Athens City Guide

Public transport

Operator. OASA (Οργανισμός Αστικών Συγκοινωνιών Αθηνών, "Transport for Athens") is the umbrella organization for public transport in the greater Athens and Piraeus area. Two subsidiaries handle operations, OSY runs buses and trolleybuses, STASY runs the three metro lines and the tram. The suburban railway (Ilektrikos/Proastiakos) between the airport, Piraeus and Athens Larissis is operated by Hellenic Train, but is integrated into the OASA fare system. Tickets and passes are valid across all operators and lines, with the exception of the dedicated airport fares. OASA's telephone timetable information line can be reached on the short number 11185.

Network. Three metro lines, trams, trolleybuses and buses. Several stations display finds from the construction.

Modes of transport. Metro · Tram · Bus · Trolleybus · Suburban railway

Operating hours. On Metro Line 1 (green, Piraeus–Kifisia), the first train departs at 5.00 am, the last leaves the terminus stations at 12.15 am. On Lines 2 (red) and 3 (blue), service begins at 5.30 am, and the last departure from Syntagma toward the terminus stations leaves at 12.23 am. On Friday and Saturday nights, STASY extends service on Lines 2 and 3 to around 1.30 am from Syntagma and Dimotiko Theatro respectively. The tram also runs from 5.30 am, with a reduced night frequency of around 25 minutes on the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday. Current departure times for each station are shown on the platform display boards and on the line pages of stasy.gr. Note for summer 2026, due to construction work, three inner-city stations on Line 3 (Syntagma, Evangelismos, Megaro Moussikis) close earlier than usual from 9.40 pm on Sundays through Thursdays, with a replacement bus (X23) running on this section until the end of service.

Night service. Athens doesn't have a classic network of night buses, but it does have several building blocks for late and early trips. Line X14 (Syntagma–Kifisia) takes on the role of a night line Monday to Friday from 10.40 pm to 5.25 am, and runs around the clock on Saturdays and Sundays. Metro Lines 2 and 3 as well as the tram extend their service on Fridays and Saturdays to around 1.30 am instead of the usual 12.23 am. The four express bus lines to the airport (X93, X95, X96, X97) run around the clock on all seven days of the week, as does the airport metro on Line 3 every 36 minutes. The seasonal line X80 (Piraeus–Acropolis–Syntagma, May to October only), on the other hand, already ends at 9.30 pm and doesn't count as part of the night service.

Buying tickets. Regular single tickets, day and multi-day passes can be bought at the machines in every metro and tram station as well as at many bus stops, plus at the ticket counters of the larger stations and at official OASA sales points around the city. The ATH.ENA app lets you top up both anonymous and personalized cards, as well as buy an Athena Ticket or Athena Card online directly from your smartphone. Discounted tickets and passes (students, other eligible groups) are only available on a personalized card, which must first be requested at an issuing office with a photo and ID. Tickets are not sold by the driver on the bus.

App and payment. Athens has two independent digital payment routes. The official ATH.ENA app manages the ATH.ENA Card chip card or the ATH.ENA Ticket and lets you top up credit and passes from your smartphone. Separately, the blue validators at metro gates, tram stops and on buses have, since the introduction of "Tap2Ride", also accepted contactless bank cards (physical or as Apple Pay/Google Pay on a smartphone or smartwatch) directly as a ticket, at the regular single fare of 1.20 €, or capped at 4.10 € per day for trips within the city, plus 5.50 € for the airport express bus and 9.00 € for the airport metro. Only Visa and Mastercard are accepted, not Maestro, American Express, Diners Club, Discover or China UnionPay. It's important to always use the same card or device when boarding and alighting, otherwise the daily cap won't be recognized and duplicate charges will occur. For some Mastercard payments, a one-off verification charge of 0.01 € is deducted the very first time a card is used and is then automatically refunded.

