When you think of Greece, you usually think of its most famous islands: Santorini, Mykonos, Kos, Crete.
However, there is an area that, off the most popular tourist routes, holds magnificent surprises: it is Piraeus, a municipality in Attica about ten kilometers from the center of Athens. Which, generally a place of passage, houses places where it is worth stopping. Locations far from its busy port, from its always busy streets.
Not far from the main port, for example, there is a small and characteristic marina: it is the Puerto de Zea, which locals call Pasalimani and which is famous for its walks along the tree-lined boardwalk. A promenade where you can stroll admiring the luxury yachts and then stop at one of the many fish restaurants or a typical cafe overlooking the Saronic Gulf. This is the perfect place for a romantic dinner. Or, during the day, discover the naval history of Ancient Greece by visiting the Naval Museum with its models of Hellenic ships or the Piraeus Archaeological Museum, with its bronze statues and ancient ceramics.
A short distance from the Port of Zea, microlimano It is a small, old port that, according to local residents, is even more characteristic of Pasalimani. With its yachts and traditional fishing boats, its cafes and taverns, it is the perfect place to enjoy the best seafood of Piraeus, before immersing yourself in the lively nightlife.
Because it is also because of its cuisine that this corner of Greece, with its long tradition of fishermen, deserves to be discovered. From the simplest taverns to the most refined restaurants, cooking here is serious business: often there is no menu and dishes are prepared the same day based on the catch.
But above all Piraeus is home to some of the most beautiful museums in Greece. Starting precisely from Archeological Museum: ten rooms spread over two floors, in which the finds are arranged chronologically starting from the Mycenaean era. And then him Naval Museumand the Piraeus Electric Railway Museum. Original places, to discover a new and fascinating side of the country.
For an extraordinary view, the right place is Irrigate, Mountain town where time seems to have stopped. It has narrow streets, traditional nightclubs, small shops. But, above all, it offers a fairy-tale view of the bay, which can be admired while savoring the typical frozen cinnamon-flavored cappuccino. And if, after days of visits to museums and fish feasts, you would like to take a swim in turquoise waters - capable of making the Caribbean envious -, with a short sail from the ports of Piraeus you can reach distress, Islet of the Saronic Archipelago in the heart of the Saronic Gulf, between Aegina and the Peloponnese. A storybook place, authentic and uncontaminated.
