Piraeus form the greater Piraeus area, with a total population of 448,997. Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating to ancient Greece. The city was largely developed in the early 5th century BC, when it was selected to serve as the port city of classical Athens and was transformed into a prototype harbour, concentrating all the import and transit trade of Athens. During the Golden Age of Athens the Long Walls were constructed to fortify Athens and its port (Piraeus). Consequently, it became the chief harbour of ancient Greece, but declined gradually after the 4th century AD, growing once more in
Port of Piraeus automobile terminal handled 430,000 automobiles, 100,000 for the local market and 330,000 transhipments. The Port of Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe and one of the largest passenger ports in the world. It has a total quay length of 2.8 km and draft of up to 11 m. Vehicle traffic reaches 2.5m while in 2017, passenger traffic reached 15.5m. A plethora of destinations in Greece can be reached by ferry from the harbour, including islands in the Saronic Gulf, the Cyclades, Crete, islands on the Northern Aegean Sea as well as Rhodes, amongst others. A full list can