Flying directly to Athens
At the crossroads between Europe and the Middle East, Athens is trully accessible. The award-winning Athens International Airport services 130 countries and is the gateway to many amazing Greek islands and mainland destinations. Aegean Airlines, Greece’s leading carrier, currently has a network of 153 destinations in 44 countries.
Athens International Airport (Venizelos International Airport) is located about 20 km (12 miles) east of the city. Daily flights arrive from all over Europe and International destinations. You may find out more regarding the flight from your destination to Athens with a click on the below links.
Even if you did not find your city in the above links, new flights are addes on a weekly basis. Venizelos International Airport offers a wide variety of facilities, including tourist information, assistance with luggage, coffee bar, car rentals, metro, bus and taxi.
Upon your arrival, you have the three available options to get the city center:
- Bus (X95 : Syntagma – Airport)
EXPRESS Bus routes connect directly the Athens International Airport (AIA) “Eleftherios Venizelos” with the Athens city center. Service is provided on a non-stop basis seven days a week including holidays (24/7 operation).
All buses depart from the Arrivals Level (outbound trips from airport). BUS tickets are sold at the info/ticket-kiosk (located outside the Arrivals between Exits 4 and 5), or onboard (ask operator) at no extra cost.
NOTE: Estimates are given for reference only. Journey time depends always on prevailing traffic conditions. Passengers are advised to allow sufficient time for their transfer from/to the airport. Find all the ticket info here.
- Metro Line 3 (Blue Line)
If you select this option you may take Metro Line 3 (Aghia Marina – Douk. Plakentias - Athens International Airport), which connects the Athens airport with the city center. Trains run every 30 minutes, 7 days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The trip from the Airport to Syntagma station (Athens center) lasts 40 minutes. Find all Metro timetable details for this route, here. For tickets and cards please check here.
- Taxi
Taxis are available at the designated Taxi waiting area located at Exit 3 of Arrivals Level. A taxi from the airport to the city center (inner ring) costs a flat rate of €35* from 5:00 a.m. to midnight, and €50* from midnight to 5:00 a.m.
Note: The charge is determined by the time of arrival at the destination and includes all applicable surcharges and extras.
*ALL applicable surcharges included. So, toll cost, luggage fee, VAT, airport charge and meter start are ALL included.
Getting to Athens by train
Greek domestic trains are an excellent and a very charming way to travel between Athens, Larissa, Kalambaka (Meteora) and Thessaloniki. With 10 daily round-trip routes, modern trains and upgraded services, TRAINOSE connects most of the country’s Prefectures and provides connections to destinations in Central Greece with connecting routes in central network hubs, thus serving thousands of passengers every day.
Therefore, TRAINOSE company plays a crucial role to the country’s regional development, offering safe, affordable and environmentally friendly passenger transportation.
TRAINOSE operates, in cooperation with the Railways Undertakings of neighboring countries, international train services between Thessaloniki – Sofia, Thessaloniki – Skopje – Beograd and Thessaloniki – Sofia – Bucharest.
More information about train transportation can be found in the TRAINOSE website (www.trainose.gr) in Greek and English. Also, you may find all relevant information regarding tickets and offers here.
Getting to Athens from the Port
Piraeus is the main port in Athens, accommodating around 20 million passengers every year. Located around 10 km southwest of the city centre and 45 km from the airport, Piraeus is the gateway to the Greek islands and the landing point for cruises to Athens. You may reach the port with one of the below ways:
Train
Line 1 (overground train) runs from the port of Piraeus and meets Athens Metro line 3 at Monastiraki Station, which takes you to Syntagma Square.
Bus
Bus 040 runs from Piraeus to Syntagma Square 24 hours a day. The X80 is an express bus from Piraeus to Syntagma, running every half hour from 7 am to 9:30 pm.
Taxi
Taxis line the port, especially during summer, so you should have no problem picking up a cab upon your arrival to the port. However, please note that during July the demand is high, so you may have to wait in line. Use one of the radio taxis or a taxi app like Beat app to have a taxi waiting for you at the port. The cost from Piraeus to the city centre is around €25.
Getting to Athens by bus
There are many buses each day from and to other large Greek cities (like Thessaloniki or Patra). The buses that travel within cities in Greece are called KTEL. There are two main KTEL stations in the city, KTEL Bus station terminal A (Kifissos Station) and KTEL Bus station terminal B (Liosia Station). In order to get to these stations, you may take a bus, trolley or a taxi from/to the centre.
To find all available information regarding destinations, tickets and timetables, you may visit the website.
