Rafina is a town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece. It has a population of 10,701 inhabitants (2001 census). Rafina lies east of the Penteli mountains and northeast of the Mesogeia plain with an area of farmland near the coastline to the north. The Cephissus River lies to the west. Rafina is about 30 km east of downtown Athens.
Rafina-Pikermi Municipality (10) Coordinates: 38°1′N 24°0′E
The municipal unit of Rafina contains, besides the city itself, a large portion of the surrounding area, which is mostly woodland and farmland.
The town can be accessed through Marathonos Avenue (GR-54) to the west. Other roads link with the town of Artemida, also known as Loutsa, to the south and Nea Makri to the North.
Rafina is a port town serving ferries to the southern part of Euboea as well as most of the Cyclades. Its port is the second largest of Attica, after that of Piraeus, but it will probably be superseded by the one in Lavrio, which is currently being expanded.
Rafina was established in the 1920s by refugees fleeing from Anatolia after the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) on the site of a small Arvanite village. Most of these refugees originated from the town of Triglia. Its name is an anagram of the name of an ancient Greek city which was located roughly in the same location as the modern town. Until the 1960s and the 1970s, most of the population was rural. As housing developments came to the area, the population boomed and moved into the settlements.
The beautiful small church of Agios Nicolas overlooks the blue sea just North of the town. The chappel was built after World War II by men who were to be executed but spared at the last minute. The town commandant had been assassinated and the Germans rounded up townspeople in retaliation. Another group of men were executed and those at the present site of Agios Nicolas were spared.