Athens Transport Tickets & Cards |
How to get to the airport and the port of Athens |
20 places to visit in Athens and how to get there |

Last updated: December 15th, 2022


As of December 2022 (will be updated, if needed):

  • Passengers are required to wear face masks/coverings while using Athens Transport or waiting at stations. Passengers should wear either one FFP2/KN95/N95 mask or a double mask (one simple medical masks and a cloth mask)
  • Bus passengers cannot use the front door to get on or off the bus.

Welcome to Athens! With an urban population of more than 4 million people, Athens is the capital of Greece and the 4th most populous capital in the E.U. with a large, modern mass transit system to serve the needs of residents and visitors. It consists of:

  • City buses
  • Electric trolley-buses
  • Athens Metro
  • Athens Tram, and
  • Athens Suburban railway.

Athens is connected to even the remotest destinations through the Athens International Airport, ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio, national railway network operated by Hellenic Train and, long-distance bus network KTEL.

 

From the airport (and the port) to downtown Athens

Athens Airport Railway/Metro Station
Athens Airport Railway/Metro Station
 
You’ve just arrived in Athens by plane or by boat. How will you get downtown? Where will you buy tickets and how much will they cost? Find all the information you need here:

 


 

Moving around the city

Buses and trolleys

A typical Athens bus

 

City buses and electrical trolley-buses serve Athens and its suburbs. All vehicles are air-conditioned although most of them have started showing their age. Special schedules apply during summer months of July-September

Operating hours vary according to line/day/season, but generally they run between 5:00 a.m. – midnight. There are also five 24-hour lines, 4 airport lines (see above section), and 8 Express lines.

You can find routes, maps and real time bus movement information for every line on this website as well as the app ‘OASA Telematics’ for Android and iOS. You can also get additional information by calling 11185 from a Greek phone. For ticket info see Athens Transport tickets and cards.


Metro

Athens rai transport map

The Athens Metro has 3 lines. Line 1 (the Green line) started operation in 1869, making it the second oldest underground system in the world after the London Underground. Lines 2 and 3 opened in 2000 and increased the Metro’s popularity due to its speed, cleanliness and security. Today’s Athens underground connects important landmarks of the Greek capital, such as the Acropolis, Athens Airport, Port of Piraeus, Central Railway Station and Olympic Stadium, in addition to connecting downtown Athens with the suburbs. Archaeological exhibits found during Metro’s construction and modern works of art are exhibited in many stations. All stations are fully accessible to disabled persons with elevators in every level and platform and most of the trains are air-conditioned.

  • Line 1 (green line): Kifisia – Piraeus
  • Line 2 (red line): Anthoupoli – Eliniko
  • Line 3 (blue line): Airport – Douk. Plakentias – Dimotiko Theatro (Piraeus)

All trains stop at all stations all the time, except of the section Airport – Douk. Plakentias of line 3 where trains run every 30 minutes (this section is shared with the Suburban Railway).

Operating hours are 5:30 a.m. to 00:30 a.m., and every Friday and Saturday night, lines 2 & 3 stay open until 1:30 a.m. You can find information about Athens metro, including timetables, maps, parking and safety information on this website. For ticket info see Athens Transport tickets and cards.

Attention: Due to several cases of pickpocketing inside the Metro system during the last years, you are advised to be constantly aware of your belongings and your pockets, especially in central stations and inside trains.


Tram

Athens Tram
Athens Tram vehicles

Starting operation on the eve of Athens’ Olympics, the Athens Tram connects the city center with the southern seaside. There are 3 lines:

  • Line 1 “Syntagma – SEF” linking downtown Athens to the Peace and Friendship Stadium,
  • Line 2 “Syntagma – Voula” which runs between the city center and southern suburb of Voula and
  • Line 3 “Voula – SEF” running along the coastal zone.

In summer, many Athenians choose the tram to visit nearby beaches, seaside cafes and clubs.

