Piraeus tour: hidden urban stories

An urban self-guided audio walking tour in the heart of Piraeus. Discover credible and original stories written by top local professionals. Take your tour now and enjoy it instantly on your smartphone device.

Piraeus: Hidden urban stories is about a city where it pays to walk. Hidden among the apartment buildings of contemporary Piraeus, lie unexpected stories of the people who transformed this place from a wilderness to an exciting industrial and commercial center. This tour takes you back to 19th-century Piraeus and enables you to discover the unforgettable secrets of Greece’s largest port.

If you do not arrive by boat, the traditional way to come to Piraeus is by train. But not just any train. The line that connects downtown Athens to the port opened in 1869. The Piraeus central station is an impressive eclectic building that adapted to the Greek reality the European model of a big metallic apsidal dome with a glass ceiling. It is a miniature of Milan’s central rail station.

Since Piraeus was both a port and a thriving industrial town, there are many imposing buildings that commemorate both of these functions. The neoclassical Post Office cum Customs Office cum Telegraph Office was almost never used because the municipality refused to pay a paltry amount demanded for rent. The Municipal Theater seemed destined to always be under construction since each new municipal authority had something different in mind regarding the building’s plan and use. The Church of Hagia Triada became infamous over its terribly poor construction, was destroyed during a German bombardment and was rebuilt with funds provided by a surcharge on municipal bus fares. The Kleanthis storehouses caused a sensation back in the day with their impressive design and luxurious building materials but are now in a dilapidated condition. Don’t wait too long, for you may get there too late to find them still standing!

But, of course, it is the private mansions of the wealthy industrialists and merchants of Piraeus that still capture our imagination. The Metaxas Mansion was partially funded by one of the most successful Greek export commodities, the famous Metaxas brandy. The Strigkos Mansion is the definitive proof that working for 16 hours every day can pay off. The Patsiadis Mansion is the only surviving building of the so-called “Neighborhood of Mansions,” created by the famous architect Ernst Ziller.