Driving to Athens
The Greek road network has improved a lot in the last 20 years and there are various roads that are able to make your transfer to another Greek city comfortable and easy. It takes about 2 1/2 hours from Patra, 3 1/2 hours from Volos and 5 hours from Thessaloniki.
The European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.
Transport in the city
In Athens, there is an extensive, low cost public transport network covering the city including bus, underground, trolley, tram and taxi. You can use all means of public transport (bus, metro, trolley & tram) using the same ticket within the city and not from/to the airport (a single ticket costs €1.40 and is valid for 90 minutes).
Tickets for Public Transport
Tickets and passes (Ath.ena tickets) for public transport are sold at ticket booths and machines in all Athens Metro and tram stations. There are three types of Ath.ena tickets: a paper ticket, an anonymous card that you can top up, and a personalized card. These tickets can be used on all forms of public transport.
Ticket Prices
A standard ticket on Athens public transport costs €1.40, but students and senior citizens over 65 are entitled to a reduced fare of €0.60 (student ID and proof of age are required upon ticket control or during purchase). Children up to the age of 6 travel free of charge; ages 7-18 pay €0.60 (proof of age required is required upon ticket control or during purchase).
Each ticket can be used for 90 minutes on any form of public transport (except services to/from the airport).
A Day Pass (€4.50) is valid for unlimited travel (except airport services) for 24 hours.
A 5-Day Ticket (€9) is valid for unlimited travel on all modes of transport (except airport services and bus line Χ80) for 5 days.
A 3-Day Tourist Ticket (€22) is valid for unlimited travel (including 1 round trip to/from Athens International Airport).
For more information on prices, visit the Athens Transport website.
For more information on public transport in Athens, call 11185 or visit www.oasa.gr
Bus / Τrolleybus / Tram
Bus/Trolleybus:The Athens bus and trolleybus network is very extensive. Most buses and trolleybuses run daily from 5 am to midnight, but during the summer the timetable change a bit so please make sure to check the timetable of your route.
Tram: The tram network connects central Athens with the coastal suburbs of Faliro and Voula. It takes approximately one hour to get from Syntagma to the final seaside stop at Voula. The tram connects to the Metro and overground train at four stops: Syntagma, Syngrou/Fix, Neos Kosmos and SEF (Peace and Friendship Stadium in Faliro). See the timetable here. The tram operates from 5:30 am to 1 am daily and until 2:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Metro
The fastest means of getting around Athens is the Metro. The Athens Metro system consists of 3 lines and connects to the tram, bus routes and suburban railway. The Metro runs daily from 5 am to midnight. Lines 2 and 3 operate until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays. At peak hours, trains run approximately every 5-6 minutes however, during the evenings and nights they trains arrive at each station every 10-13 minutes. Athens Metro Website
Line 1 is an overground train (commonly known among Greeks as ESAP) that runs from the northern suburb of Kifissia to the port of Piraeus. It connects to lines 2 and 3 at three stations (Attiki, Omonia and Monastiraki). Athens Piraeus Electric Railways Website
Taxis
Taxis are not expensive (though there is a minimum fare of €3,50 during the day and €5 after 23:00), and you can pick them up at taxi ranks or stop them in the street, or ask the reception desk to call one for you, however this way it may have an additional minor cost. All licensed taxis in Athens are equipped with metres. The fare is charged per kilometre and per hour, so it is better to make certain that the metre is switched on as soon as you set off.
Beat (formerly Taxibeat) is an app-based yellow taxi service which finds your location, gives you choice of taxis and offers the options of paying in cash, by card, or using a Paypal account.
Uber is also available in Athens with the UberTaxi product—you can call an Uber via your app and a yellow taxi will pick you up.
Radio taxis are another option if you don’t feel like hitting the pavement to hail a cab, or if you want to ask for a specific pick-up time and date. Call them for a cab or pre-book online.
EURO 2021 Official housing bureau
Let us do the planning for you
The official Travel and Accommodation Agency of Euro 2021 is CONVIN S.A.. The agency has secured a range of great accommodation solutions for various standards and is ready to assist with accommodation bookings and travel services upon your request. When considering the selection of your hotel, please take into account that summer is a high season period for Athens and you should probably book at least a few months in advance to be able to get services and bookings according to your standards.
Any questions, contact directly by mail: [email protected]
TOURIST INFORMATION
City:
Athens Tourist Information Centre
Dionysiou Areopagitou 18-20 Plaka,
Athens 11742 Greece
Airport:
Athens Tourist Information Centre has a desk at Athens Airport (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 4pm Saturday).