Operating hours are 5:30 a.m. to 00:00 a.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays it operates approximately from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Information on the Athens Tram, including timetables, can be found on on this website. For ticket info see Athens Transport tickets and cards


Suburban Railway

The Suburban Railway, or “Proastiakos”, is part of the national railway network of Greece and is operated by private company Hellenic Train.

Its 3 main routes are Piraeus – Athens Central Station (Larissa station) – Airport, Piraeus – Athens Central Station – Kiato and Athens Central Station – Halkida.  There are also extra trains between Ano Liosia and Airport station as well as Ano Liosia and Peania stations.

Be aware that different fares apply: the standard 90-minute ticket for the Athens region covers all Proastiakos journeys from Piraeus to SKA and Magoula to Koropi stations, while different fares are charged for more distant stations. See also: Suburban Railway discount policy.

Ath.ena Tickets and Ath.ena Cards are accepted within the urban section of Proastiakos as well as for journeys from/to the airport. Tickets for Proastiakos can be bought at all Proastiakos stations. More information on the Hellenic Train website.

Current Proastiakos timetables:


Taxis

Taxis (yellow in Athens, while other colors are preferred elsewhere in Greece) can be a more convenient -although pricier- mean of transportation. While many taxi drivers are excellent professionals, it is believed that some of them try to gain more by opting for the longest route when their passenger (Greek or non Greek) is not familiar with their destination.

Taxi drivers in Athens are required by law to always use a taximeter and issue a receipt at the end of the journey. You can remind your driver to do so in case they don’t turn on their taximeter. There is also an official list of fares and surcharges they must follow. On the islands and elsewhere around Greece, fares are usually subject to agreement at the beginning of the journey.


Long-distance transportation

Athens Central Railway Station
On a platform of Athens Central Railway Station

Long-distance buses (KTEL)

KTEL buses are privately owned bus networks based in every prefecture/island of Greece and often are the most affordable and convenient means of transport, though the quality of service can vary. Detailed information on routes, timetables, ticket fares and practical information can be found at  livingingreece.gr.

Greek Railways

Hellenic Train is the only long-distance passenger railway company in Greece. Formerly state-run, from 2017 it belongs to the Italian State Railways. Today most traffic is concentrated on the Athens – Thessaloniki line and the suburban network in Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras. There are also limited international routes to Sofia, Skopje and Belgrade. Information and ticket sales on the Hellenic Train website.

Ticket information

At Athens Transport Tickets & Cards you can find everything you need to know in order to issue and use the right ticket when riding Athens Transport

Information resources

Athens metro passing throught ancient agora
Athens metro passing through ancient Agora

Keep in mind that strikes in Greece occur regularly and many times affect transportation even though most times there is an alternative option. Strike schedules are sometimes announced just 1-3 days in advance, so it’s essential to stay informed. We will try to update the top right of this page in both English and Greek when we have new strike information. For information about Athens transport routes, schedules and more, you can also call 11185 on a Greek phone.

If you can read Greek, you may follow my twitter account @athenstransport for more timely information.

Suggested Websites:


More information


About this website: AthensTransport.com is a non-for-profit information website, not affiliated with any Athens transportation organization or other local or national government entity. Since 2009 we try to offer accurate information to Athenians and visitors alike. If the above information was useful to you, you may donate a small amount via Paypal

Have a question? Do you think more information should be added to this page? Feel free to leave a comment below or contact me via Twitter!
Information on this page comes from websites linked above and personal experiences as an Athenian, blogging about transportation in my city. Photos and maps via 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Creative Commons License 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Greece License

86 Comments

  1. My wife and I (both 66) will be on holiday in Athens in October 2021. During our stay, we would like to visit Corinth. From google maps I have found that we can get there by travelling on the metro to Neratziotissa and then on the P2 & P1 Suburban Lines as far as Magoula using our ATH.ENA Personalised Cards loaded with 30 day tickets with airport transfers (half). Is it possible to buy tickets for the section from Magoula to Korinthos N (possibly at Neratziotissa where we have to change from the metro to the suburban line).
    I have tried emailing the Tourist Office in Athens and TrainOSE (who operate the Suburban Railway) but have received no answers.
    Kind regards,
    Nicholas & Bridget Searle

    • To travel to Corinth (and any station outside the urban section) you will need to issue a ticket that will be valid for one specific train. This is so they can control the number of passengers on each train. You will issue those at the departing station, in this case Neratziotissa. (However you’ll need to change trains at Kato Acharnai station. Check if it’s easier to depart from Athens Central Station, there are direct trains to Corinth from there).

