Visit Athens Guide
Piraeus
Piraeus is the port of Athens and a city of its own, half an hour from the centre for the price of a single ticket. It is where every ferry to the islands leaves from, which is the reason most visitors go — and the reason the single most useful fact about it is not a time but a gate number. This page covers getting there, the gates and what is worth staying for, as checked in Q3 2026. Fares are on getting around Athens, and the wider plan on the Athens city guide homepage.
Quick answer How to get there, and the one thing to check before you do
Piraeus is about thirty minutes from central Athens on metro Line 1 or Line 3 for €1.20, and forty minutes from the airport on Line 3 for €9. Before you travel, find out which gate your ferry leaves from: the quays run for several kilometres.
Key takeaways
- The gate is the fact that matters. Getting there and finding your boat explains why and where the port authority publishes gates and destinations.
- Two metro lines reach it, and they do not arrive in the same place — Line 3 also runs straight through from the airport without a change.
- Ferries are the thing most affected by strikes, which are called separately by the seamen's union and can strand a day trip with a morning's notice.
- If the island day is the point, the Saronic options compares the ferry to Aegina against the three-island cruises.
- Piraeus is also a city: what is worth staying for covers the archaeological museum and the two small harbours people actually eat at.
Key facts
Opening hours
| Metro Line 1 and Line 3 | about 05:30–about 00:30 |
|---|---|
| Ferry departures to the Saronic islands | from about 07:00–evening |
| Port authority call centre | 14541–— |
Closed None; the port runs all year, and strikes are the interruption to watch
Admission
- Adult
- €1.20 single from central Athens; €9 from the airport by metro
- Reduced
- €0.50 on the standard single
- Free
- —
Planning it
- Time needed
- Not stated; our routing: 30 minutes from Monastiraki, and be at the gate an hour before a ferry
- Book ahead
- Recommended — a few days
- Address
- Port of Piraeus, 185 38 Piraeus
Getting there, and what it costs
Fares from the OASA product list and the airport's own page, both read on 1 September 2026. Piraeus is inside the standard urban zone from central Athens, so the ordinary single covers it.
| From | Fare | Time | Note | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Athens, metro Line 1 | €1.20 | About 25 minutes from Monastiraki | Ends at Piraeus station beside the coastal quays | Official site |
| Central Athens, metro Line 3 | €1.20 | About 25 minutes from Syntagma | Continues to Dimotiko Theatro in the town | Official site |
| Airport, metro Line 3 direct | €9 one way, €16 return | About 70 minutes | No change; the return is valid 30 days | Official site |
| Airport, X96 express bus | €5.50 | About 90 minutes | Runs around the clock | Official site |
| Aegina ferry ticket | Listed at €12 | 75 minutes each way | E-ticket; the island day is yours to shape | Check Availability |
The airport figures are worth reading twice if you are arriving with a ferry to catch: Line 3 now runs from the terminal to Piraeus without a change, and the X96 bus is cheaper and slower and runs all night when the metro does not.
The island options from Piraeus
The cards behind the table, with the operator's own rating and review count.
from €12
Athens: Ferry Boat Ticket to/from Aegina Island
Just the boat: a Piraeus–Aegina ferry ticket by email, 75 minutes each way, so the island day is yours to shape.
Check Availability
from €123.14
From Athens: Hydra, Poros, and Aegina Day Cruise with Lunch
Twelve hours to Hydra, Poros and Aegina with a buffet lunch on board and time ashore at each.
Check Availability
from €127.85
Hydra, Poros & Aegina Cruise with Lunch - Official Operator
The same three islands with the operator that runs the boat, with lunch and live music on the crossing.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own, checked in Q3 2026; euro figures are the listed prices — the platform bills in your account's currency.
Finding your boat
The part every guide skips, and the part that makes people miss ferries.
