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Administrative Region : Attica
Regional unit : South Athens

Palaio Faliro (Greek, Modern: Παλαιό Φάληρο, Ancient/Katharevousa: Παλαιόν Φάληρον, meaning Old Faliro) is a suburb in the southern part of Athens, Greece. The area is famous for its beaches , forming Athens' nearest beach and Piraeus' only beach. The city is linked by Poseidonos Avenue (GR-89 to the west and the southwest along with a main unused road to the east central, and Poseidonos Avenue has an interchange with Syngrou Avenue linking to Athens and, outside the suburban city, Kifissou Avenue. It is located SW of the Athens Hymettus Ring, which opened in 2004 with the Katechaki interchange, and also SE of Athens, W of Vouliagmenis Avenue, NE of Vouliagmeni, NW of Cape Sounio, SE of Piraeus and SE of Kifissou (GR-1/E75 and westbound GR-8/E94). Its main streets include the two sets of parallel one-way streets: Naiadon and Afroditis (westbound and eastbound, respectively) and Agiou Alexandrou and Proteos (northbound and southbound). The Amfitheas and Agias Varvaras Avenues, located in the East of the suburb, are important routes for the whole city of Athens. In general, the streets of Palaio Faliro are grid-patterned and are named after various mythological figures.

History

The area was once composed mainly of farmland, and mixed farming was common. Much of the agricultural production at the time was from various pastures and groves in the area, and urban development replaced much of the farmland in the 1920s and the 1930s; today, most of the municipality is urbanized or residential. The area is hilly to the north, and also has includes a few hilltops which run east to Mt. Hymettus. Most of its industrial buildings and businesses, along with shopping outlets, are aligned within Poseidonos Avenue and other main streets, and Palaio Faliro 2004 is linked by a tramway which is not connected with any road, and serves as the northernmost terminus. The streambed includes the Pikrodafni.

Palaio Faliro has beaches within the Saronic mainly in the western area. The yacht harbour (Marina Alimou) with several piers lies to the south east, while the Trokadero harbour lies to the northwest.

A 1.8 m tall marble torso of a young man was spotted here on a Thursday night of January 25, 2005, in the Pikrodafni streambed at the intersections of Pikrodafnis and Dimokratias Streets. The statue dates back to the 1st century A.D., and was a copy of a 4th century BC classical original that may depict Apollo Lykeios. Construction workers working on the site discovered the statue, but dumped it into the streambed, fearing that archaeologists might call for a halt to any construction work if something of archaeological or historical significance was discovered.

Recently, archaeologists in the capital’s southern coastal suburb of Palaio Faliro have uncovered what appear to be traces of ancient Athens’s first port before the city’s naval and shipping center was moved to Piraeus. This is a port associated with two myths — Theseus and the Argonauts — and a historic event, the Trojan War.

The site, some 350 m from the modern coastline, contained pottery, tracks from the carts that would have served the port, and makeshift fireplaces where travelers waiting to take ship would have cooked and kept warm.

At Aiantos 26, corner of Aiantos and Spartis, is the 1st SeaScout Group of Paleo Faliro.

Palaio Faliro also has an A1 water polo team named AC Palaio Faliro. It also has an A2 basketball team that belongs to the same club.

Landmarks

Cultural Centre of Palaio Faliro
Marine of Flisvos
Panagitsa church
Averof ship museum
Village Cinemas Complex
Kimatothrafstis (Wave-breaker)
Olympic Tae Kwon Do Stadium
Phaleron War Cemetery

Neighbourhoods

Amfithea, NE
Agia Varvara, East
Batis, south
Edem, south
Flisvos, northwest

Historical population
Year Population
1981 53,273
1991 61,371
2001 64,759

References

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