Some kids would happily spend a whole Saturday on anything with wheels, wings or a hull. Around the city and on the Piraeus coast, that is an easy wish to grant: a real warship to climb aboard, fighter jets parked outside, an old wooden train carriage, century-old cars, and go-kart tracks where kids take the wheel. Here's what we checked, from the battleship Averof to the Piraeus railway museum.
Run by retired staff of the Athens-Piraeus electric railway, this museum fills the old post office of Piraeus station, where Line 1 ends. The ground floor centers on an old wooden train carriage. Three more levels show objects from the stations, plus photographs and documents from the railway, the Piraeus-Perama light railway and the old harbor tramway.
The Hellenic Air Force Museum on Dekelia Air Base restores and shows aircraft flown by the Greek air force. More than 40 planes and helicopters fill the main hangar and the grounds around it, so kids can get close to a Spitfire, a Tiger Moth, Starfighters and a Phantom.
Air force divers raised rare wartime wrecks from the sea for the collection, including a Junkers Ju 52.
The military museum of the Greek Armed Forces traces Greek history from antiquity to the present across four floors. Inside are ancient helmets, a Byzantine warship model, Greek Revolution weapons, army uniforms, and swords and armor from around the world, including a samurai suit.
Outside, the yard holds artillery guns from different eras and decommissioned Greek Air Force aircraft.
Georgios Averof is an armored cruiser launched in Italy in 1910, and the only ship of its type still in existence. It led the Greek fleet in the First Balkan War and served through World War II.
Kids walk the open decks past the big gun turrets, then take steep stairways down below. The trireme Olympias, a reconstructed ancient Greek warship, docks nearby as part of the same museum.
The museum traces Greek seafaring from prehistoric times to today across more than 2,500 exhibits, from ship models and navigation instruments to naval paintings. One hall recreates a 19th-century boatyard showing how a wooden trechandiri was built.
Outside, kids can see the turret of the submarine Papanikolis and anchors from ships of the Battle of Navarino. Part of the ancient Konon walls sits at the entrance.
The Hellenic Motor Museum fills the top three floors of the Athenian Capitol building with more than 110 cars from the 19th and 20th centuries, from veteran and vintage models to modern classics.
Kids can walk through an Old Car Workshop that ran from the 1930s to the 1960s, packed with over 3,000 period objects, and the museum also has a Formula 1 simulator.
Speed Park is an outdoor kart track in Aspropyrgos, west of Athens, built in 1986 on a technical, demanding layout. Rental karts range from a mini electric kart and a junior kart up to faster 270cc models, plus a two-seater. After each session, drivers collect a printed lap-timing sheet.
The track also runs a kart academy for beginners and hosts birthday parties and timed races.
Kartland is an outdoor go-kart track on Leoforos Anthousas in Pallini. Older kids can drive small karts on their own, and two-seat karts let a parent take the wheel with a younger child riding beside them.
It suits kids who like speed and want to drive for themselves. Children who dislike engine noise or wearing a helmet may find it too much.
Some kids would happily spend a whole Saturday on anything with wheels, wings or a hull. Around the city and on the Piraeus coast, that is an easy wish to grant: a real warship to climb aboard, fighter jets parked outside, an old wooden train carriage, century-old cars, and go-kart tracks where kids take the wheel. Here's what we checked, from the battleship Averof to the Piraeus railway museum.
Run by retired staff of the Athens-Piraeus electric railway, this museum fills the old post office of Piraeus station, where Line 1 ends. The ground floor centers on an old wooden train carriage. Three more levels show objects from the stations, plus photographs and documents from the railway, the Piraeus-Perama light railway and the old harbor tramway.
The Hellenic Air Force Museum on Dekelia Air Base restores and shows aircraft flown by the Greek air force. More than 40 planes and helicopters fill the main hangar and the grounds around it, so kids can get close to a Spitfire, a Tiger Moth, Starfighters and a Phantom.
Air force divers raised rare wartime wrecks from the sea for the collection, including a Junkers Ju 52.
The military museum of the Greek Armed Forces traces Greek history from antiquity to the present across four floors. Inside are ancient helmets, a Byzantine warship model, Greek Revolution weapons, army uniforms, and swords and armor from around the world, including a samurai suit.
Outside, the yard holds artillery guns from different eras and decommissioned Greek Air Force aircraft.
Georgios Averof is an armored cruiser launched in Italy in 1910, and the only ship of its type still in existence. It led the Greek fleet in the First Balkan War and served through World War II.
Kids walk the open decks past the big gun turrets, then take steep stairways down below. The trireme Olympias, a reconstructed ancient Greek warship, docks nearby as part of the same museum.
The museum traces Greek seafaring from prehistoric times to today across more than 2,500 exhibits, from ship models and navigation instruments to naval paintings. One hall recreates a 19th-century boatyard showing how a wooden trechandiri was built.
Outside, kids can see the turret of the submarine Papanikolis and anchors from ships of the Battle of Navarino. Part of the ancient Konon walls sits at the entrance.
The Hellenic Motor Museum fills the top three floors of the Athenian Capitol building with more than 110 cars from the 19th and 20th centuries, from veteran and vintage models to modern classics.
Kids can walk through an Old Car Workshop that ran from the 1930s to the 1960s, packed with over 3,000 period objects, and the museum also has a Formula 1 simulator.
Speed Park is an outdoor kart track in Aspropyrgos, west of Athens, built in 1986 on a technical, demanding layout. Rental karts range from a mini electric kart and a junior kart up to faster 270cc models, plus a two-seater. After each session, drivers collect a printed lap-timing sheet.
The track also runs a kart academy for beginners and hosts birthday parties and timed races.
Kartland is an outdoor go-kart track on Leoforos Anthousas in Pallini. Older kids can drive small karts on their own, and two-seat karts let a parent take the wheel with a younger child riding beside them.
It suits kids who like speed and want to drive for themselves. Children who dislike engine noise or wearing a helmet may find it too much.
