmeni, with their sandy beaches, seaside bars, and lively summer nightlife. Just beyond the city's southern fringes is Piraeus, a bustling port city of waterside fish tavernas and Saronic Gulf views.

Piraeus, Greece Itineraries

8 Nights

Istanbul Icons & Aegean Artifacts Cruise Tour

Cruise Line Windstar Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Star Legend
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Piraeus
Destination Port Istanbul
Itinerary
Piraeus, Itea, Santorini, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Myrina, Lemnos and Istanbul

From £2,949pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
24 Apr 24
8 Nights

Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

Cruise Line Windstar Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Star Legend
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Piraeus
Destination Port Istanbul
Itinerary
Piraeus, Itea, Santorini, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Myrina, Lemnos and Istanbul

From £1,811pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
24 Apr 24
12 Nights

Athens to Fusina

Cruise Line Silversea
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Silver Spirit
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Piraeus
Destination Port Fusina
Itinerary
Piraeus, Santorini, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Corfu, Kotor, Bari, Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar Island, Zadar, Trieste and Fusina

From £8,800pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
24 Apr 24
16 Nights

16-Day Tunisia, Egypt & Mediterranean

Cruise Line Seabourn
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Seabourn Quest
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Piraeus
Itinerary
Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, La Goulette, Sousse, Alexandria, Alexandria, Limassol, Antalya, Rhodes, Spetses and Piraeus

From Please Call

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Departure Date
26 Apr 24
79 Nights

79-Day Grand Mediterranean & Northern Europe

Cruise Line Seabourn
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Seabourn Quest
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port London (Greenwich)
Itinerary
Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, La Goulette, Sousse, Alexandria, Alexandria, Limassol, Antalya, Rhodes, Spetses, Piraeus, Dikili, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Sámi, Corfu, Rovinj, Venice, Koper, Opatija, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Durrës, Lipari, Amalfi, Civitavecchia, Golfo Aranci, Ajaccio, Corsica, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Sète, Almería, Málaga, Lisbon, Porto, Bilbao, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Rouen, Rouen, Rouen, Zeebrugge, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Hamburg, Wismar, Bornholm Island, Gdansk, Tallinn, Helsinki, Mariehamn, Stockholm, Visby, Copenhagen, Aalborg, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Leith, Newcastle upon Tyne and London (Greenwich)

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Departure Date
26 Apr 24
103 Nights

103-Day Grand Europe, British Isles & Viking Passage

Cruise Line Seabourn
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Seabourn Quest
Region Northern Europe
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port New York, New York
Itinerary
Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, La Goulette, Sousse, Alexandria, Alexandria, Limassol, Antalya, Rhodes, Spetses, Piraeus, Dikili, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Sámi, Corfu, Rovinj, Venice, Koper, Opatija, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Durrës, Lipari, Amalfi, Civitavecchia, Golfo Aranci, Ajaccio, Corsica, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Sète, Almería, Málaga, Lisbon, Porto, Bilbao, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Rouen, Rouen, Rouen, Zeebrugge, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Hamburg, Wismar, Bornholm Island, Gdansk, Tallinn, Helsinki, Mariehamn, Stockholm, Visby, Copenhagen, Aalborg, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Leith, Newcastle upon Tyne, London (Greenwich), Dover, Fishguard, Liverpool, Belfast, Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Staffa Island, St. Kilda Archipelago, Heimaey Island, Reykjavík, Isafjørdur, Vigur Island, Prince Christian Sound, Qaqortoq (Julianehaab), Nanortalik, Saint-Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saint-John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saint-John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Halifax, Nova Scotia and New York, New York

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Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
26 Apr 24
26 Nights

26-Day Eastern Mediterranean Jewels & Ephesus

Cruise Line Seabourn
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Seabourn Quest
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Venice
Itinerary
Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, La Goulette, Sousse, Alexandria, Alexandria, Limassol, Antalya, Rhodes, Spetses, Piraeus, Dikili, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Sámi, Corfu, Rovinj and Venice

From Please Call

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
26 Apr 24
46 Nights

46-Day Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans & Rivieras

Cruise Line Seabourn
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Seabourn Quest
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Lisbon
Itinerary
Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, La Goulette, Sousse, Alexandria, Alexandria, Limassol, Antalya, Rhodes, Spetses, Piraeus, Dikili, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Sámi, Corfu, Rovinj, Venice, Koper, Opatija, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Durrës, Lipari, Amalfi, Civitavecchia, Golfo Aranci, Ajaccio, Corsica, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Sète, Almería, Málaga and Lisbon

From Please Call

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
26 Apr 24
12 Nights

Adriatic & Aegean Allure

Cruise Line Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Seven Seas Voyager
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Piraeus
Destination Port Istanbul
Itinerary
Piraeus, Santorini, Katakolon, Corfu, Kotor, Ancona, Ravenna, Split, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Kusadasi, Istanbul and Istanbul

From Please Call

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
26 Apr 24
7 Nights

Ionian Sea Adventure

Cruise Line Emerald Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Emerald Azzurra
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Civitavecchia
Destination Port Piraeus
Itinerary
Civitavecchia, Capri, Sorrento, Amalfi, Giardini Naxos, Cephalonia, Itea and Piraeus

From £4,691pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
27 Apr 24
7 Nights

Enchanting Greece & the Amalfi Coast

Cruise Line Windstar Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Wind Star
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Civitavecchia
Destination Port Piraeus
Itinerary
Civitavecchia, Ponza Island, Sorrento, Messina, Gythio, Monemvasía and Piraeus

From £1,910pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
27 Apr 24
7 Nights

Ancient Mediterranean Treasures

Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Jupiter
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Piraeus
Destination Port Istanbul
Itinerary
Piraeus, Piraeus, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Rhodes, Kusadasi, Çanakkale, Istanbul and Istanbul

From £5,390pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

Departure Date
28 Apr 24