What you can do in port in the Mediterranean

Athens

Ships dock at Piraeus. The metro or a taxi takes about 30 to 40 minutes to the Acropolis.

The Acropolis Museum, beside the hill, holds the sculptures from the site, including the Parthenon marbles that remain in Athens. You can walk down the hill to the Ancient Agora. The National Archaeological Museum, across the city, holds the Mycenaean gold and the classical bronzes, so plan the museum for a longer stay, not a single morning. In Plaka you can sit down after you come down from the hill. A souvlaki is pork or chicken on a skewer, often in pita with tomato, onion, and tzatziki, which is yogurt with cucumber and garlic. Hotel Grande Bretagne is a hotel for the nights before or after the cruise.

The ship anchors in the caldera. You come ashore by tender at the old port.

A cable car and a steep path both go up to Fira. The wait for both is shorter on the first tenders. The bus to Oia follows the rim and takes about 25 to 40 minutes from Fira. The white houses and the cliff path are in those two towns. To reach Kamari you ride down off the rim. The sand there is black volcanic sand.

Mykonos

Most ships tender to the old port.

You can walk from the landing to the windmills and the lanes. Little Venice is the row of houses on the water, in town. A taxi from the landing to Ornos takes about 10 to 20 minutes, and the water there is calmer than on the north shore.

Most Greek-island cruises of about a week stop in Heraklion.

The harbor fort is near the piers. Knossos, the Minoan palace, is about 15 to 20 minutes from the port. You walk the ruins of the palace. The Archaeological Museum in Heraklion holds the frescoes and finds from that site, and it is in town.

Rome

The ship docks at Civitavecchia, not in Rome. The train or a coach takes about an hour to an hour and a half.

St. Peter’s is in the city. The Vatican Museums hold Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel and the classical sculpture galleries. The Colosseum, the Forum, and the Palatine are a separate part of the city, about a half hour on foot or a short taxi from the Vatican. A short stop usually leaves time for one of those, not all of them. Cacio e pepe is pasta with pecorino and black pepper. Rome Cavalieri, a Waldorf Astoria hotel, looks over the city and is a hotel for the nights before or after the cruise.

The ship docks at Livorno. Florence is about an hour and a half from that pier.

The Duomo and the Baptistery are in Florence. The Uffizi holds Italian Renaissance painting, including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. The Leaning Tower is in Pisa. The ride from the ship takes about 30 minutes. Belmond Villa San Michele, in Fiesole above Florence, is a hotel for the nights before or after the cruise.

Large ships do not dock in the lagoon. The usual piers are Ravenna, about 2 to 2.5 hours from Venice, or Trieste, about 2 hours.

St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace are in Venice, on the square. A cicchetto is a small snack at a bar, often salt cod on polenta, or sardines in saor, which is onion, vinegar, and raisins. The Gritti Palace, on the Grand Canal, is a hotel for the nights before or after the cruise.

Dubrovnik

Many ships dock at Gruz, about 15 to 20 minutes by bus from the old town. Some smaller ships tender closer.

You walk the city walls around the old town. The cable car goes up to Mount Srđ. Hotel Excelsior looks at the old town and is a hotel for the nights before or after the cruise.

Kotor

The ship comes into the bay. Larger ships anchor and tender. Smaller ships can dock at the quay in town.

The walls climb the hill behind the square. A walk on the lower streets does not require the full climb.

The ship docks close to the Riva, the waterfront walk.

Diocletian’s Palace is the old town itself. You walk through the palace. You do not ride out to a site beyond the city.

When the ship stops, it is usually a tender into Amalfi.

The cathedral steps and the paper shops are in the town. A boat along the coast reaches Positano. That is not the Amalfi landing. Lunch can run long if the ship leaves late enough. A common plate is scialatielli ai frutti di mare, a short local pasta with mussels, clams, and shrimp.

Barcelona

The cruise terminals are at the port. A shuttle or a walk of about 15 to 20 minutes reaches the bottom of La Rambla.

The Gothic Quarter and La Boqueria, the covered market, are there. The Sagrada Família is about 20 to 30 minutes farther, by metro or taxi. Pa amb tomàquet is bread rubbed with tomato, olive oil, and salt. Hotel Arts, on the waterfront, is a hotel for the nights before or after the cruise.

Palma

Ships dock near the cathedral.

You can walk into the old town from the port. The cathedral and the Arab baths are on that walk. A taxi from the pier reaches a beach on the bay. You do not walk off the ship onto that sand.

Marseille

The cruise terminal is at the Joliette port. The Vieux-Port is about 10 to 15 minutes by shuttle or taxi.

The old streets climb behind that harbor. Bouillabaisse is a stew of local rockfish, served with rouille, a garlic and saffron mayonnaise, and toasted bread.

Many ships tender at Villefranche-sur-Mer. Monaco is a separate stop when the itinerary lists it.

From Villefranche you can take a short boat or a taxi along the coast into Nice. The old town and the Promenade des Anglais are in Nice. In Monaco the palace is up on the rock, and you can walk to the casino from the harbor.