  2. hello.I am a passenger in Athene. I want to go from Airport to peiraius Blue star boat station. how can I go there. how much is the price? is the transportation available early morning? because I have a boat ticket to santorini At 7:00 am

  3. Hi. If I go to an American university and show my student ID, will I get half off? Also, can I get the half off tickets in the bus itself or do I have to go to a ticket office? If so, what time do they open?

    • Hello!
      If you are 25 or younger, yes you’re eligible for 50% discount by showing your passport and your Student ID card. There are some reports, however, that some ticket office staff declined the discount in this case. If they decline it, show them this page from the Public Transport Authority website: http://oasa.gr/content.php?id=mkom&lang=en

      You can only get reduced tickets from ticket offices at specific central bus stops and at metro stations.

      You can also buy “packs” of 5 or 10+1 reduced tickets at a number of kiosks (periptera). In this case, you don’t need to show your Student ID card or your passport.

      You can find the working hours of the ticket offices at metro stations here: http://www.stasy.gr/index.php?id=77&L=1

  4. Hi,

    I will be arriving at the Athens on 14th February.
    Can someone tell me the best route/way/direction from Athens Airport to Grigoriou Afxentiou 20
    Zografou?
    This greek alphabeth is giving me nightmares haha xD

    Is it better with a bus or via metro? 🙂
    I have no clue where should I take off lol, alpha beta gammmaa omg xD

    Thanks!

    • No.
      For the airport, you can buy the 10€ airport ticket (valid for unlimited travel with 90 min. as well as a trip to the airport) or the 22€ Airport & Return 3-day ticket (valid for unlimited travel within 72h, as well as a trip from and one to the airport).

    • Hello! You can get a reduced personalized card at the ticket office for buses at the airport.
      And yes, you’re eligible for reduced fare, since you are under 25 and you have a student ID card from a foreign university.
      You also need your passport to issue the card.

  5. I have 2 children – 18 yrs old and 20 yrs old – who now study full time for a bachelor degree at London Universities. I need you to confirm that they are both eligible for the 5 euro ticket from Neratziotissa to the airport. One child is at LSE which is part of Universities of London and the other is at City University of London. They both have student cards. The staff at the station told me that on one side of the station, they may pay 7.50 euro instead of 5 euro and that the child with a student card saying LSE – London School of Economics and Political Science – may not be allowed a discount at all. LSE is one of the most prestigious and well known universities in England. I am very confused.

    • Hello, since your children are under 25 and are students of a foreign university, they both have to pay a reduced 5€ ticket.

      What they have to do, is to go to the ticket office of the Neratziotissa metro station (not at the Suburban Raiway one) and buy 2 reduced airport metro tickets (2×5€ = 10€), by demonstrating their Student IDs and then use the tickets at the Suburban railway station to go to the airport from there (they touch-in at the Suburban Railway station gates).

      The ticket office at Neratziotissa metro station is open from 06:00 to 20:00 daily.

  6. I missed my flight because of a strike. It caused multiple trains to stop at Doukisis Plakentias and not carry on to the airport. Now I need to submit a proof of strike to make my claim for a new air ticket. Is there someone I can contact to have this handled?

    • Hello, the last strike was on December 14th, where metro trains couldn’t continue to the airport due to a 24h strike of the National Rail employees.
      In that case the official announcement of the strike is at this link: http://oasa.gr/news.php?id=funk1549 (in greek only).

