Athens Travel Guide

By Car

If you arrive by car from Corinth (to the southwest), the signs into Athens will direct you fairly clearly to Omonia Square, which you will enter from the west along Ayiou Konstantinou. In Omonia, signs should direct you on toward Syntagma Square and other points in central Athens (signs in Omonia disappear mysteriously). If you arrive from Thessaloniki (to the north), the signs pointing you into central Athens are few and far between. It is not a good idea to attempt this for the first time after dark, as you may well miss the turn for Omonia Square. If this happens, your best bet is to look for the Acropolis and head toward it until you pick up signs for Omonia or Syntagma squares.

By Bus

Before you start out on any bus trip, check with the tourist police (tel. 210/171) or the Greek National Tourism Organization (EOT) office (tel. 210/870-0000; www.gnto.gr) for current schedules and fares. As the new Metro continues to open stations, bus routes and fares will change. It's best to double-check all routes and to be prepared for fare increases. If possible, get someone to write down the name and address of your bus station in Greek; this will be a great help when you take a taxi or bus. Keep in mind that many buses run both with and without a "0" prefix: 024 and 24, for example.

There are two principal stations for KTEL, the national bus company. Terminal A, 100 Kifissou (tel. 210/512-9233), off the road out of Athens toward Corinth, handles buses to and from the Peloponnese and parts of Northern Greece. A taxi here from Syntagma Square should cost 4€ to 6€ ($5.20-$7.80); if traffic is light, the journey is less than 20 minutes, but it can take an hour. If you don't have much to carry, take public bus no. 051 to the terminal (.50€/65¢). It leaves from the corner of Zinonos and Menandrou, several blocks off Omonia Square; you can catch the same bus at the terminal for the trip into town.

Terminal B (tel. 210/831-7096) handles buses to and from Central Greece (including Delphi, Thebes, Evvia, and Meteora) and some destinations to the north and east of Athens. The GNTO, for reasons known best to itself, lists the address for Terminal B as 260 Liossion; this is where the bus for the terminal stops. To get to the terminal itself after you get off the bus, turn right onto Yousiou and you will see the terminal at the end of the street. Bus no. 024, which stops at Leoforos Amalias in front of the entrance to the National Garden (a block south of Syntagma Sq.), will take you to and from the terminal for .50€ (65¢). If you take this bus, tell the driver you want to get off at the bus terminal and then head right to Yousiou to reach the terminal. The Mavromateon terminal at Patission and Alexandras, a few hundred meters north of the Archaeological Museum, handles buses for most destinations in Attica.

By Train

Trains from the south and west, including Eurail connections via Patras, arrive at the Peloponnese station (Stathmos Peloponnisou; tel. 210/513-1601), about a mile northwest of Omonia Square on Sidirodromeon. Trains from the north arrive at Larissa station (Stathmos Larissis; tel. 210/529-8837), just across the tracks from the Peloponnese station on Deligianni. The Larissa station has both an exchange office (daily 8am-9:15pm) and luggage storage (daily 6:30am-9pm).

To get to the train stations, you can take the Metro (subway) to Larissa (line 2), close to both stations. A taxi from the center of town should cost about 5€ ($6.50). The Metro runs from Omonia, Syntagma, and Koukaki to the Larissa Metro station, which is near the train stations. The most central place to catch the Metro is the stop in front of the Parliament Building on Syntagma Square.

You can purchase train tickets just before your journey at the train station (running the risk that all seats may be sold); at the Omonia Square ticket office, 1 Karolou (tel. 210/524-0647); at 17 Filellinon, off Syntagma Square (tel. 210/323-6747); or from most travel agents. Information (in theory in English) on timetables is available by dialing tel. 145 or 147.

By Boat

Piraeus, the main harbor of Athens's main seaport, 11km (7 miles) southwest of central Athens, is a 15-minute Metro ride from Monastiraki and Omonia squares. The subway runs from about 5am to midnight and costs 2€ ($2.60). The far slower bus no. 040 runs from Piraeus to central Athens (with a stop at Filellinon, off Syntagma Sq.) every 15 minutes between 5am and 1am and hourly from 1am to 5am for .70€ (90¢).

You may prefer to take a taxi to avoid what can be a long hike from your boat to the bus stop or subway terminal. Be prepared for serious bargaining. The normal fare on the meter from Piraeus to Syntagma should be about 8€ to 13€ ($11-$17), but many drivers offer a flat fare, which can easily be as much as 20€ ($26). Pay it if you're desperate; or walk to a nearby street, hail another taxi, and insist that the meter be turned on.

If you arrive at Piraeus by hydrofoil (Flying Dolphin), you'll probably arrive at Zea Marina harbor, about a dozen blocks south across the peninsula from the main harbor. Even our Greek friends admit that getting a taxi from Zea Marina into Athens can involve a wait of an hour or more -- and that drivers usually drive hard (and exorbitant) bargains. To avoid both the wait and big fare, you can walk up the hill from the hydrofoil station and catch bus no. 905 for 1€ ($1.30), which connects Zea to the Piraeus Metro (subway) station, where you can complete your journey into Athens. You must buy a ticket at the small stand near the bus stop or at a newsstand before boarding the bus. Warning: If you arrive late at night, you may not be able to do this, as both the newsstand and the ticket stand may be closed.

If you've disembarked at the port of Rafina (about an hour's bus ride east of Athens), you'll see a bus stop up the hill from the ferryboat pier. Inquire about the bus to Athens; it runs often and will take you within the hour to the Areos Park bus terminal, 29 Mavromateon, near the junction of Leoforos Alexandras and Patission. The Areos Park terminal is 1 block from the Victoria Square Metro stop and about 25 minutes by trolley from Syntagma Square. From the bus terminal, there are buses to Rafina every half-hour.

By spring 2007, the port of Lavrion (tel. 22920/25-249), 52km (32 miles) southeast of Athens, began to take over some of the itineraries from the port of Piraeus including daily ferries and speedboats to Agios Efstratios, Alexandroupoli, Andros, Folegandros, Ios, Katapola, Kavala, Kea, Kythnos, Limnos, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Sikinos, Syros, and Tinos. The port's official website, www.oll.gr, is in Greek only so check the GNTO site for more info. A taxi to Lavrio port from downtown Athens shouldn't cost you more than 15€ ($20). You can also get to the port by bus: Use the express lines of the interurban buses (KTEL) "Koropi station-Porto Rafti/Avlaki" or the urban buses of the area to reach the port. The price of the ticket is 5€ ($6.50). Also there is a bus that can transfer you from the following Metro and suburban railway stations directly to the port: Pallini, Kantza, and Koropi.

Boat-to-Plane Connections -- A word about making air connections after an island trip: It is unwise -- even foolhardy -- to allow anything less than 24 hours between your return to Piraeus by island boat and your departure by air, as rough seas can significantly delay the trip.