Greece - Korina Miller [110]
The X96 Piraeus–Athens Airport Express bus leaves from the southwestern corner of Plateia Karaïskaki.
Click here for information on bus services to the rest of Greece.
Metro & Suburban Rail
The metro is the fastest and easiest way to get from Piraeus to central Athens. The station is at the northern end of Akti Kalimassioti. Travellers should take extra care as the section between Piraeus and Monastiraki is notorious for pickpockets.
Piraeus is also connected to the suburban rail, whose terminus is located opposite the metro station. To get to the airport or the Peloponnese, change trains at Nerantziotissa.
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GETTING AROUND
The port is massive and a free bus between the ferry terminal gates and passenger terminals runs regularly from the metro station.
Piraeus has its own network of buses. The services likely to interest travellers are buses 904 and 905 between Zea Marina and the metro station.
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ATTICA ΑΤΤΙΚΗ
Greater Athens and Piraeus account for the bulk of the population of the prefecture of Attica. The plain of Attica is an agricultural and wine-growing region, with several large population centres. It has some fine beaches, particularly along the Apollo Coast and at Shinias, near Marathon.
Until the 7th century, Attica was home to a number of smaller kingdoms, such as those at Eleusis (Elefsina), Ramnous and Brauron (Vravrona). The remains of these cities continue to be among the region’s main attractions, although they pale alongside the superb Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
Many of these places can be reached by regular city buses; others can be reached by KTEL services from the Mavromateon bus terminal Click here.
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CAPE SOUNION ΑΚΡΩΤΗΡΙΟ ΣΟΥΝΙΟ
Temple of Poseidon Nαóς του Ποσειδώα
The ancient Greeks knew how to choose a site for a temple. Nowhere is this more evident than at Cape Sounion, 70km south of Athens, where the Temple of Poseidon ( 22920 39363; adult/concession €4/2; 8am-8pm) stands on a craggy spur that plunges 65m down into the sea. Built in 444 BC at the same time as the Parthenon, it is constructed of local marble from Agrilesa and its slender columns – of which 16 remain – are Doric. It is thought that the temple was built by Iktinos, the architect of the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens’ Ancient Agora.
The temple looks gleaming white when viewed from the sea and is discernible from a long distance. It gave great comfort to sailors in ancient times; they knew they were nearly home when they saw it. The views from the temple are equally impressive. On a clear day you can see Kea, Kythnos and Serifos to the southeast, and Aegina and the Peloponnese to the west. The site also contains scanty remains of a propylaeum, a fortified tower and, to the northeast, a 6th-century temple to Athena.
Try to visit early in the morning before the tourist buses arrive – or head there for the sunset – if you wish to indulge the sentiments of Byron’s lines from Don Juan: ‘Place me on Sunium’s marbled steep, Where nothing save the waves and I, May hear our mutual murmurs sweep…’. Byron was so taken by Sounion that he carved his name on one of the columns – sadly many others have followed suit.
There are a couple of tavernas just below the site if you want to combine a visit with lunch and a swim.
You can take either the inland or the more scenic coastal bus to Cape Sounion from Athens. Coastal buses (€5.70, 1½ hours) leave Athens hourly, on the half-hour, from the Mavromateon bus terminal. These buses also stop on Filellinon, on the corner of Xenofontos, 10 minutes later, but by this time they’re usually very crowded.
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ELEFSINA (ELEUSIS) ΕΛΕΥΣIΝΑ
The ruins of Ancient Eleusis ( 210 554 6019; adult/concession €3/2; 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun) lie surrounded by oil refineries and factories beside the industrial town of Elefsina, 22km west of Athens.
It’s hard to imagine Eleusis in ancient times, but nestled on the slopes