Getting around the Greek metropolis of Athens is easy with our quick guide. The metro is cheap and easy, and taxis are no longer something to fear in Athens.
Getting Around Athens
Air
Air traffic into Athens arrives at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, which sits 27 km (under 17 miles) northeast of central Athens.
There are a few ways to get from the airport into the city.
Metro, Commuter Train, Bus, and Tram
Public transportation in Athens is inexpensive and, if not the most efficient public transportation network in the world, nonetheless quite convenient.
Metro tickets cost €.80 per ticket. Trams cost €.70 per journey.
Combination tickets cost €1 for 90 minutes on all modes of municipal transportation (barring transportation to the airport). A 90 minute ticket for bus, trolley, and tram runs €.70. Best of all, a 24 hour ticket good on all modes of public transportation costs just €3. Note that this 24 hour ticket is not good for transportation to and from the airport.
Longer term visitors might want to invest in a ticket for the week, which costs €10, or a monthly public transportation pass, which costs €35 and is good for all modes of public transportation (except travel to and from the airport) within the city of Athens. The three-day tourist ticket, which covers all mass transportation (including the airport), is valid for 72 hours and costs €15.
Note that the metro stops running at midnight.
Taxis
Taxis in Athens have a bad reputation. We should be more precise. Taxi drivers in Athens have a bad reputation.
In light of their reputation, today's visitors to Athens can't help but be pleasantly surprised. In today's post-Olympics Athens, taxi drivers are pretty law-abiding. You may have to insist that a taxi's meter be turned on, and it's always helpful to try to get a ballpark estimate of how much the fare will cost in advance, but you shouldn't have any real problems.
Taxi meters start at €1.16, with a minimum charge of €3.10. A surcharge of €3.77 applies to taxis to and from the airport. Each piece of luggage weighing over 10 kilos is assessed a further €.38 surcharge.
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