Athens International
Airport:
Eleftherios Venizelos
Athens International Airport (code: ATH; website: www.aia.gr) is named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the Greek revolutionary fighter who became the Prime Minister of Greece.
Athens International Airport: Location
Athens airport is about 12 miles (19kms) east of the city center, but about 19 miles (30kms) by road because of the hilly terrain.
Ground Transport: Metro and Train
Athens International Airport has its own Metro station, on Line 3 of the Athens Metro. Trains run every 30 minutes from 5.30am-11.30pm and take about 40-45 minutes to central Athens. The airport Metro station is at the eastern end of Line 3. If you're going to Piraeus you can change at Monastiraki. Be sure to check current information on times and fares at the Athens Urban Rail Transport website.
The station at the airport is shared by the suburban train service, although this goes to the Larisis train station in Athens which is not as convenient for the city centre. The suburban trains do run slightly later, though, if you miss the last Metro, and some services go all the way to Piraeus.
Our Pick of the Athens Guides
Ground Transport: Buses
Buses are cheaper than the Metro but are slower, especially if the traffic is busy – and it often is, in Athens. However, they do run all night if you have a late arrival or early departure, and of course then the traffic is lighter. The X95 bus service goes from the airport to Syntagma Square, and the X96 service links the airport with Piraeus. There are other services to the centre and to other parts of the city.
Ground Transport: Taxis
Athenian taxi drivers are unfortunately notorious for over-charging visitors to the city. A trip into the centre should take up to about an hour, and at the time of writing cost no more than about €30. There are legitimate add-ons to the bill, by way of an airport surcharge, a toll if using the toll road, and for luggage. Make sure the meter is switched on, as a 'broken meter' usually means you will be ripped off. If you feel you may have been overcharged, ask your hotel to help you, or if there is no-one to help insist on ringing the police (Tel: 100).
Athens Airport Car Hire
See our Athens Airport Car Rental page.
Athens Airport Hotels
See our Athens Airport Hotels page.
Don't miss this visual tour of Athens with photos by Donna Dailey of Greece Travel Secrets.
Other Athens pages
Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.
Athens Airport hotels include the luxury Sofitel at the terminals, Holiday Inn near the airport, and others close by like the Hotel Pantheon.
This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
Athens is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets Athens guide has information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.
This beginner's guide to Greek architecture explains how to tell your Ionic from your Doric columns, and what to look for in temples and Byzantine churches.
There are lots of flights from Athens to Santorini as well as a ferry service from Piraeus, with flights to Santorini leaving from Athens International Airport.
The beach resorts of Athens are easily reached from the city and also close are Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon, ancient Marathon and Rafina's port.
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
The Pnyx hill near the Acropolis is one of Athens' true hidden gems, a place to wander freely away from the crowds and discover ancient places and mysteries.
Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.
Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.
Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.
Piraeus is the port of Athens from where many ferries to the Greek islands depart, and it also has an Archaeological Museum and the Hellenic Maritime Museum.
Pictures of Athens from the Greece Travel Secrets website
The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.
In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!
Mount Lykabettos is the highest hill in Athens and provides some of the best views of the city, with a funicular cable car the easiest way to get to the top.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Monastiraki Flea Market, followed by Sunday lunch at Sigalas on Monastiraki Square
Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.
A History of Athens from the first people to live on the Acropolis through the Golden Age of Pericles and Alexander the Great to the military junta.
There's all kinds of entertainment in Athens whether you're interested in theatre, dance, classical music, jazz, Greek music, rock music, disco, opera or movies.
Easter in Athens is, like everywhere in Greece, the biggest religious celebration of the year and this page tells you what to expect over the Easter weekend.
The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place outside the Parliament building at the top of Syntagma Square and is a must-see for visitors.
The best views in Athens include views from the Acropolis and of the Acropolis from the top of some of the city’s several hills and from hotels and restaurants.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
-
On the occasion of 200 years since Lord Byron’s death, the Acropolis Museum in Athens is honoring his memory with a symbolic exhibition related to Lord Elgin’s taking of the Parthenon sculptures.
Read More
-
The Greek Transport Ministry on Wednesday launched a pilot ‘Tap & Pay’ contactless payment system for passengers traveling on the express bus lines in Athens that connect to Athens International Airpo…
Read More
-
Sunbeds, umbrellas, and all sorts of constructions have been banned on 198 beaches across Greece according to a joint ministerial decision signed this week by Economy & Finance Minister Kostis Hatzida…
Read More
-
From myth-laden peaks to rugged alpine trails, we explore ten of Greece's highest mountains, where untamed beauty and boundless adventure meet.
Read More
-
Amidst the mountains and spectacular scenery, these four traditional guesthouses in the heart of Zagori, Epirus, offer the very best in Greek hospitality.
Read More
-
The Olympic flame that will be burning for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer was lit in Ancient Olympia on Tuesday, April 16. Located in western Peloponnese, Ancient Olympia is one of the most…
Read More
-
Public transportation in Athens as well as ferry travel in Greece will be disrupted on Wednesday, April 17, due to a 24-hour strike called by the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), the cou…
Read More
-
Greece Travel Secrets reviews the Greek cookbook, The Ikaria Way by Diane Kochilas, containing 100 delicious plant-based recipes.
Read More
-
The Greek Finance Ministry announced this week that it would taking strict measures including fines of up to 60,000 euros to ensure that Greece’s beaches are always accessible to the public. Fines ran…
Read More
-
For a third year in a row, the ferry service linking Cyprus with Greece is scheduled to resume operations on May 29. The Cypriot-flagged Daleela, which can transport 400 passengers and 200 vehicles, w…
Read More