Getting around Athens with Public Transportation

Road-tripping in mainland Greece or the Greek island is a pleasure for those who know how to drive carefully and responsibly. Driving around Athens though is a lot different. At certain days and times, the traffic can be horrible beyond belief. Additionally, Greek drivers aren’t recognized for their calm way of driving. Just some quick tip: Expect The Unexpected.

After all, Athens has an inexpensive integrated public-transport network of metro and electric/regular buses. Below you can find general information about the types of tickets, pricing and points of sale.

Types of tickets and pricing

Reduced price tickets

Reduced price tickets for Athens public transport are available for:

1. Children aged 7-12 (regardless of nationality).
2. Teenagers aged 13-18  (regardless of nationality) after showing their passport or ID card.
3. Seniors over the age of 65 (regardless of nationality) after showing their passport or ID card.
4. Students (regardless of nationality, ERASMUS students included) as long as they have an academic ID card.
5. Students who study at universities outside Greece up to the age of 24 (including those aged 24, regardless of nationality), after showing a Student Card – University ID card and passport or ID card.
6. Members of Greek families with 4 children or more, with a special pass.

Also, free of charge travel (without a ticket) is available, among others, for:

1. Children under the age of 6 (including those aged 6), regardless of nationality.
2. Unemployed citizens of Greece, with a valid OAED card (excluding trips on the suburban railway).
3. Disabled persons, citizens of Attica region, with a special pass.

Points of Sale

Most of the tickets for Athens public transport can be purchased at any time, regardless of when you are going to travel, from:

1. Automatic ticket issuing machines at all Metro, Tram, and Suburban Railway stations.
2. Ticket offices at many Metro, Tram and Suburban railway stations.
3. Blue/yellow ticket booths next to many central bus stations.
4. Many newsstands/kiosks known as periptera.
5. Tourist tickets can be bought from Athens airport bus and metro stations, as well as Omonoia, Syntagma, Thiseio, Monastiraki, Acropolis and Piraeus metro stations.
6. Airport express bus lines tickets can be bought from metro stations, blue/yellow ticket booths, or from the drivers of the airport buses.

Validation

To use an Athens Transport ticket, you need to validate the paper ticket at the beginning of your journey. You must keep the ticket with you until you end your journey. For the urban section of the Suburban Railway (Piraeus – SKA and Magoula – Koropi), you need a 90-minute ticket. For other journeys from or/and to any other station outside the urban section, different fares apply. (More info at TRAINOSE website).

Monthly Card

Travelcards are valid for unlimited travel with all public transport modes operating in the area of jurisdiction. To issue a monthly or quarterly travel card you need a picture and a valid ID.

Map

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