The port is not one place
The coastal-shipping quays run for several kilometres round the harbour, and the gate you need depends entirely on where you are going — the Saronic islands, the Cyclades, Crete and the Dodecanese all sail from different stretches. Walking from one end to the other with luggage takes far longer than the metro ride from Athens. The port authority publishes gates and destinations, along with arrivals and departures, on its coastal terminals pages, and runs a call centre on 14541.
Get the gate before you leave Athens
Your ticket or booking confirmation should name it. If it does not, check the operator's site or the port authority's gates-and-destinations page the night before. There is a free shuttle bus around the quays, but it is not fast, and at peak departure times the traffic inside the port is worse than the traffic outside it.
Timing
Foot passengers should be at the gate an hour before departure for a large ferry and thirty minutes for a fast craft; boarding closes well before the sailing time. Add the time from the metro to the gate, which can be twenty-five minutes on foot at the far end of the harbour.
Strikes
Ferry strikes are called by the seamen's federation independently of the general strikes that stop the metro, and they can be announced a day or two ahead. There is no English-language calendar; how Athens strikes are announced explains where they appear and what to do about a booked day trip.
What is worth staying for
Most visitors see the quay and the metro station. There is a city behind them.
The Archaeological Museum of Piraeus
Small, state-run and holding the great bronzes dredged out of the harbour — the Piraeus Apollo among them, found in a drain in 1959 — along with grave sculpture and the remains of the ancient naval installations. It is ten minutes from the main quay and almost always empty.
Mikrolimano and Zea
Two small round harbours on the far side of the peninsula, full of yachts and lined with fish tavernas. Mikrolimano is where Athenians go to eat fish on a Sunday, and it looks nothing like the container port on the other side. Zea was the ancient naval harbour and still has the traces of the ship-sheds.
The ancient walls
Piraeus was laid out on a grid by Hippodamus of Miletus in the fifth century BC and fortified into the naval base that made the Athenian empire possible. Stretches of the walls and the ship-shed foundations survive around Zea, unmarked and unfenced.
Whether to bother
On a three-day trip, no — the centre has more than enough. On a longer stay, or on a day when the sites have closed at three in winter, an afternoon at Mikrolimano with the museum on the way is a genuinely good use of a metro ticket.
Piraeus map: stations, quays and the two small harbours
Where the metro puts you and where the rest of the port is.
Next stop from Piraeus
Walk minutes are our estimates from the GPS distances.
Aegina
The nearest island worth a day, and the cheapest. Aegina has the ferry and what to do when you land.
75 min by ferryHydra
No cars, stone houses, a working harbour. Hydra is usually done as part of a three-island cruise.
Half a day by boatGetting around Athens
Fares, the three-day tourist ticket and the airport arithmetic: getting around.
Before you goPiraeus questions
How do I get from Athens to Piraeus?
Metro Line 1 or Line 3, about twenty-five minutes from the centre, on a standard €1.20 ticket. From the airport, Line 3 runs straight through for €9 with no change. The fares table has each option.
Which gate does my ferry leave from?
It depends on your destination, and the quays run for kilometres. Your ticket should name the gate; if not, check the operator or the port authority's gates-and-destinations page before you leave Athens. The port call centre is 14541. Finding your boat has the detail.
How early should I arrive?
An hour before departure for a large ferry as a foot passenger, thirty minutes for a fast craft — plus the walk from the metro, which at the far end of the harbour can be twenty-five minutes.
Is Piraeus worth visiting on its own?
On a short first trip, no. On a longer stay, Mikrolimano for fish and the archaeological museum for the harbour bronzes make a good half day, especially in winter when the central sites shut at three. What is worth staying for covers both.
Can I get to Piraeus from the airport without going into Athens?
Yes — metro Line 3 runs from the terminal through the centre to Piraeus without a change, and the X96 express bus runs the same journey around the clock for €5.50.
What happens if there is a ferry strike?
Sailings stop, sometimes with a day's notice, and the strike is called separately from any metro or general strike. The strikes page explains where notices appear and how to protect a booked day.
Reviewed Q3 2026 (July–September 2026); next review Q4 2026. Prices, hours and terms are set by the venue or operator and confirmed at checkout.
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