Getting around Athens
The metro from the airport runs straight to the centre with no change, three lines cover the rest of the city, and Piraeus is reached on the same ticket, one line.
- From the airport
- X95 express bus to Syntagma
- Taxi from the airport
- €40 by day, €55 at night
- One ride
- €1.20
Athens is entered through Athens airport (ATH), from where the centre is 40–90 min, traffic-dependent away. Three metro lines (1, 2 and 3) cover the city, cross at Syntagma and Monastiraki, and run out to Piraeus too, where the ferries leave for the islands. Everything except the express bus and taxis runs on the same ticket.
From the airport to the centre
Athens is entered through Athens airport (ATH). The metro to the centre is €9 per person, 40–90 min, traffic-dependent, the same as X95 express bus to Syntagma takes. A metro return, valid for a month, is €16. A taxi charges a fixed fare per ride, not per person — €40 by day, €55 from midnight to five in the morning — and makes sense with more luggage or late at night, when queuing for the metro wastes more time than it saves.
Three metro lines
Line 1 (green) runs from Piraeus in the south to the northern suburbs, through Monastiraki. Line 2 (red) stops at Akropoli and Syntagma. Line 3 (blue) heads to the airport and crosses line 2 at Syntagma, and line 1 at Monastiraki. All three, plus the tram and bus network, run on the same ticket: €1.20 for 90 minutes, €4.10 for 24 hours, €20 for three days with the airport both ways.
On foot through the centre
The centre around the Acropolis, Plaka and Monastiraki is a pedestrian area — between the main sights on a first day there is no need for the metro, just a street to cross or a flight of steps to walk down. It becomes useful once you head further out, towards Lycabettus, the National Archaeological Museum or the airport.
To Piraeus and the islands
Line 1 runs straight to Piraeus, with no change from Monastiraki. The port is large, with more than ten gates (E1 through E10 and beyond) assigned by destination — which gate is printed on the ferry ticket, not on a sign at the port entrance, and a free shuttle runs between them. Arrive without having checked the ticket, and you lose time hunting for the right side of the port instead of the boat.
At night
The metro runs from 5.30am to 12.30am on weekdays and Sundays; on Fridays and Saturdays lines 2 and 3 run until 1.30am, and all night on Saturdays, just less often after midnight. Count on the metro after midnight mid-week, and you're left on the platform.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Does the metro run straight from the airport to the centre?
Yes, on line 3 — 40–90 min, traffic-dependent to the centre, with no change, for €9 per person.
Which gate at Piraeus for which boat?
It's printed on the ferry ticket, not signposted at the port entrance — the port has more than ten gates, linked by a free shuttle.
Does the metro run after midnight?
Not on weekdays or Sundays — the last train is at 12.30am. On Fridays and Saturdays lines 2 and 3 run later, and all night on Saturdays, less often.
Ready for Athens?
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