Piraeus is a port city within the Athens urban area, in the Attica region of Greece. It is located in the Athens Riviera, 8 kilometres southwest of Athens’ city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.
The municipality of Piraeus and four other suburban municipalities form the regional unit of Piraeus, sometimes called the Greater Piraeus area, with a total population of 448,997. At the 2011 census, Piraeus had a population of 163,688 people, making it the fifth largest municipality in Greece and the second largest within the Athens urban area.
Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating back to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when plans to make it the new port of Athens were implemented: A prototype harbour was constructed, which resulted in concentrating in one location all the import and transit trade of Athens, along with the navy's base. During the Golden Age of Athens, the Long Walls were constructed to fortify the route from the main settlement to the port. During Athens’ Classical period, the naval base in Piraeus had 372 trireme shipsheds.