Athens Short Breaks Guide

Athens has suffered some adverse publicity of late but remains a great place to visit at any time of year. If you are planning any kind of holiday in Greece, it’s very much worthwhile making its capital city part of your plans because there are so many things to do and see here which sum Greece up perfectly. The Plaka with its bars and restaurants, the Parthenon with its majestic views of the city and the Mediterranean beyond, the Omonia district, the central district and Piraeus, where you will catch your ferry on to the Greek Islands. Hotels are inexpensive, the people are friendly, the food excellent, and that’s without mentioning the almost guaranteed sunshine at most times of the year.

The banning of cars from central Athens has made visiting much more pleasant, with dramatic reductions in smog and congestion. Spend at least two days here before moving on and whatever you do, book tickets in advance to see opera or concert performances at the amphitheatre below the Parthenon, it’s just a magical experience.

Getting to Athens
From the UK, the only realistic option is by plane, so we would recommend either Easyjet from London Gatwick which has a comfortable 09:00 departure or BA from Heathrow who have two flights a day. From UK regional airports a good alternative is KLM who fly via Amsterdam.  Use our Greece flights page to find the lowest fare from where you are.

If you are planning a visit to Athens from Italy or one of the Greek Islands take a look at our Greek Ferry Guide for ways to complete your journey by surface travel.

Greece is part of the Schengen group of countries so if you have a Schengen visa you won’t need to get a Greek visa.

Arriving in Athens
Getting into town is quick and easy using the famously militant Athens cabs, At €35 during the day and €50 at night it’s certainly not the cheapest way of getting to your hotel but it’s certainly the easiest. You should not have to pay more than the flat fare.

Athens International Airport has access to the Metro on line 3. Use the PDF map attachment to plan your journey. It usually costs €6 single and €10 return.

Four main bus services connect the airport with Athens, X93 takes you to Kiffisson Coach Station, X95 goes to Syntagma, X96 take you to Piraeus and X97 will drop you off at Dafni Metro Station.

For currency exchange there’s an Alpha Bank where you can change money if needed or a cash point to get some Euro’s. Try to carry as little cash as necessary to minimise the chance of losing it. Paying by Debit Card usually saves you money in the long run.

Getting around Athens
Use the Athens Metro. Its relatively cheap, easy to use and above all it has air conditioning. If your hotel is in the centre of town you can probably get away without using public transport at all unless you venture down to Piraeus. A single ticket costs about 80 cents. There are travel concessions for over 65’s and under 16’s.