The main harbor for the city of Athens, Piraeus Athens is located on the Saronic Gulf, a little more than seven miles outside of the city proper. Piraeus Athens contains much for visitors to do and see, including sightseeing tours and other Athens excursions - and if you like, you can combine sightseeing with an enjoyable outing by taking Athens shore excursions. These are more than just a tour of the city, since they combine a visit to Piraeus Athens with all of its points of historical interest and beauty and of course, the opportunity to see the city of Athens from a different viewpoint.

Athens shore excursions are one of the best ways to experience this historic city and when you first enter the port, you may be amazed by the abundance of boats to be found there. Once you begin your shore excursion onboard one of the many boats docked here, you will take a trip across the Saronic Gulf, where you can see some of the most famous ancient buildings in the world, including the Tower of the Winds, the Agora and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Knowing the sort of trips that are available from Piraeus Athens, you may be curious about the history of the ancient buildings that you can see while you are taking Athens Tours - we will look at the Ancient Agora first.

The Agora is situated just northwest of the Acropolis and the area was once the site of homes until 6 B.C., when the area was ordered to be redeveloped by Peisistratus as the center of civic government. A drainage system was added, trees planted and temples built to Hephaestus, Zeus, Hermes, Aphrodite and Apollo. Also built in the Agora were the monument of the Eponymous Heroes, the Peristyle Court, the Altar of the Twelve Gods, the Stoa of Poikile and others. Many visitors are surprised by how many of these ancient buildings are still intact.

Another sight you will see while on this sightseeing trip is the Tower of the Winds; this is a twelve meter tall, eight meter diameter marble tower which was built somewhere between the years of 50 B.C. and 2 B.C. It is gone now, but in antiquity, a statue of Triton stood atop the tower and indicated wind direction; the tower served as a sort of public weathervane for Athenians.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was once the largest in all of Greece and housed an enormous statue of Zeus, the supreme god of the Greek pantheon. Construction on the temple began in 6 B.C., but the temple was not completed until 638 A.D.

Now that you have an idea of what you will be seeing and have a little bit of the history behind these amazing structures for when you go Athens sightseeing. Now I leave it up to you to make that trip to Piraeus Athens and experience this all for yourself.

Reveal Athens through this range of sightseeing travels starting with its port. Piraeus, Athens port, certainly is the portal for luxury cruise ships to the rich ancient Greek society. From this point you can explore some of the highlights of Greece such as Acropolis, along with other interesting sites of the greek capital combining the history and present-day life of town.