Flights, trains and ways to arrive
Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) is about 35 km from the centre. There are good options at any time of day, and most of them spare you the traffic.
✈️ From the airport to the centre
🚇 Metro (Line 3, blue) · the best option
- Price: €9 one way, €16 return.
- Time: about 40 minutes to Syntagma or Monastiraki.
- Frequency: roughly every 30 minutes, from early morning until around midnight.
Fast and traffic-free. Note that not every Line 3 train goes to the airport, so check the destination says "Airport".
🚌 X95 express bus
- Price: €5.50. Buy your ticket before boarding: drivers don't sell them.
- Time: 60–90 minutes to Syntagma, depending on traffic.
- Hours: 24/7.
The cheapest option and the only public transport in the small hours. For the port of Piraeus, take the X96.
🚕 Taxi
- Price: fixed fare to the centre of €40 (05:00–24:00) or €55 (00:00–05:00), luggage and tolls included.
- Time: 30–50 minutes.
Good value for three or four people, or if you land in the middle of the night. Use the official rank outside arrivals and confirm the fixed fare before you set off.
🚗 Private transfer
- Price: approx. €50–70, depending on the company and vehicle.
Your driver waits for you with a name sign. Handy with children or lots of luggage.
🎟️ 3-day tourist ticket
For €20 you get 3 days of unlimited city transport plus one trip to and one trip from the airport by metro or express bus. If you're flying in and out and will use the metro, it's almost always the best buy.
⛴️ Arriving by ferry or train
- From the islands: most ferries dock at Piraeus. Metro Line 1 (green) takes you to Monastiraki in about 25 minutes.
- From Rafina: buses run to the centre; the journey takes about an hour.
- By train: long-distance trains arrive at the central station (Larissis), on metro Line 2.
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