Athens from the airport to the city · From the airport to the city in Athens
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From the airport to the city in Athens
From the airport to the city in Athens
Be aware, recent strike activity has caused mayhem for tourists trying to get from the airport to Athens city centre. Combinations of local trains, buses, taxis and little old walking that take hours have been they way of the strike effected traveller to get to there accommodation in the city. So check before departure to see what the latest situation is.
From the airport you can reach the city:
By Metro to the city center for €8. Group tickets (2 or 3 persons) are also available and they provide some discount (see below). The airport Metro line is an extension of Line 3 (blue line) that takes you to the downtown Syntagma and Monastiráki stations.
Note that at the airport, boh metro trains and suburban trains pass from the same platform. If you are travelling to the city centre, you should take the metro trains.
Don't forget to validate your ticket before going down to the platform and boarding a train (there are validation machines at the top of the escalators in the ticket hall). Failure to validate your ticket at the start of the journey can mean a fine of up to €120. The ticket inspectors are rigorous and won't hesitate to call for police assistance if you start to object.
Those taking the Metro from Athens to the airport should note that not all trains go to the airport; typically the airport trains run every half hour, while trains in the intervals don't go the whole route. Airport trains are indicated on the schedule and by an airplane logo on the front of the train, they are also announced by the signs on the metro platform. It's useful to go to the Metro station the day before, explain to the agent (most speak English) when you need to be at the airport, and ask what time you should catch the airport train from that station. You can also get this information at the airport metro station, which has a desk staffed most hours by someone who speaks English. It's possible but not necessary to buy your ticket in advance; buying in advance though means you won't risk missing your train if you find at the last minute you don't have change for the ticket machines and have to stand in a line to buy it from the agent.
By suburban railway to Larissis Railway Station for € 6 via change at Ano Liossia Station. Suburban trains are not as fast as the metro trains. Change at Ano Liossia to Line 2 of the subway that takes you to:
- the downtown Omónia and Syntagma stations.
- Northern Greece and the Peloponnese, by train.
By bus: X92 to Kifissia, X93 to Kifissos Coach Station, X94 to Ethniki Amyna metro station (subway Line 3), X95 to Syntagma Square (subway Lines 2 and 3), X96 to Piraeus (subway Line 1) and X97 to Dafni metro station (subway Line 2) for €3.20. It takes 45 min to 1.5 hrs depending on traffic. Buses, unlike Metro, operate 24 hours a day.
By taxi for € 30-35: If you take a taxi be careful. According to a new law applied recently, taxi drives to the centre cost € 35 and if the trip is during he night € 50. Be sure to ask if the price includes toll costs.
It is advisable to grab a free copy of city transport map in the airport – in the city it is extremely helpful.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Athens
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Athens Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.