barry3040

Will be in Pireaus on a Friday afternoon/overnight/and next morning waiting for a cruise that Saturday afternoon. Can anybody please suggest something interesting to do around Pireaus or in Athens for the afternoon and next morning? (Have been to the Parthenon and Museum there/Square/Plaka)

PalenQ

Ancient Olympia is quite close to Piraeus and an awseome archeaological site. Nothing much in Piraeus - ancient Corinth also not far away.

thursdaysd

Plenty of other things to see in Athens. For example, Goulandris Museum of Cycladic and Ancient Greek Art, the Benaki, the Folk Art and the Jewish. Also the Botanical Gardens and Lykavittos hill .

PalenQ

My son stayed at a seaside resort near Olympia and loved it. Would not stay in Piraeus. Would stay near your cruise departure area rather than coming from longer ways as transport strikes or disruptions can always happen. Suggest renting car for a day and driving to Olympia or Corinth and ovenice at seaside place.

HappyTrvlr

Since Pireaus is the port for Athens, why don’t you stay in nearby Athens overnight and take a taxi to Pireaus in time to board your ship. Athens has lots to do and see such as Cycladic Museum. Olympia is not nearby, rather far away, 3 and a half hours by car. After being in Piraeus, I would not want to spend any more time there than boarding and disembarking a ship.

PalenQ

Yup Pireaus farther than thought. Sorry - Athens suggestions great.

barry3040

thanks for this
just thought it would be easier to come direct from the airport to a Pireaus hotel, and then taxi or metro into Athens

PalenQ

So you do not want to overnight in Athens - what time do you get in - takes about what an hour each way - when do you want to return to Pireaus? Not much time unless overnighting in Athens - consider going out to Daphne to take in its neat wineries and festivities - maybe not too far to taxi to and return to Piraeus?

HappyTrvlr

Piraeus is a very large working port, not just cruise ships. Couldn’t wait to get out of there.

greg

>>> thought it would be easier to come direct from the airport to a Pireaus hotel, and then taxi or metro into Athens
Rather than assuming, do an actual analysis taking into account the overhead in doing a round trip to Athens, what you can do doing that time, what you miss by doing it as a day trip. This is a trivial analysis. Estimate realistic time it takes to travel to you hotel. how much time it takes to move from A to B, what you can do that is open at that time.
There are many other things in Athens. "Parthenon and Museum there" = Parthenon Museum? Have you been to the splendid National Archaeological museum. If you visit archaeological sites elsewhere in Greece, you will be told over and over, "The original is at the Athens Archaeological Museum."

In my opinion, the most picturesque time to look around Athens is after sunset when big bus tourists and cruise day trippers have left the city. All the major monuments are beautifully lit at night. A great time to walk around without the scorching sun. The Acropolis is lit all night and is magical if you stay at a nearby hotel with a roof top view of the Acropolis. One of my favorite photo of Athens was Acropolis early in the morning when the sky started turn blue giving a background to the Parthenon just before they turned off the flood light. You cannot see this if you retreat back to Pireas at night.

crazyh

If you've never been to Athens then you should go to Athens . . . but with the amount of time you have available maybe Piraeus would be a good option. I see some negative comments about Piraeus but actually it's quite interesting, has a wonderful fish market on the waterfront, lovely museums, archeological sites, nice walks especially in the Mikrolimano area, etc. There's a Old Town area, great tavernas and a lot easier getting your ferry quicker than from Athens.

I love Athens and always stay there while in Greece but don't overlook Piraeus.

Check out this website for what Piraeus has to offer:

Destination Piraeus