How to Get Around Athens: A Transport Guide for Visitors
Athens is a city of 3.5 million people, but getting around is easier than it might first look.
Once you reach the historic centre, a lot of the city is walkable.
For longer distances, there is a modern and safe metro system, buses, trams, taxis, and a few other options.
Some are really useful, while others create more hassle than solve problems.
So I’m here to break down how transport in Athens works, which options are easiest to use, and what I’d actually recommend if you’re just visiting for a few days.
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1. Walking
While that’s certainly not the case for most of the city, walking is the easiest way to explore the centre.
Most of the main sights are close to each other, and the area around the Acropolis is mostly pedestrianised.
A good example is Dionysiou Areopagitou, the promenade that runs along the southern side of the Acropolis and connects Plaka with Thisseio and Monastiraki.
That said, Athens is not always kind to pedestrians.
Sidewalks can be narrow, uneven, or half-blocked by scooters, poles, or even café tables.
In summer, heat can make even short walks unpleasant, so that’s also something to take into account.
2. The Metro
When it comes to public transport, the metro is the most reliable way to move around the city.
It’s modern, safe, clean, and connects most of the places you’ll most probably need, among which the airport, Piraeus, and the entire centre.
There are three main lines, each marked by colour, and stations use both Greek and English, so the system is fairly simple.
Trains run frequently through most of the day (3-15 minutes), though the airport line is less frequent than the rest (30 minutes).
Metro services run daily from early morning until late at night.
Operating hours are:
- From Monday to Thursday → 05:30-00:30.
- On Fridays & Saturdays → Line 1 operates until 01:00, while lines 2 and 3 (except for the airport) now run 24 hours on Saturdays.
- On Sundays → 06:00-00:30
Ticket Prices
Athens uses a unified public transport ticket system, which means the same ticket works across the metro, buses, trams, and trolleybuses.
The most common option is the 90-minute ticket, which costs €1.20 (about $1.30) and allows unlimited transfers during those 90 minutes.
In practice, one ticket should be enough for trips across the city.
There a few longer validity tickets available, like the 24-hour ticket for €4.10 (about $4.40), or the 5-day ticket for €8.20 (about $8.80).
There are also multi-ride tickets, which can be convenient if you expect to use the metro several times but not enough to justify a daily pass.
These include 2 rides for €2.30 (around $2.50), 5 rides for €5.70 (around $6), and 10 + 1 rides for €12 (around $13.50).
However, these tickets do not include the airport metro route, which requires a separate ticket.
The so called 3-day tourist ticket is an option that does that.
It costs €20 (about $22) and includes unlimited public transport for 72 hours, along with one return trip between the airport and the city using either the metro or the express airport bus.
As I briefly mentioned above, travel to and from Athens International Airport requires a special ticket.
The standard prices are €9 (about $10) for a one-way airport metro ticket and €16 (about $17) for a Return ticket.
Tickets can be purchased at metro stations, ticket machines, and a few kiosks, and they can also be loaded onto the rechargeable ATH.ENA card (you can buy one in Syntagma station).
You can also use your debit or credit card as a ticket, by just tapping it to the validation machine.
3. Buses
Unlike the metro, which only runs on three lines, buses reach almost every part of Athens.
They connect central neighborhoods, outer districts, and areas that are far from metro stations, which in theory makes them very useful for getting almost anywhere.
In practice, however, they’re not always the most reliable transport option.
First, they share the same roads as cars, so once traffic builds up, delays are very common. There have been efforts to remove cars from bus lanes, but with little progress so far.
The other thing is that not every stop has live arrival information. Some have electronic boards, but many don’t.
And google maps are not always accurate for bus arrivals.
The OASA Transport app helps a lot in that case.
It’s the easiest way to check routes, schedules, and estimated arrivals, even if those estimates are not always perfect.
Because of the above, buses are most useful when you’re not in a hurry or when you’re heading somewhere the metro doesn’t reach.
But if you need to be somewhere at a very specific time, it’s usually safer to rely on the metro or a taxi instead.
4. Taxis
Taxis are everywhere in Athens and, compared to many other European capitals, they’re not that expensive.
That said, they have a mixed reputation.
Most drivers are absolutely fine.
However, problems like taking unnecessarily longer routes, quoting inflated prices, or claiming that the meter is somehow not working still exist.
These issues become even more common once the driver hears a foreign language and expects you to be more naive.
That’s why you should always book your cab through an app instead of hailing one from the street.
The two most common apps are FREE NOW and Uber.
They both connect you with regular licensed taxis, not private drivers, but they make the whole thing easier because the route is recorded, the pricing is clear, and thus there’s less room for scams.
Will you need a taxi in Athens, though?
Taxis do have their place – late at night, after a long day, when the heat is too much, or when public transport stops being worth the effort.
I’ve broken the whole thing down properly in my Athens taxi guide, including fares, common scams, and when a taxi is actually useful.
5. Biking
Cycling isn’t really a part of daily transport in Athens.
The city was not designed with bicycles in mind, and therefore dedicated bike lanes are limited.
Traffic can also be quite rough, which makes riding a bike in central streets dangerous unless you’re already familiar with the local driving style.
Because of these limitations, biking in Athens is usually more of an activity than a way to move around the city.
However, there is a cycling route that works surprisingly well.
It’s basically a long bike and pedestrian path that runs from Gazi toward the coast, ending near the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.
This route follows parts of the old tram corridor and passes through many quieter and more residential areas, which makes it a really fun activity.
6. The Tram
The tram is mainly serving the southern coastal part of the city.
It links the centre with the Athens Riviera, passing through places like Palaio Faliro, Glyfada, and Voula.
So it is mostly useful when the plan involves the sea or for some reason a stay in the southern suburbs.
It’s also not a fast way to move around since it runs at street level and stops very often.
Still, it can be a pleasant ride, especially once it reaches the coast and the sea opens up beside you.
7. Trolleybuses
Athens also has trolleybuses, the electric buses connected to overhead wires.
They mainly run through central districts and older parts of the city, but they work much like regular buses.
However, the system is gradually being phased out.
In 2026, Greek authorities announced plans to replace trolleybuses with modern electric buses over the coming years.
Public Transport Safety
Public transport in Athens is very safe.
The only thing really worth watching for is pickpocketing in crowded places.
That tends to happen more often around Syntagma, Monastiraki, and Omonia, or on packed trains during rush hour.
keep your bag closed, don’t leave valuables in easy pockets, pay a little more attention when the train is crowded, and you’ll most likely never face any issues.
Final Thoughts
Athens isn’t the neatest city to move around, and that becomes obvious quite quickly.
Some parts work very well, others depend a bit too much on traffic, timing, or luck.
It depends on where you’re staying, what time you land, how much luggage you’re dragging around, and how much patience you have left after a full day in the heat.