      However, if your flight was between 09:00 and 21:00, you could take an Airport Express Bus and for that reason, you may be denied a ticket.

      Anyway, first, try contacting the airline and they will tell you if can get a new ticket free or not.

      • Thank you so much for your advice! We are already home in Singapore and we are unable to contact Athens Transport. We need to submit a letter to our insurance company, signed by Athens Transport mentioning the train service disruption to the airport. By doing so, we can make a full claim. The train we took was a morning train, around 7am in the morning.

  7. I will be visiting Athens again in October 2018 and I shall be using the public travel services which I have used many times before and which I find to be really good value. I have looked through many questions on the site but have not yet seen this one.
    Q. Does a 3 day tourist pass mean 72 hours? In other words if I arrive at Athens airport on Friday night at 20.00 hours and go back to the airport on Monday at 11.30 Hours (within 72 hours) is the 3 day ticket still valid? Ευχαριστώ πολύ…

  8. hi can you buy tickets in advance to use from the cruise port in Pireaus into Athens. It would be our last port of call before flying home so could leave ship anytime from 7am but would need to be back at Pireaus no later than 2.30pm …can you advice best route and best way to pre book tickets

    • Hello, if money is not an issue I would suggest to take a taxi from the cruise terminal to Piraeus metro station which is 10-15 minutes away (by taxi) from the cruise terminal. You can buy tickets at the station and be downtown in under 30 minutes. There is no way to buy tickets before you get to Piraeus.

  9. I’m arriving next Thursday to Athens for a one month vacation. Is it possible to get a 30days travel card? If so, is it available from that moment or will I need to wait for the card to be ready? Thank you.

  10. Please, can you tell me if express bus X80 will be operating on May 29, 2017? I need to go to the Port of Piraeus from the Plaka area of Athens. I will also post this in Greek using Google translate. Please excuse any inappropriate translation and my ignorance of Greek.

    Παρακαλώ, μπορείτε να μου πείτε αν λεωφορείο express X80 θα λειτουργούν στις 29 Μαΐου 2017; Πρέπει να πάτε στο λιμάνι του Πειραιά από την περιοχή πλάκα της Αθήνας. Θα τοποθετήσω επίσης αυτό στην ελληνική γλώσσα χρησιμοποιώντας το Google μεταφράζει. Παρακαλώ συγχωρήστε οποιαδήποτε ακατάλληλη μετάφραση και μου την άγνοια της Ελληνικής.

  11. Great site thanks. So all the metro tickets are also valid
    for buses (excluding special airport transports) as long as within
    validity (90 min or 3 days etc)? And Required to go through driver on buses or
    can hop on back? Thanks

  12. Hi staying at Arethusa Hotel in Athens need help and directions on using ,Airport to Hotel using public Transport (Airport Train) and also help with best way to go from Arethusa Hotel to Piraeus Port BUS ,Train ,Tram to use High Speed Ferry to Santorini need to be at Piraeus Port by 6:00 -6:15am

      • Hi! Thank you for your response. My apologies for not being precise. My worry was, that transport may be down due to general strike (that’s how it seemed on the news here, and I could not find out anything concrete).
        If you could make a recommendation how to get to Aegina on the 11.05, arriving at the Athens Airport at 15:10. We don’t have any boat in mind, as long as we arrive on Aegina the same day.

        • Right now there are no scheduled transport related strikes. From the port of Piraeus there are departures to Aegina every 30 mins to an hour from early morning to late afternoon. Online I see that the last boat departs at 17:45 but there might actually be some leaving later. In any case you’ll have plenty of time to reach Piraeus if you arrive in Athens at 15:10.

  13. Hello
    will be coming to athens later this year and was thinking of getting thr 3 day tourist card. Will be arriving at airport on sunday evening, hotel in athens centre for 2 nights then going to cruise port to embark ion cruise on tues morning. Was thinking metro from airport to centre and bus from centre to cruise port. Is that poss?
    any advice gratefully received..
    Elaine

  14. Hi, I would like to get some advice from you. We will arrive to Athens Airport at 22:45 and stay 3 days. If I plan to travel from/to the airport with metro is the 3-day tourist ticket could be a good idea? Better suggestion!? Can I buy 3-day tourist ticket at 23:00 when I will arrive to airport?
    Thank you.

