How do you get into central Athens from the airport and the city's main train stations? Should you take the metro, the suburban train line, or the bus? Choices, choices, choices. We'll spell it all out for you here, and if we go on and on about how great Metro Line 3 is, offer us a sedative.
Getting Into Athens
Air
Air traffic into Athens arrives at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, which sits 27km (under 17 miles) northeast of central Athens.
There are a few ways to get from the airport into the city.
The most convenient way is by metro. Metro Line 3 speeds passengers from the airport to the Monastiraki train station. A one-way fare costs €6, while a round-trip fare costs €12 (only €10 for a roundtrip transpiring within a 48 hour period). The journey from the airport to Monastiraki takes about 30 minutes. If you are staying in Plaka, Makrigianni, or Koukaki, this is the better train option.
The suburban train line also stops at Eleftherios Venizelos, carrying on to Larissa Station. This transportation option also costs €6, and takes about a half hour. If you are staying in the Omonia or Viktoria areas, this is the better train option.
Athens Airport Express bus lines, while not as quick as the train lines, are the considerably cheaper mode of transportation. For just €3.20, bus routes X92, X93, X94, X95, X96, and X97 run between the airport and various locations throughout the Athens area. Bus line X92 runs between the airport and Kifisia and bus line X93 runs between the airport and the Kifisos bus station. Bus line X94 runs between the airport and Ethniki Amyna metro station, while bus line X95, the most relevant for most visitors, runs between Syntagma and the airport. Bus line X96 runs between the airport and Piraeus, the port of Athens. Finally, bus line X97 runs between the airport and the Dafni metro station.
Taxis between central Athens and the airport cost between €26 and €47. A taxi journey should take between 35 and 50 minutes. Keep in mind that taxis are more expensive at night, jumping to a range of €37 to €70 for the same distance.
Train
Trains arrive into Athens at two stations, Larissa Station and Peloponnisou Station. The two stations are located right next to each other. The Larissa Metro Station connects the two train stations to the city's metro network.
Larissa Station handles train traffic to and from the north of Greece and across Greece's borders.
Trains to and from the Peloponnese depart from and arrive at Peloponnisou Station.
Flying into Athens
Visit our Athens budget flights section for more information on low-cost airlines flying into and out of Athens.
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