Getting around Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki's metro does not reach the airport — the 01X bus does that overground — and the same €0.60 ticket then covers both the metro and city buses.
- From the airport
- 01X bus to the centre, 30–45 min, €2
- One ride
- €0.60, valid 70 minutes from validation
- 24-hour ticket
- €2.50
Thessaloniki has no metro link to its airport — the 01X bus covers that route, day and night. The rest of the city runs on the metro (one line, opened at the end of 2024) and a network of OASTH buses, all on the same ticket.
From the airport to the centre
Thessaloniki Airport (SKG) is 13 kilometres from the centre, and only a bus reaches it — 01X bus to the centre, 30–45 min, €2. That is a separate line, apart from ordinary city transport: the same ticket that covers the metro or a city bus does not work here, it is paid for on its own.
The city ticket
One ride in the urban zone is €0.60 and stays valid 70 minutes from validation — within that window the same ticket covers a transfer from bus to metro or back, with no second fare. The 24-hour ticket is €2.50 and pays for itself after the third or fourth ride of the day.
The metro
One driverless line through the city centre, on the same ticket as the bus, with no extra fare. For anything in the lower town — from the White Tower to Ladadika — the metro is rarely faster than walking, since the distances are short; it earns its keep on longer stretches, out towards the suburbs or back to the airport bus.
To Ano Poli
Bus 23 runs up and down on the same timetable all year, on the same city ticket. Walk it instead and the climb takes about forty minutes, uphill the whole way over cobbles; downhill after sunset is more comfortable than uphill before noon.
A couple more things, while you're at it
Tap water in Thessaloniki is fine to drink, unfiltered, to the standards of the city's EYATH water supplier. For trips out of town — train or bus to Vergina, Olympus, Halkidiki and Edessa — transport is its own line item, on its own page.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Does the metro reach the airport in Thessaloniki?
No — the metro stays inside the city. Only the 01X bus runs to and from the airport by day, and 01N at night.
Do you need a separate ticket for the metro?
Not for the metro itself — the same ticket covers the metro and OASTH buses. The 01X/01N airport line is the exception, with its own fare.
How long does one validated ticket last?
70 minutes from validation, and within that time it also covers a transfer from bus to metro.
Ready for Thessaloniki?
Where to next
Mistakes everyone makes in Thessaloniki
→Thessaloniki's metro only opened at the end of 2024, so habits have not settled — the ticket needs…
Meteora · 151 km
→Monasteries built on rock pillars, as if floating
How well does Thessaloniki suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
Leave your email and we'll let you know when a new destination or story goes up.