Which ticket. Athens has a single standard ticket valid for 90 minutes (1.20 €, reduced 0.50 €), which allows unlimited transfers but does not cover the airport lines. The day pass costs 4.10 € and pays off, by the numbers, from the fourth validated single trip on the same day, since four single tickets together cost 4.80 €, more than the day pass. A 5-day pass costs 8.20 €. For anyone also heading to the airport, the 3-day tourist ticket for 20.00 € covers the entire public transport network including one outbound and one return trip to the airport, for comparison a single airport metro ride alone already costs 9.00 €, both directions 16.00 €. The airport metro costs 9.00 € for a single trip or 16.00 € as a round-trip ticket valid for 30 days, the airport express bus costs 5.50 € per direction. Anyone staying several days who doesn't need to get back to the airport can also buy single trips in a discount bundle, 5 trips for 5.70 € or 10+1 trips for 12.00 €, but these bundles are only available on a personalized card. If you use stored credit instead of a ticket bundle, a daily cap automatically kicks in at the day-ticket price of 4.10 €.

Fare zones. Athens has no zone fares within the city, a single ticket is valid across the entire OASA network of buses, trolleybuses, trams and Metro Lines 1 to 3 as far as Koropi. The only exception is the section of Metro Line 3 between Koropi and the airport as well as the four airport express buses, for which separate, more expensive airport tickets are required.

Tip. Syntagma station has a walk-through excavation on the mezzanine.

Links

• OASA – Fares and Tickets
• OASA – Contactless Payment (Tap2Ride)
• OASA – Express Bus Lines (X and E Lines, including Airport)
• STASY – Metro and Tram Timetables
• STASY – Frequently Asked Questions (Operating Hours, Airport Connection)
• AIA – Public Transport to the Airport
• AIA – Taxi and Fixed Fares
• Network map

Getting there

Main station

Location. The long-distance station lies north-west of the centre, with its own metro stop.

Long-distance trains. Athens Larissis (Σταθμός Λαρίσης) is the city's central long-distance station and the starting point for Hellenic Train's intercity and long-distance services as well as for international train travel. The station also lies on the suburban railway line (Ilektrikos/Proastiakos), which connects it directly with the airport and with Piraeus. At the stations of Ano Liosia and Kato Acharnai, you can change to suburban trains toward Kiato and Aigio. Exact departure times for long-distance connections vary by route and day of the week and can only be reliably determined via Hellenic Train's up-to-date timetable information, which is why fixed operating hours have deliberately been left out here.

Opening hours. Long-distance rail service here comes in small doses. The first train on weekdays is IC 50 to Thessaloniki at 6.58 am, the last departure is train 520 to Lianokladi at 7.58 pm. The last long-distance train arrives at 9.57 pm. The luggage lockers operate from 6 am to 10 pm.

Airports

Local quirks

• The rock is slippery. The marble on the Acropolis has been polished smooth by millions of footsteps. Sturdy soles matter more than any camera.
• Bank card instead of a ticket. At the blue validators on the metro, tram and bus, you can check in directly with a contactless Visa or Mastercard card since the introduction of "Tap2Ride", no app or pre-purchased ticket required. The daily fare is automatically capped at a maximum of 4.10 €, while trips to the airport use the fixed fares there of 5.50 € for the bus and 9.00 € for the metro. You must board and alight using the same card or device.
• The taxi to the airport has a fixed fare. For taxi rides between the airport and downtown Athens, an officially set flat fare applies instead of the meter, 40 € during the day from 5 am to 24.00, 55 € at night from midnight to 5 am, in both directions. Traffic jams or detours don't change this, the fare is based on the time of arrival at the destination.

Good to know

Currency

EUR €

Emergency number

112

Plug type

C · F

Time zone

Europe/Athens

Driving

right

Speed limits. built-up areas 30 km/h (50 km/h on multi-lane roads with markings or a central island), outside towns 90 km/h for cars, motorway 130 km/h

Since January 1, 2026, the general limit within built-up areas is no longer 50 km/h but 30 km/h. The old 50 km/h rule still applies on multi-lane roads with markings or a central island, and many guidebooks and navigation devices still show the old value.

Tipping. Five to ten percent, usually left in cash on the table.

Tolls. The major motorways have toll stations with fixed amounts per section. Cash is accepted everywhere.

Access restrictions. Athens closes the inner ring on weekdays alternately to vehicles with odd and even final digits. The rule mainly targets local vehicles, foreign ones are tolerated in practice, but do not rely on it.