Posted by By plane to Athens
There is only one large airport in Athens, the new and modern Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport. In Greek, airport is called “aerodromio”. The Athens subway goes from the airport to the city center of Athens. There is also a suburban train (to northern Athens and the Peloponnese). If you want to go from the airport to the port in Piraeus or to the center of Athens, you can also take a bus (but the journey sometimes takes more than an hour).
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A subway ride to the center of Athens costs just under 10 euros one way. The prices are from the beginning of 2023.
Online tickets for Athens (entrance tickets, etc.)Many tourists now buy some tickets for Athens online in advance. The queues on site are often long, tours only take place on certain days. Below we have selected some good and important tickets for you: 1. Good Acropolis tour: More information and booking 2. Acropolis ticket only by email: More information and booking 3. Acropolis Museum entrance tickets for only 7 euros: More information and booking 4. Day tour from Athens to Delphi: More information and booking 5. Hop-on / hop-off bus city tour of Athens: More information and booking |
By car from Germany to Athens
The best way is to drive to Italy and then take a ferry from Venice or Ancona to Patras. From Patras it is 230 kilometers by road to Athens, now completely motorway.
From Germany it is about 250 kilometers closer to Venice than to Ancona. The disadvantage is that the ferry from Venice usually takes two nights, but from Ancona it is only one night. The fares differ only slightly, or with some ferry companies not at all.
From Venice there are several ferries a week to Patras, from Ancona often even 2-3 per day. The prices vary greatly depending on the time of year and company, sometimes surprisingly cheap thanks to the great competition, especially from Ancona. In 2016 I paid just over 100 euros for a one-way trip by car. You should definitely look out for offers. Superfast, Blue Star, Anek and other ferry companies often have offers such as “all tickets 50% off”, early bird discounts or similar. ADAC members, families, etc. also receive a small discount from some ferry companies.
There are also many ferries from southern Italy to Greece, especially from Bari and Brindisi. However, these are not significantly cheaper. The journey time on the ferries is shorter, but you spend more time in the car in Italy. These ship connections are particularly interesting if you want to travel from Rome or another place in southern Italy to Greece.
For some time now there has been a ferry from Trieste in northern Italy (border with Slovenia) to Patras about twice a week. These ships from Anek Lines are interesting for many drivers from Austria, as Trieste is closer to Vienna than Venice, for example.
Alternatively, you can drive the long route across the Balkans and do without the ferry. The fastest route is via Zagreb (Croatia) and Belgrade (Serbia), the so-called Autoput. Almost the entire route from Munich to Athens is now motorway. However, the journey is very long, tiring and not necessarily cheaper than taking the ferry across Italy. Some adventurous people travel along the Croatian coast and then across Albania to Greece.
Take the train or bus to Greece
This is also possible, of course. Here too, it is better to take the train to Ancona and from there take the ferry to Patras. From the bus station in Patras (directly opposite the old port) there is a bus to Athens every 30 minutes during the day (2.5 hours, around 18 euros). There will also soon be trains between Athens and Patras again. Currently (2017) the route is being completely renovated and converted from narrow gauge to standard gauge. The new tracks are ready from Athens to Kiato (a town on the Peloponnese). You can take a bus (rail replacement service) from Patras to Kiato and then change to the train. This costs a total of just under 20 euros. Tickets for this option are available at the train station, and tickets for the direct buses Patras – Athens at the bus station, which is only 100 meters from the train station.
For several years (since 2014 or so), the international ferries from Italy to Greece have been calling at a new port just outside Patras. From there, you can take an hourly bus (fare around 1.20 euros, tickets from the driver) to the center. The buses end at the large bus station, and the train station is only a 2-3 minute walk away. A taxi costs around 8 euros (around 5 kilometers), so be sure to ask about the price beforehand. It’s a long walk from the new port of Patra to the city center, it takes at least an hour.
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