  15. With the new situation fom September 1, does the €10 weekly travel pass cover 5 days from the date of purchase or only the 5 working days of the week (ie, Mon-Fri)?
    Also, what are the validation rules for this card? Do you only validate it on Day 1 or does it need to be validated once on each of the 5 days?

  16. Hi!

    I’m planning on travelling to Greece in the upcoming spring/summer and I’m attempting to plan my route from Patra to Athens.

    I have been able to find tickets for a bus from Patra to Kiato, but I am having problems finding a train ticket from Kiato to Athens (or near Athens) even though all the information I have seen says these tickets should be available quite easily.

    The Trainose website does not show any available trips from Kiato in that direction.

    Any information would be helpful!

    Thanks.

    • Hello there, a single train ticket from Kiato to Athens costs €12 but if you buy it together with the Patra-Kiato bus ticket there is a small deduction. Suburban railway tickets (such as the Kiato – Athens Airport route) can’t be booked online because those trains don’t have numbered seats. The only option is to buy a ticket at the station before you board the train (I believe you can also buy it in Patra). Note that many of those travelling from Patra to Athens and vice versa prefer to use a direct bus instead of the TRAINOSE bus to Kiato and then 2 different trains to get to Athens. Let me know if I can offer you any more help.

    • Neratziotissa is going to get a taxi stand in the following days/weeks. However, there’s already a taxi stand outside The Mall.

      All proastiakos stations have infrastructure problems. I don’t see things getting better before TRAINOSE gets privatized next year. (Even though stations will still be owned by the government).

    • From what I know there is no information on which metro stations have taxi stands anywhere online. Due to its location, Irini station is one of the least used stations (except of when there are sport events at OAKA), and happens to be in some distance from any major roads. However, it’s relatively easy to find a taxi outside most of the other stations (or in a close distance from them).

  17. Just returned from a business trip to Athens and was very shocked by the utter rudeness and contempt shown by the women in the ticket booth at the metro station in the airport. “Come on! Come on!” she screamed at the people in front of me who were dithering before leaving her counter. Fair enough, they were holding things up ever so slightly… But then she did exactly the same to me while I was just trying to put my change in my wallet and pick up my tickets. She was rude throughout the brief interaction and was a very poor ambassador for Athens. This person should not be allowed to interact with customers, let alone be the first experience of Athens for international travellers!

    • I understand it looked bizarre to you, but this was the typical behaviour of a Greek civil servant. It’s what every Greek faces every time they come in contact with someone employed by the government. Once in a while, I might find a polite person and I always feel the need to tweet “A person just did his job and was polite to me!”. I’m afraid it’s a cultural thing, and it doesn’t matter how much we complain. Nothing ever changes, because there are no consequences for their behaviour.

      However, if you would like to complain to Athens Urban Transport Organization, you can do so by completing this form. They are required to respond to everyone.

      I’m sorry for you bad experience. I do hope you met some polite people in Athens as well 🙂

  18. Would it be possible to take the Metro from the airport toward Agia Marina to catch a ferry at Agia Marina for Nea Styra? I believe that there is a bus that can be taken from one of the Metro stops to Agia Marina. Thank you so much.

    • Please check your hotel’s website, there are detailed information on how to reach them. You need to go from the airport to Athens center (bus or metro) and from there to Larissa metro station.

      For Rafina port there are buses departing from Pedion tu Areos, close to Victoria metro station. Your hotel’s staff should be happy to give you all the information you need.

  19. Παρακαλω να με ενημερωσετε τι ωρες (πρωινες) φευγει ο προαστιακος απο
    σταθμο Λαρισσης και απο Νερατζιωτισσα για το αεροδρομιο Ελ. Βενιζελος. Ευχαριστω

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