Practical Info

STUDYING IN ATHENS?

Find out how to move around like a local

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

With an urban population of more than 4 million people, Athens is the capital of Greece and the 4th most populous capital in the E.U. with a large, modern mass transit system to serve the needs of residents and visitors that consists of:

• City buses
• Electric trolley-buses
• Athens Metro
• Athens Tram, and
• Athens Suburban railway.

Athens is connected to even the remotest destinations through the Athens International Airport, ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio, national railway network operated by TRAINOSE and, long-distance bus network KTEL. The KTEL is used by our undergraduate students who wish to travel from/to Athens to/from our Sounion premises. The KTEL from Athens to Sounion will take an hour approximately (for details refer to the transfers section below).

When using Athens Public Transport you are obliged to hold a valid ticket or travel card. Tickets and cards are valid for the transport mode and time period printed on them. All tickets have to be validated in the validating machines upon boarding (buses, trolleybuses) or walking to the platforms before boarding (tram, metro). You should demonstrate your validated ticket or card  upon request to the authorized fare inspectors together with the relevant supporting documents certifying your right to free or reduced transportation cost.
Failure to display a valid ticket results to a fine which is 60 times the price of the ticket (regular ticket € 1,40 or reduced € 0,60), i.e.€ 84,00 for those who are obliged to use regular ticket and € 36,00 for those eligible for reduced ticket.

From 2017 a new electronic ticketing system has been introduced in the Athens public transport network, replacing the older paper tickets and cards.

There are 3 types of Athens Transport tickets:

• The Ath.ena Ticket can be charged and recharged varying from a “90-minute ticket for all modes” to 5-day tickets. Airport transfer tickets and 3-day tourist tickets are available as well. The Ath.ena Ticket can be bought from and recharged at all Athens transport ticket offices as well as any automatic ticket issuing machine. Half-priced Ath.ena Tickets are only available from Athens transport ticket offices.
• The anonymous Ath.ena Card which is a plastic rechargeable card that can be used again and again.
• The personalized Ath.ena Card which is a plastic rechargeable card that can be used again and again. It bears the photo and name of the passenger it belongs to. To issue a personalized Ath.ena Card, a Greek ID card and an AMKA certificate is required. For non-Greek citizens, personalized Ath.ena Cards can be issued with a passport.

MOVING AROUND

From the airport to the city center

Once you have reached the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, you can easily reach the Athens city center. There are three ways available in order to get to the Center o the city:

By Bus: all buses depart from the Arrivals Level between exit 4 and 5. Bus tickets are sold at the info/ticket-kiosk (located outside the Arrivals between Exits 4 and 5), or onboard (ask operator) at no extra cost. The ticket is €6.00.

Four routes are available:

Χ93: Kifissos KTEL (long-distance buses) Station – Airport

Χ95: Syntagma (Core of Athens) – Airport

Χ96: Port of Piraeus – Airport

Χ97: Elliniko Metro Station – Airport

By Metro: the trip from the Airport to Syntagma station (Athens city center) lasts about 40 minutes with the blue line directed to Aghia Marina. The ticket is €10.00, payable only by cash.

By Taxi: taxis available at the designated Taxi waiting area located at Exit 3 of the Arrivals Level. A taxi from the airport to the city center costs a flat rate of €35 from 5:00 a.m. to midnight, and €50 from midnight to 5:00 a.m. Having said that, the prices can be subjected to changes.

Moving around the city

Once you reach the Athens city center, you will find out that everything is pretty close and well connected. With the transportation network, you can easily move basically anywhere. The price of the tickets works as follows:

The 90-minute ticket:  it is valid for 90 minutes after they are validated. They transfer on: city Buses, excluding Airport express buses and X80 line, Trolley-Buses, Tram, Metro (all stations except Airport), Suburban Railway only  Piraeus – SKA and Magoula – Koropi line.

The Tourist ticket: It is valid for 1 round trip to/from Athens International airport by Metro or Express Bus and unlimited travel on all other modes for 3 days, including line X80. They are available at Athens Airport metro and bus station and Omonoia, Syntagma, Thiseio, Monastiraki, Akropoli and Piraeus metro stations.

The 24-hour and 5-day ticket are valid for transportation and transfer on city buses, excluding Airport lines. Moreover, the 5-day ticket is not valid for X80 line. It is valid for all trolley-buses, tram, metro, all stations except Airport, Suburban Railway (only Piraeus – SKA and Magoula – Koropi lines. They start after the first validation.

The One Month or Three Months pass: monthly cards are valid for specifically one month for example from May 1st to May 30th. 3-month cards are also valid for 3 sequential calendar months (for example from August 1st to October 30th). They can be purchased during the last and first 7-10 days of each month at Metro stations, Suburban railway stations and Bus ticket booths. To issue a card for the first time you need to bring your ID/passport and also one passport photo. In case you want a reduced price card, the appropriate document is essential (e.g. University card). Furthermore, it is recommended to purchase the ticket in the first day of the month because the card is valid from the first day of the month, that means that if you buy it on the 5th day, you will lose five days of it.

The following table provides indicative price info:

The reduced price tickets for Athens public transport are available for all foreign students holding an international student card which is issued by the ELGS.